In keeping with tradition during the intermediate days of the festival, this year marks the 53rd year of Birkat Kohanim at the Western Wall, initiated by the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gafni OBMand organized for years by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation during the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. Hundreds of Kohanim (Jewish priests) bless the large congregation that streams to the Western Wall Plaza with the special priestly blessing from the Torah.
The event took place in the presence of Israel's Chief Rabbis, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and Rabbi David Lau; Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites; Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Lion, rabbis, ministers, public figures, hundreds of Kohanim, and thousands of worshippers. READ MORE