Posted on 03/21/24
Millions of Jews united to recite the "Shema Yisrael" prayer en masse from the Kotel Plaza and from dozens of locations in Israel and around the world
Jerusalem, Israel - Mar. 21, 2024 - Today, a united and emotional gathering took place for the mass recitation of "Shema Yisrael" from the Western Wall Plaza and from dozens of locations in Israel and around the world.
Millions joined the families of the hostages and missing and recited Psalms together and a special prayer for the return of the hostages and missing persons and for the well-being of IDF soldiers and the State of Israel.
At the peak of the assembly, everyone, as one person with one heart, recited the "Shema Yisrael" prayer.
The rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, opened with the recitation of Psalms and with the congregation, he movingly recited the "Shema Yisrael".
Former head of the Ashkelon Regional Council and resident of Kibbutz Be'eri, Chaim Yelin, said a prayer for the welfare of Israel.
Noah Hertz, a pilot who was captured by Syria in the Yom Kippur War, said a prayer for the well-being of the IDF soldiers. Yigal Serousi, the father of Almog, a hostage in Gaza, offered a prayer for the return of the hostages.
The prayer rally was broadcast live to dozens of locations in Israel and around the world, including: the United States, France, Ukraine, Russia, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and more.
The rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz:
""On the day that expresses Esther's declaration to Mordechai 'Go, gather together all the Jews,' we all united in accepting the yoke of heaven with the verse 'Shema Yisrael,' which represents the faith and hope of the Jewish people for generations
Former head of the Ashkelon Regional Council and member of Kibbutz Be'eri, Chaim Yelin:
"Today at the Western Wall, we are writing a new chapter in our people's history, which will also be read in a thousand and two thousand years, about our values of redeeming captives. Unity of the nation is in the hands of each and every one of us"
Families of the hostages: "The Jewish nation has once again demonstrated to us the greatness of its glory. The strength you give us enables us to continue the most difficult struggle of our lives: the struggle for the release of our loved ones.
The joint prayer, so deeply associated with the Jewish people, took place with the participation of thousands from across the spectrum of society".