Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem is holding tonight a celebration marking the 59th Jerusalem Day under the title "A Festival of Jerusalem".
The event is held in cooperation with the Hesder Yeshivot Association, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Department for the Heritage of Israel, and is attended by senior rabbis, public figures and yeshiva students from across the country.
The evening opened with a festive ascent to the yeshiva roof for a view of Jerusalem with Rabbi Gadi Shalvi, a teacher at Yeshivat HaKotel. Later, the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Baruch Wieder, delivered a special lecture for the day, and psalms of thanksgiving and a festive prayer were held in the study hall led by yeshiva graduate Rabbi Aviel Elimelech and attended by hundreds of Hesder yeshiva students.
At the center of the event, study sessions are taking place throughout the night with several leading rabbis in Religious Zionism, including the Chief Rabbi of Israel.
In the late hours, classes will continue with Rabbi Elikim Levanon, Rabbi Tzvi Kostiner and Rabbi Raam HaCohen until the early morning hours. The event will conclude with a festive morning prayer in the Western Wall plaza with heads of yeshivot, rabbis, public figures and yeshiva students.
Rabbi Baruch Wieder said, "Jerusalem Day is a moment when we are invited to reflect on the depth of the meaning of our return to the heart of the nation, to the place where the people of Israel truly meet themselves. From the complex and painful reality we all live in, this gathering acquires an additional dimension of deep searching, internal clarification and strengthening our connection to Jerusalem."
Deputy head of the Hesder Yeshivot Association, Uri Pinski, said, "Jerusalem Day this year takes on a deeper meaning than ever. Precisely from the great strength of the people of Israel revealed also in the war, we assemble in Jerusalem to remind ourselves what we are fighting for - for the people, for the Torah, for the land and for the city that unites us all."
"Jerusalem Day and the festival day of Yeshivat HaKotel, established immediately after the Six-Day War, are celebrated on a special night of study, connection and spiritual uplift together with heads of yeshivot and Torah scholars", said Moti Gerbi, CEO of Yeshivat HaKotel institutions, adding, "From the joy of Jerusalem they will continue to build a connection between Torah and life and between the Jerusalem above and the Jerusalem below."