Tens of Thousands Attend Priestly Blessing

CBNNews.com

Monday, April 06, 2015

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Thousands of people filled the Western Wall Plaza Monday for the Priestly Blessing or Birkat Kohanim in Hebrew.

Held during the interim days (chol ha’moed) of Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread) in the spring and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) in the fall, the ceremonies draw tens of thousands to the traditional prayers.

Sometimes referred to as the Aaronic Benediction, the blessing is taken from the Book of Numbers (6:23-27). Here, God commands Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel, saying, "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace."

In biblical times, Pesach (Passover), Sukkot and Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) were known as pilgrimage holidays. Israeli families throughout the land would come up to Jerusalem to present an offering to the kohanim, the priests, carrying out the various sacrifices on the Temple Mount.

Today, Jews are forbidden to pray on the Temple Mount so the prayers take place at the Kotel or Western Wall, the only remaining vestige of the First and Second Jewish Temples.

Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. by the Romans, the pilgrimages ceased, but what remains in many Jewish hearts is the desire to visit Jerusalem during these holidays.