After a year and a half: Rabbi Kanievsky at the Western Wall
After a year and a half: Rabbi Kanievsky at the Western WallEzra Trabelsi

After a year of lockdowns, the Western Wall has reopened to large numbers of worshipers - and leading rabbis have come as well.

For the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky (93), a leader of Lithuanian-haredi Jewry, visited the Kotel (Western Wall) together with those close to him, Kol Barama's Yisrael Cohen reported.

Rabbi Kanievsky is not the first haredi leader to visit the Western Wall since the number of coronavirus infections has dropped: The Gerrer Rebbe, who did not leave his home for nearly the entire pandemic, visited the Western Wall a few weeks ago, accompanied by a handful of his followers.

His arrival at the Wall aroused great interest among his followers, since he had not visited the Western Wall for a year and a half prior.

Though he was fully vaccinated against coronavirus, the Gerrer Rebbe wore a mask during his visit and prayed at the site only for a few minutes.

הרב קנייבסקי מגיע לכותל המערבי
הרב קנייבסקי מגיע לכותל המערביצילום: עזרא טרבלסי