Over 50,000 Jewish worshipers gather for Birkat Kohanim at Western Wall

Over 50,000 Jewish worshipers gathered at the Western Wall plaza to hold a joint prayer of Birkat Kohanim (priestly blessing) on Monday, during the Hol Hamoed days of Sukkot and the High Holy Days.

The tradition of conducting a mass event for the blessing has been a highlight of the week-long Sukkot and Passover holidays for over 50 years, with most gatherings attended by tens of thousands of people in a huge blanket of white tallitot. 

"This year, we added an additional Birkat Kohanim event to alleviate the crowds and enable anyone who wishes to participate in this emotional tradition to do so," the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said. "This is a prayer that we all carry in our hearts to our Father in Heaven, asking Him to remove baseless hatred from us and to spread the sukkah of peace over us," the Western Wall rabbi added.

What are the priestly blessings?

The priestly blessing is a blessing recited by the descendants of the Cohen tribe (usually surnamed Cohen, Katz etc.) at every morning minyan of Shacharit.

During holidays, there is an additional Mussaf prayer after the morning services, and therefore, a second Priestly Blessing every day.

The Sukkot ceremonies also involve the practice of netilat lulav, blessing of the Arba Minim, or Four Species: Aravot, etrog, hadassim and lulav.