Tens of Thousands Gather at Western Wall for Traditional Priestly Blessing

Tens of thousands of worshippers and hundreds of Kohanim (priests) gathered at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem on Monday for the traditional Priestly Blessing ceremony during the intermediate days of the Sukkot holiday. The ceremony, a decades-old tradition established after the Six-Day War, involves Kohanim reciting the biblical priestly blessing over the assembled crowd.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation organized two separate Priestly Blessing events this year during Chol HaMoed Sukkot to accommodate the large numbers of attendees. The first took place on Monday, with a second scheduled for Thursday, October 1st. Each event includes morning prayers, the Priestly Blessing, additional prayers, and a second Priestly Blessing.

Among those in attendance were survivors of Hamas captivity from Gaza, bereaved families, and IDF soldiers wounded during the recent conflict, alongside Israel's Chief Rabbis. The foundation prepared for hundreds of thousands of visitors during the holiday, setting up three large sukkahs and ensuring adequate public transportation to the site.

This event follows a busy period at the Western Wall, which saw approximately two million worshippers during the preceding month of Elul and the High Holy Days. The Priestly Blessing is one of the most significant events held at the Western Wall during Sukkot and Passover, drawing worshippers from Israel and abroad.

Following the holiday, the Western Wall Plaza will host traditional Hakafot Shniyot (second circuits with Torah scrolls) on the evening of Saturday, October 3rd, starting at 10:00 PM, accompanied by music and approximately 100 Torah scrolls.