Thousands of worshipers have gathered at the Western Wall plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem on Thursday to celebrate the traditional priestly blessing performed during the Passover festival.

During the ceremony, hundreds of kohanim — descendants of the caste of priests in charge of ritual in the temple destroyed by Rome 2,000 years ago, have blessed the crowds packed into the esplanade beside the Temple Mount.

The ceremony is performed every day in synagogues across Israel. But the blessing at the Western Wall attracts enormous crowds of people during the Passover and Sukkot holidays, hearkening back to the Jewish pilgrimages that would take place during those festivals in temple times.