The stones of the Kotel stood bathed in the soft light of a Jerusalem morning as tens of thousands gathered for Birkat Kohanim during Chol HaMoed Sukkot. A sea of white tallitot stretched across the plaza like living waves beneath the open sky. Fathers stood beside sons, grandfathers beside grandsons. Soldiers, scholars, builders, and pilgrims pressed shoulder to shoulder as the descendants of Aharon prepared to raise their hands in blessing.

Among them stood a young IDF soldier, his olive-green uniform—so often marked by vigilance and burden—now softened beneath the white folds of his tallit.

As the sacred moment approached, the father gently drew the child beneath the shelter of his prayer shawl, wrapping him close. Around them, thousands of kohanim lifted their hands in unison. Under those raised hands, one generation sheltered the next. In that singular moment—within Jerusalem’s ancient embrace and beneath the canopy of........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)