Thousands take part in Birkat Kohanim for first time since COVID
This marks the first time that a priestly blessing event at this capacity has occurred since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.
By GADI ZAIGBlessing at the Western Wall(photo credit: WESTERN WALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION)
Thousands of people participated in Birkat Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing) which took place at the Western Wall early Monday morning, according to a press release.The large scale, public ritual of Birkat Kohanim is held in Jerusalem during the holidays of Passover and Sukkot.This is the first time that the mass blessing has occurred since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak on such a large scale.Since March of last year, the event would take place in a limited capacity. Nevertheless, this most recent event kept with the Health Ministry's guidelines.Attendees included many notable rabbis such as chief rabbis Yitzchak Yosef and David Lau; Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites of Israel; and Rabbi Yaakov Avitan, Minister of Religious Affairs. Jerusalem mayor Moshe Leon also attended the event.Rabinowitz made a special prayer at the end of the event, praying for the reduction of COVID-19 in Israel and the entire world. He also stated that “Birkat Kohanim, written in the Torah, contains a promise to protect from harm and for peace on Israel. In these difficult times, we need this blessing more than ever – a prayer for peace in the Jewish nation and for health for everyone in the world.”
