By Pesach Benson • April 5, 2026
Jerusalem, 5 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — War did not cancel the traditional Priestly Blessing in Jerusalem, but Home Front Command restrictions forced organizers to scale back the size of the Passover highlight.
The priestly blessing is a traditional benediction given by kohanim, the descendants of Aharon the Priest, and takes place during major Jewish festivals. The event normally draws tens of thousands of people to the Western Wall Plaza. But because of the threat of Iranian missiles, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which administers the holy site, limited attendance to 50 and held it in a covered area next to the plaza.
During the week of Passover, there has been no public access to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray.
Prayers were led by the Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinowitz. The blessing was livestreamed for those unable to attend.
Rabinowitz made an unsuccessful last-minute appeal to authorities to allow wider attendance.
“The Western Wall is the beating heart of the Jewish people,” the rabbi said. “If the security reality permits hundreds of people to gather in public squares for demonstrations, all the more so it should allow Jews to assemble at the Western Wall Plaza.”
He was referring to the High Court of Justice’s Saturday night ruling ordering police to allow demonstrations of up to 150 people
Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz leads prayers during the Priestly Blessing at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on April 5, 2026. The traditional Passover event was scaled back because of Home Front Command restrictions. Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL
Also attending were Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion and Chief Rabbis David Yosef and Kalman Bar.
This follows an agreement between police and Christian leaders to cap crowd sizes at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during Easter and Holy Week. Those events will be attended by clergy, but will not be otherwise open to the public.
Shrapnel from intercepted Iranian missiles has landed in and around Jerusalem’s Old City, where the holy sites are located.
Women in prayer at the Western Wall during the Priestly Blessing on April 5, 2026. Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL
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.
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