Jews mass at Western Wall for blessing
US ambassador to Israel David Friedman uses the opportunity to praise Donald Trump’s UN address
Jerusalem — Tens of thousands of Jews gathered at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Wednesday for a blessing that takes place twice a year at one of Judaism’s holiest sites. The "priestly blessing" was part of the week-long holiday of Sukkot, or Feast of the Tabernacles, which in antiquity was a time of pilgrimage. The blessing is part of daily prayers chanted in synagogues worldwide, but mass gatherings have been held since the early 1970s twice a year evoking the biblical dictum of pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem on certain holidays. The other gathering occurs during Passover. Thousands of priests raised their hands and chanted the words of the blessing in the ceremony attended by those from the Cohanim priestly caste. The blessing involves the raising of hands in a form similar to the "Vulcan salute" Leonard Nimoy borrowed from Judaism for his Star Trek role as Mr Spock. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which oversees the holy site, estimated that 100,000 people attended two...
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