An estimated 30,000 Jews gathered before sunrise on Wednesday in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem to bless the sun in a prayer that is said only once every 28 years. Dressed in white prayer shawls, men and women, adults and children filled the plaza in front of the Wailing Wall, Judaism's holiest site, and crowded on the rooftops around the area to catch the glimpse of the sun rising over the Holy City.
As the faithful swayed back and forth in prayer, the area filled with the din of the Birkat Hakhama prayer, which is said as the sun comes up to mark which, according to Jewish tradition, is its position at the moment when the universe was created 5,769 years ago. The prayer has special significance this year because it coincides with the start of the Passover holiday later on Wednesday.
