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.

Israel Photo Trivia ✡ "By My Spirit" - ISRAEL365

Not by military force and not by physical strength, but byMy spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. ZECHARIAH (4:6)   לֹא בְחַיִל וְלֹא בְכֹחַ כִּי אִם בְּרוּחִי אָמַר יְ-הֹוָה צְבָאוֹת זכריה ד:ו lo v'-kha-yeel v'-lo v'-ko-akh kee im b'-ru-khee a-mar a-do-nai tz'-va-ot

Today's Israel Inspiration The prophet Zechariah tells us that it is not physical power alone that protects Israel, rather, it is the spirit of God that is guarding the people of Israel.  The strength of Israel is truly miraculous, but too often we overlook the true source of our strength.   On the holiday of Sukkot we recall how God protected the Jewish People in the desert and still protects them until this very day.  It is when we work for the defense of Israel together with the recognition of God's protection that we may be able to experience miracles.   Support the soldiers of the IDF » Priestly Blessing at the Kotel Experience the power of the priestly blessing, that took place once again on Sunday in Jerusalem, in this exhilarating video.   Watch here » Startling Discovery Leads to Miracle Sometimes the most amazing acts of kindness result from terrible situations. One such story unfolded in the small southern city of Ofakim, a city close to the Gaza Strip, this past week.   Read more » IDF Dog Tag Pendant Wear this IDF dog tag pendant with pride to show your support for the Israeli soldiers. Get this Great Deal » Israel Photo Trivia Today's photo features an IDF soldier as he stands in a mobile army Sukkah. The Sukkah reminds us of the shelter God provided in the desert after the Jews left Egypt. Can you guess why we don't commemorate Sukkot after Passover, the actual time of year when God began providing the protective sukkahs in the desert? Send me an email or post your answer on Facebook.   Guess on Facebook » Thank You Please help us continue to spread the beauty and significance of the Land of Israel! Sponsor a day » “I Start My Day Reading Israel365” It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!   Stay in Touch » I start my day reading Israel365. Thank you for your insight. Carolyn Hanks I look forward to Israel365 each day. I get excited when I think God has chosen Israel to be this great blessing to the world. Israel is God's chosen land and people.  Because I am a Christian, I stand with my Israeli brothers & sisters in the world. "He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps." What the Almighty has planned, will come to fruition. "Heaven & earth shall pass away but My Word shall never pass away." Thank you for Israel365. Sarah Shalom, Rabbi Tuly Weisz RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

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Yom Kippur at the Western Wall 100 Years Ago

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)

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Yom Kippur at the Western Wall 100 Years Ago - reposting a feature from last year Posted: 01 Oct 2014  Jews at the Kotel on Yom Kippur (circa 1904) See analysis of  the graffiti on the wall for dating this picture. The graffiti on the Wall are memorial notices (not as one reader suggested applied to the photo later). (Library of Congress) On Saturday, Jews around the world will commemorate Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  For many centuries, Jews in the Land of Israel prayed at the Western Wall, the remnant of King Herod's retaining wall of the Temple complex destroyed in 70 AD. Several readers noticed and commented on the intermingling of men and women in these historic pictures. It was not by choice.  The Turkish and British rulers of Jerusalem imposed severe restrictions on the Jewish worshipers,  prohibiting chairs, forbidding screens to divide the men and women, and even banning the blowing of the shofar at the end of the Yom Kippur service.  Note that the talit prayer shawls, normally worn by men throughout Yom Kippur, are not visible in the pictures. The men are wearing their festival/Sabbath finery, including their fur shtreimel hats. Note the prayer shawls.  (Credit: RCB Library, 1897) We found one rare picture in an Irish church's archives, dated 1897, showing men wearing prayer shawls at the Kotel. View this video, Echoes of a Shofar, to see the story of young men who defied British authorities between 1930 and 1947 and blew the shofar at the Kotel.  Another view of the Western Wall on Yom Kippur. Note the various groups of worshipers: The Ashkenazic Hassidim wearing the fur shtreimel hats in the foreground, the Sephardic Jews wearing the fezzes in the center, and the women in the back wearing white shawls. (Circa 1904, Library of Congress) For the 19 years that Jordan administered the Old City, 1948-1967, no Jews were permitted to pray at the Kotel.  Many of the photo collections we have surveyed contain numerous pictures of Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall over the last 150 years. After the 1967 war, the Western Wall plaza was enlarged and large areas of King Herod's wall have been exposed.  Archaeologists have also uncovered major subterranean tunnels -- hundreds of meters long -- that are now open to visitors to Jerusalem.    Click on the photos to enlarge.  Click on the captions to see the originals.

Jerusalem Old City night walk to the Western Wall - Hurva Square singer

On our night walk to the Kotel (Western Wall) through the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, we walked past the Hurva Synagogue and came across this man playing guitar and singing. Nov. 4, 2013

Videos filmed and shared by Steve Martin - to give appreciation to and love for those we support, through Love For His People, Inc.

Jerusalem on Passover, 1928

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)

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Rabbi Kook and Mr. Cook -- in Jerusalem on Passover, 1928 Posted: 12 Apr 2014  Original caption: "Jewish Pilgrims Celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, 1928." (Harvard Library/ Central Zionist Archives) The Harvard Library/Central Zionist Archives collection provides a series of pictures from 1928, all captioned "Jewish Pilgrims Celebrate Passover in Jerusalem." No other information is provided, but we can deduce quite a bit. The picture above shows the Chief Rabbi of Palestine, Abraham Isaac Kook, delivering a Torah discourse to a large audience.  Where? Quite possibly near his home between Jerusalem's Prophets Street and Jaffa Road. While women are sitting separately from the men, the audience is most certainly not an ultra-Orthodox crowd.  With their heads covered, they are more likely a religious Zionist grouping.  Their holiday dress suggest that it either the Passover holiday or the Sabbath of Passover.  Where are the pilgrims heading?  They appear to be walking in the area of Prophets Street.  There seems to be a commotion in the back of the march, with men turning to see what happened. We welcome  suggestions from readers. (Harvard Library/Central Zionist Archives) The next picture shows the pilgrims' destination -- the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City.  The crowd entered the Old City through Jaffa Gate and is streaming into the shuk at the end of David Street on the way to the Kotel.  The Thomas Cook travel office was a prominent landmark already prior to 1898 and could be seen in the last picture on this page. The crowd entering the Arab shuk of Jerusalem's Old City. (Harvard Library/Central Zionist Archives) David Street, inside the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem's Old City. The picture appears to have been taken prior to 1898 when the moat on the right was filled in and the road widened to allow entry of the German emperor.   (Credit: Keystone-Mast Collection, California Museum of Photography at UCR ARTSblock, University of California, Riverside)

Jerusalem Photos - from Love For His People's Ahava Adventure

A few of the 2000+ photos I took in Jerusalem on our 2010 Ahava Adventure trip.

Steve Martin
Love For His People

Jerusalem Park

Pine tree near Kidron Valley

- it forms the Hebrew letter "shin"

Zion Gate into the Old City near Jewish Quarter

Church in the Armenian Quarter

King David stature near his tomb, which is close by

the Last Supper location.

Jewish Quarter's older men...

...and young kids.

Gathering in plaza near the Cardo (Jewish Quarter)

A few sheep and camels

Shwarma!

The Western Wall (Kotel)

Meat (lamb, turkey, beef) cooking 

in preparation for shwarma sandwiches.

Pomegranates and lemons

Walking home from school outside the Old City

A look back up the road to the 

Lion's (St. Stephen's) Gate

- Old City, Jerusalem

'We Don't Need Permission to Pray at Western Wall'

Thursday, February 20, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Danon, insisted earlier this week that Jews require permission from no one to pray at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the retaining wall of the Temple Mount that for centuries has been Judaism's holiest site.

At a meeting with Israeli students in Ramallah on Sunday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas insisted the Palestinians must win control of the eastern half of Jerusalem in order to make peace, but promised to still allow Jews to enter the Old City and pray at the Western Wall.

"We do not need the permission of anyone to pray at the Kotel, certainly not from the Palestinian leadership," an incredulous Danon said later in response. "Jews have prayed, Jews pray, and Jews will pray at the Kotel forever."

In the meeting, which was set up by left-wing Israeli peace movements, Abbas also claimed he had no desire to flood Israel with millions of so-called "Palestinian refugees," even though he continues to make a Palestinian "right of return" a red-line issue in current US-brokered peace talks.

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Apple's Wailing Wall is in Palestine. (Oh Really???)

Apple's Wailing Wall is in Palestine

Tuesday, December 10, 2013 |  David Lazarus, ISRAEL TODAY

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Apple is often first in breaking new ground with the latest hi-tech gadgets. Now the company has introduced yet another brand new notion: Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall (known as the Kotel) is in "Palestine."

The company that brought us the innovative iPhone now offers the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while the rest of the world, led by the Americans, still try to broker a shaky final status.

Don‚Äôt believe it? Just come visit the Kotel in Jerusalem. Pull out your iPhone 5, and take a few pictures of the Wall. Before you can say "Siri," wonder of wonders, a description of the most famous site in all of Judaism will automatically pop up on your high-definition screen showing you the location of the Wailing Wall: The West Bank, East Jerusalem.

That’s right folks, with just one swipe of your screen, the almighty Apple has divided the city of Jerusalem, putting the holiest place in the world for all Jewish people in the Palestinian Territories.

For those iPhone fans who think that this is just another infamous Apple Maps' bug, be informed. In earlier versions of their trendy device, Apple's weather app gave separate forecasts for West and East Jerusalem, even though Israel unified the city 46 years ago after the Six-Day War! Only after extensive and ongoing pressure by Israel’s ambassador to the US did the digital giant change the app’s map status to identify Jerusalem as one city.

“It is a shame that a commercial enterprise feels that it needs to be more pro-Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin. “But what matters is the reality on the ground, not in the virtual world.”

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz, the overseer of the Wailing Wall, had this to say in response: “We don’t need anyone’s endorsement or stamp of approval. The Wailing Wall is a part of who we are.”

If the company is getting involved in politics to help sell their "Apples" to young left-wing liberals, beware. A long time ago in a garden, a young, innocent couple took that appealing apple, only to be deceived, when all hell broke loose.

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