Priestly Blessing ceremony draws thousands to Jerusalem - photo gallery

Around 20,000 people took part in the Priestly Blessing ceremony on Wednesday at the Western Wall, which included a special prayer for the peace of Jerusalem and the country’s security forces.

At the end of the ceremony, a special “acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven” prayer was also recited. 

This was the second day that the service was held. Tens of thousands participated in the blessing ceremony earlier in the week, too.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, rabbi of the Western Wall, said that the large crowd “testifies to the deep connection of the people of Israel to the Western Wall and Jerusalem and the feeling that the public clings to the remains of our Temple.”

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and several Knesset members took part in the events on Wednesday.

“For thousands of years, visitors have flocked to Jerusalem on Passover and been welcomed here,” the mayor said. “This year, too, we welcome the visitors who come to Jerusalem to hear the Priestly Blessing in the Western Wall plaza. Every time it is exciting to hear, see and feel the holy atmosphere in our beautiful city. 

“The tradition and heritage of the Jewish people are unquestionable.”

Separately, on Saturday night, a small group of Israelis went out to a field in southern Israel to perform a Temple ritual known as the “Omer wave offering.” The Omer offering was a grain sacrifice that was brought to the temple in Jerusalem during Temple times.