Tens of thousands at Jerusalem's Western Wall for priestly blessing

Male and female Jewish worshippers take part in a priestly blessing held on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of worshippers packed Jerusalem's Western Wall plaza on Wednesday to receive a blessing from members of Judaism's priestly caste.

Holding prayers shawls above their heads and covering their faces, the priests, known as "Kohanim" in Hebrew, began chanting the blessing, which begins: "The Lord bless you and keep you".

The ceremony is held during the Jewish holidays of Passover and Sukkot, the latter of which is being celebrated this week.

Onlookers watch from balconies as thousands of Jewish worshippers take part in a priestly blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Kohanim on Wednesday included the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

"It's my opportunity to bless the people of Israel," Friedman, an Orthodox Jew, told reporters.

According to Jewish tradition, Kohanim are descendants of Aaron, Moses's brother, whose offspring served as priests in the biblical temples of Jerusalem. Many Jews with surnames such as Cohen, Kahan and Katz are Kohanim.

A Jewish worshipper prays during a priestly blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Western Wall is a remnant of the compound of the Second Temple that was destroyed in 70 AD. It stands today beneath a religious plaza known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller)

A Jewish worshipper holds up his mobile phone as others, covered in prayer shawls, take part in a priestly blessing during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Jewish worshippers pray during a priestly blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Jewish worshippers, some covered in prayer shawls, pray during a priestly blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

A Jewish worshipper, covered in a prayer shawl, prays next to a covered torah scroll during a priestly blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

A Jewish worshipper holds the Four Species, used in rituals for the holiday of Sukkot, as he prays during a priestly blessing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

A Jewish worshipper holds the Four Species, used in rituals for the holiday of Sukkot, as he prays during a priestly blessing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys watch as worshippers holding the Four Species, used in rituals for the holiday of Sukkot, pray during a priestly blessing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

A general view shows thousands of Jewish worshippers attending the priestly blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad