Thousands of Jewish worshipers hold priestly blessing at Western Wall

Record ID: 1437072

  • Title: Thousands of Jewish worshipers hold priestly blessing at Western Wall
  • Date: 16th October 2019
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) JEWISH WORSHIPPERS PRAYING AT THE WESTERN WALL, THEIR HEADS AND BODIES COVERED WITH TALLIT, A TRADITIONAL JEWISH PRAYING CLOTH, DURING THE JEWISH HOLIDAY OF SUKKOT'S PRIESTLY BLESSING CROWD OF THOUSANDS PRAYING MAN PRAYING IN FRONT OF WESTERN WALL YOUTH HOLDING CITRON AND LULAV (A CEREMONIAL PALM FROND), TWO OF FOUR TRADITIONAL SYMBOLS OF THE HOLIDAY, WHILE PRAYING IN FRONT OF THE WESTERN WALL MAN PRAYING VARIOUS OF MEN COVERED WITH TALLIT PRAYING WORSHIPPER'S HANDS HOLDING PRAYER BOOK, CITRON AND LULAV (SOUNDBITE) (English) RABBI AVRAHAM LEVY, A FATHER OF 12 FROM BEIT SHEMESH, SAYING: "Many, many Tzadikim, many righteous people coming here and blessing all the people and everybody has very strong mind to be blessed and to bless, I'm sure it's going to work so that's why thousands (of) people come." CROWD OF WORSHIPPERS DURING PRIESTLY BLESSING (SOUNDBITE) (English) RABBI AVRAHAM LEVY, A FATHER OF 12 FROM BEIT SHEMESH, SAYING: "It's used to be done in the temple -- Beit Hamikdash -- the first one, the second one. Since then we have it like in small shuls. But here today, we have like the feeling of the real thing like we used to have in Beit Hamikdash, soon to come." VARIOUS OF JEWISH WORSHIPPERS DURING PRIESTLY BLESSING
  • Embargoed: 30th October 2019 12:06
  • Keywords: Jerusalem prayers Jewish worshippers priestly blessing Western Wall sukkot
  • Location: JERUSALEM
  • City: JERUSALEM
  • Country: Jerusalem
  • Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA001B1CK30N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of Jews gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Wednesday (October 16) to attend a special 'Priestly Blessing' prayer during the holiday of Sukkot.
    The Western Wall's plaza was packed with some 40,000 worshippers, including thousands of members of the Jewish priestly caste, said a statement by the site's spokesperson office.
    Holding prayer shawls above their heads and covering their faces, the priests, known as "Kohanim" in Hebrew, began chanting the blessing, which begins with: "The Lord blesses you and keeps you".
    The ceremony is held during the Jewish holidays of Passover and Sukkot.
    Considered Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall is a remnant of the compound of the Second Jewish Temple built by King Herod the Great, which was destroyed in 70 AD.
    Rabbi Avraham Levy who arrived in Jerusalem to attend the Priestly Blessing, told Reuters that in ancient times the blessing used to take place in the temple, "But here today we have like the feeling of the real thing like we used to have in Beit Hamikdash, soon to come."
    (Production: Ran Tzabar, Lianne Back)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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