Tens of thousands join priestly blessing at western wall amid war

Tel Aviv [Israel], April 15 (ANI/TPS): Tens of thousands of Israelis thronged the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Tuesday for the traditional Priestly Blessing, a highlight event during Passover's intermediate days.
The ceremony, held under heightened emotion of war, drew worshippers from across the country and was streamed live online.
The blessings were given by descendants of Aaron the Priest, known as "kohanim." Among the kohanim participating was former hostage Elya Cohen.
The 27-year-old Cohen was abducted from the Nova Music Festival and eventually freed in February as part of a temporary ceasefire. Also present were the families of hostages Segev Kalfon and Uriel Baruch.
Israel's Chief Rabbis Kalman Bar and David Yosef led prayers.
While the event traditionally only takes place once during the intermediate days of Passover, a second Priestly Blessing is scheduled for Wednesday with the attendance of former hostages, families of those still captive, and wounded Israeli soldiers. Special prayers will be recited for the safety of the hostages and soldiers, and the recovery of the injured.
At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead.
The Priestly Blessing, held since 1970, serves as both a religious observance and a moment of national solidarity. It is also held during one of the intermediate days of the week-long Sukkot holiday in the fall.
More than 200,000 people have visited the Western Wall since Passover began on Saturday night, according to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which oversees the holy site's day-to-day affairs.
Meanwhile, the Temple Mount Administration, a non-profit organization that advocates for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount, said on Tuesday morning that since the beginning of Passover, 2,607 Jews had visited the Temple Mount, of whom 1,088 came on Tuesday.
The Western Wall, where the Priestly Blessing takes place, is the only remnant of a retaining wall encircling the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great in the first century and is the holiest site where Jews can freely pray. According to the status quo, while non-Muslims are allowed to visit the Temple Mount, they are not allowed to pray there.
The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built, is the overall holiest site in Judaism.
The delicate status quo governing the Temple Mount goes back to 1967 when Israel liberated the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War. Fearing a religious war, then-defense minister Moshe Dayan agreed to let the Islamic Waqf, a Muslim trusteeship, continue managing the holy site's day-to-day affairs, while Israel would maintain overall sovereignty and be responsible for security.
Rabbis are increasingly divided over Jews ascending to the Temple Mount. For centuries, the widespread rabbinic consensus was that the laws of ritual purity still apply to the site. But in recent years, a growing number of rabbis have argued that ritual purity laws don't apply to all sections of the Temple Mount and encourage visits to permitted areas to maintain Jewish connections to the Mount. (ANI/TPS)