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STORY: Thousands of people attended a traditional Jewish blessing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday.
The Priestly Blessing, called Birkat Kohanim in Hebrew, draws crowds from across Israel and around the world and is being held three times a year during the Jewish holidays of Sukkot (Tabernacles), Passover (when Jews celebrate of the exodus from slavery in Egypt), and Shavuot (the celebration of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai).
Kohanim, or priests, lead the communal prayers by chanting three consecutive verses of the Torah one word at a time, in a special singsong reputedly dating back to the Temple era itself.
"This is the biggest 'Birkat Kohanim' (Priestly Blessing) that I've ever been to. There are hundreds of Kohanim (Priests) here. And it's really nice to see all the Kohanim from around the state of Israel and from abroad like me to come together to bless the entire Kotel (Western Wall) and the entire natio
