100 new immigrants from 45 countries convene at Western Wall for pre-Yom Kippur prayers
Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog and 100 Olim (immigrants) from 45 countries convened on Saturday at the Kotel, Western Wall, to recite the Selichot, special prayers recited by Jews worldwide during the days before and between Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog Leads 100 new Olim for Pre-Yom Kippur Prayers at Western Wall
Credit: The Jewish Agency for Israel
All the Olim made Aliyah to Israel two months ago with the assistance of The Jewish Agency and began their new lives in the Jewish state by ushering the New Jewish Year.
For the majority of them, this visit marked their first time witnessing the Selichot at the Western Wall, and this week will be the first Yom Kippur they celebrate in Israel.
Herzog led them on a tour of the tunnels underneath the Kotel, during which he provided the Olim with historical background about the Western Wall, which was liberated by the IDF during the Six-Day War, and told them about his father, Chaim Herzog, the sixth president of the State of Israel, who was Jerusalem’s first mayor and assumed responsibility for the Western Wall area after the war.
Herzog stated that “it’s exciting for me that at the start of the New Year and as Yom Kippur approaches, among a sea of people praying and reciting the Selichot, a group of young immigrants has arrived at the Western Wall from around the world, and experienced the power of this place and this event for the first time.”
“The Western Wall is the beating heart of our people. It belongs to all of us, and its stones have ‘the heart of man,’ as the poem says,” he added.
TPS
