The Slichot events in Jerusalem attract hundreds of thousands of people every year, and in 2019 alone, about 200,000 people participated in the main Slichot event at the Western Wall.
However, the corona plague changed the rules of the game, and the number of people participating in the mass prayers at the Western Wall plaza was limited.
Last year, only 2,500 people who pre-registered for the lottery and sat in separate capsules were able to attend the event.
This year, admittedly, the restrictions were lighter, but the expansion is still limited to a relatively limited format - only 8,000 participants.
In the last two weeks, thousands more people have come to the Western Wall every evening.
The peak of participants is expected tomorrow night - the eve of Yom Kippur.
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On Tuesday, on the evening of Shuva Shuva - the Shabbat between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur - many people from different sectors from around the country could be seen there.
Kinneret Barkat from Betar Illit, in her ninth month of pregnancy, came with her husband Amnon to participate in
Slichot
, and with four of their other nine children.
And I wanted to do something for the birth - so we decided to come and pray.
We pray for health, peace for the children, peace, peace home, livelihood.
An artist who will finish the corona. "
"I wanted to do something for the birth - so we decided to come and pray."
The Barkat family (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Slichot at the Western Wall, Saturday night (Photo: Reuven Castro)
You could also find Alexander Gorelnik and Anat Zrihan, a pair of motorcyclists from Holon, who do not miss the selichot at the Western Wall.
"Every year we come to Slichot, to feel the atmosphere of the holidays, of Slichot. We feel the unity, that everyone is together. Pray, answer an artist, get an uplifting feeling towards Yom Kippur," says Zrihan.
They also pray "that the corona will end, that everyone will be healthy and that the people of Israel will be strengthened, that there will be peace."
Do not miss the slichot.
Alexander Gorelnik and Anat Zrihan (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Slichot at the Western Wall, Saturday night (Photo: Reuven Castro)
And there are those who come in an organized group.
In tights and glamorous sportswear, members of the "Runners and Photographers" group stand out in the landscape.
The group of runners, who come from all over the country, left the Israel Museum - and ran 7.5 kilometers from there to the Western Wall.
"We run all over the country, we've been to the Golan, Eilat, Carmel, Emek HaMa'ainot, Tel Aviv, we hear explanations and have fun," explains Guy Konik, who leads the group.
"The idea is to feel the slichot in Jerusalem. When you run, you can get to many sites in one evening: we started at the Israel Museum, from there we ran to synagogues in Nachlaot, the Bukharan neighborhood, Mea Shearim - and we reached the Western Wall. It's fun to be here."
All the way from the Israel Museum through Nachlaot to the Western Wall.
The "Runners and Photographers" group (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Slichot at the Western Wall, Saturday night (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Dozens of ushers made sure to wear masks, and distributed masks to those who did not have them. In the meantime, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation is already preparing for Sukkot, and apparently the traditional priests 'blessing, which is visited by tens of thousands of people, will be split into several events to meet the participants' restrictions due to the corona.
