As always, during the Hol Hamoed days of Sukkot and Passover, worshipers fill the Western Wall plaza to hold a joint prayer of Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing, and hundreds filled the plaza on Wednesday.
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The tradition of conducting a mass event for the blessing has been a highlight of the week-long Sukkot and Passover holidays for over 50 years, with most gatherings attended by tens of thousands of people in a huge blanket of white tallitot. Now, due to strict coronavirus regulations, only a few hundred have been allowed to congregate.
The Priestly Blessing - Birkat Kohanim - is a blessing recited by the descendants of the Cohen tribe (usually surnamed Cohen, Katz etc.) at every morning minyan of Shacharit. During holidays, there is an additional Mussaf prayer after the morning services, and therefore a second Priestly Blessing every day.
The Sukkot ceremonies also involve the practice of netilat lulav, blessing of the Arba Minim, or Four Species: aravot, etrog, hadassim and lulav.
Traditionally, the Kohanim face the congregation, holding their talit (prayer shawl) over their head with their palms open in the Cohen symbolic gesture, and bless the crowd with the words: "May God bless you and guard you. May God shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you. May God turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace.'"
The Western Wall plaza is currently open to a much smaller number of participants in comparison to past years. All worshipers are required to wear a mask during prayers, and police and Magen David Adom (MDA) forces are in attendance to enforce COVID regulations, Israeli media reported.
The COVID outline for the prayers involves capsules of worshipers allowed into the plaza on different days and at different times, to avoid large crowds. The attendees do not need to present a Green Pass, according to the Western Wall Heritage Site website.
Visit the Kotel website to view the livestream of the ceremony.