Western Wall draws 100,000 people as Shavuot ends

Some 20,000 worshipers are estimated to have attended sunrise prayers after a night of learning Torah on Monday morning.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have visited the Western Wall over the Shavuot holiday on Monday, according to a report on Tuesday.

Some 20,000 worshipers gathered at the Western Wall at sunrise on Shavuot morning for festive prayers, including the Torah reading of the Ten Commandments, according to Israel National News. The event culminated in a large public “kiddush” organized by Colel Chabad, which distributed tens of thousands of individual kiddush kits.

This is the annual Shavuot pilgrimage’s 58th year; a tradition made possible by the reunification of Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967.

Throughout the night, thousands studied Torah and recited Psalms at the Wall and nearby synagogues, following the custom of “Tikkun Leil Shavuot.”

To support the influx of worshipers, refreshment tents were set up along the walking routes to the Old City with the help of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and other sponsors.

Pilgrims also visited what is thought to be the nearby Tomb of King David on Mount Zion to commemorate the biblical monarch’s yahrzeit (the anniversary of his death), traditionally observed on Shavuot.