{"id":18433,"date":"2025-03-31T17:12:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T14:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=18433"},"modified":"2025-03-31T23:34:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T20:34:30","slug":"priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall to Include Returned Hostages and Wounded Soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Passover approaches, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation is preparing to welcome tens of thousands of visitors and pilgrims for the intermediate days of the holiday (Chol HaMoed), with a series of moving and festive events.<\/p>\n

Among them, this year\u2019s traditional Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim<\/em>) will hold special significance, taking place in the presence of freed hostages, families of those still in captivity, and wounded IDF soldiers.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall | Photo: Western Wall Heritage Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two Ceremonies, Thousands of Participants<\/strong>
\nTo allow more of the public to participate, the blessing will be held twice:<\/p>\n

Tuesday, April 15 (17 Nisan), and Thursday, April 17 (19 Nisan)<\/p>\n

Following the first blessing, the traditional \u201cAssembly\u201d (Hakkhel<\/em>) ceremony will take place, attended by Israel\u2019s Chief Rabbis and the Rabbi of the Western Wall.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Western Wall; Photo: Western Wall Heritage Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both events will be broadcast live on the Western Wall Heritage Foundation website, and will serve as moments of remembrance, strength, and national prayer. The public is encouraged to attend in person or tune in from across Israel and around the world.<\/p>\n

Annual Preparations: Wall Inspection and Note Collection<\/strong>
\nAs is customary before the holidays, the stones of the Western Wall are undergoing safety inspections by engineers, supervised by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, to remove loose stones or vegetation, in accordance with Jewish law (halacha<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Clearing notes from Western Wall; Photo: Western Wall Heritage Fouindation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Later this week, the traditional clearing of prayer notes placed in the Wall will also take place. The notes are respectfully gathered and buried in a dedicated genizah<\/em> (burial site for holy objects) alongside worn-out religious books.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Western Wall note removal | Photo: Western Wall Heritage Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blessing of the Trees Also Held at the Wall<\/strong>
\nIn addition, fruit-bearing trees have been placed at the site to allow pilgrims to take part in the custom of the Blessing of the Trees (Birkat Ha\u2019Ilanot<\/em>), a custom observed during the Hebrew month of Nisan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Blessing of the Trees at the Western Wall | Photo: Western Wall Heritage Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two large-scale Priestly Blessing ceremonies, held on Jewish festivals, will be held this Passover, with participation from hostages released from Hamas captivity, their families, IDF wounded, and tens of thousands of worshippers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":18434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,85],"tags":[3605,1482,1493,3585,3584,3606,1828,3487],"class_list":["post-18433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-judaism","category-positive-moment","tag-custom","tag-hostages","tag-jerusalem","tag-passover-holiday","tag-priestly-blessing","tag-religious-ceremony","tag-western-wall","tag-wounded-soldiers"],"yoast_head":"\nPriestly Blessing at the Western Wall to Include Returned Hostages and Wounded Soldiers - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall to Include Returned Hostages and Wounded Soldiers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two large-scale Priestly Blessing ceremonies, held on Jewish festivals, will be held this Passover, with participation from hostages released from Hamas captivity, their families, IDF wounded, and tens of thousands of worshippers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REGA news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T14:12:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T20:34:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bircat-kohanim.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"By Menachem Marton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"By Menachem Marton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"By Menachem Marton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/85289d9583f8c0d96ade025fd71ebd5a\"},\"headline\":\"Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall to Include Returned Hostages and Wounded Soldiers\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-31T14:12:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-31T20:34:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/\"},\"wordCount\":384,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bircat-kohanim.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"custom\",\"Hostages\",\"Jerusalem\",\"Passover Holiday\",\"Priestly Blessing\",\"religious ceremony\",\"Western Wall\",\"wounded soldiers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"JUDAISM\",\"POSITIVE\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/priestly-blessing-at-the-western-wall-to-include-returned-hostages-and-wounded-soldiers\/\",\"name\":\"Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall to Include Returned Hostages and Wounded Soldiers - 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