Jews gather once a year at the Western Wall to hear a blessing only the priestly caste can give.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, APtemplecohanim 298(photo credit: The Temple Institute)
Thousands of Jews participated in the priestly blessing, or Birkat Cohanim, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Thursday.
The Cohanim, believed to be descendants of priests who served God in the first and second Jewish Temple before they were destroyed, perform a blessing ceremony of the Jewish people once a year during the festival of Sukkot.
The blessing originally appears in the fourth book of the Torah, Numbers, and is comprised of three phrases. It is therefore also known as the "Triple Blessing."
The blessing is also the most ancient biblical text found on archaeological artifacts: Lucky charms and cameos bearing the three phrases were found in graves in the Valley of Hinom outside Jerusalem's old city (the Hebrew word for hell, Gehinom, literally means "the Valley of Hinom").
The cameos, dating back to the First Temple period, are displayed in the Israel Museum.
The blessing is recited by the Cohanim in synagogues in Israel every morning, while abroad it is only given on festivals.
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