The first 'Birkat Kohanim' at the Western Wall. Kislev 3, 1971

The first 'Birkat Kohanim' at the Western Wall. Kislev 3, 1971

A street poster calling for the first time in the history of the "Birkat Kohanim" to be conducted by a majority of people in the Western Wall plaza following the words found in the book "HaRokeah", Kislev, 3, 1971.

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'Since the people of Israel in the Holy Land need a lot of mercy, and especially our brothers who are in Russia, they are in a very difficult situation, G-d will mercy on them. The handwriting of Rabbeinu Harokeah been discovered and reveals a great Essay on the Torah and in Parashat Tetzaveh he writes that there is a great virtue to the number of 'three hundred priests' and says if three hundred priests go up etc. and say bless etc. is a great and very wonderful thing to bring abundance and good blessing to Israel' , and later

 "And therefore decided with the consent of the great Torah scholars that all the priests from Jerusalem and the Land of Israel, who enabled them to try to come to the Western Wall to observe the Mitzva of the Priestly Blessing... on the 3rd of Kislev 1971.

This was the first time that a "Birkat Kohanim" mass ceremony was held at the Western Wall, initiated by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Geffner following difficult events in Israel and the Diaspora. He received the approbations of his Rebbe, the Admor of Vizhnitz, the Admor Rabbi Yisrael Alter of Gur, and the Steipler who instructed him not to propagate in order to "not provoke Satan." After the first date set in Av 1 of that year [the death of Aharon HaCohen] was not carried out due to Rav Gepner's illness, a different date was set for the 3rd day of Kislev 1971, which is considered to be a purple date because it is the third day of the month, the third day of the week of the Third month, the publication was minimal and included a small ad in the daily HaModia, which was then the only ultra-Orthodox daily, as well as street ads such as the ones before us, and thousands of Jews attended the ceremony. Hundreds of priests spread along the stones of the Western Wall and blessed the masses of worshipers. The number of priests and worshipers increases each year, and Rabbi Gepner accompanied the event every year until his death in 1988. He concluded his will with the words: " "וגם הברכת כהנים בעזרת ה' יתברך יימשך עד ביאת הגואל צדק, ויהי ברכת ה' עליכם אמן כי יהי רצון".

The National Library's Afmara collection contains various proclamations on the subject of Birkat Kohanim at the Western Wall. The poster before us does not appear in the library collection.

28x22 cm Folding marks Good condition.