More than 20, 000 Jews, mostly Sephardim, made the pilgrimage yesterday to the reputed site of Elijah’s cave on Mount Carmel in the traditional search for consolation for the destruction of the Temple. The Fast of the Ninth of Ab, anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, was observed last week.
Rabbis and cantors conducted prayers at the mouth of the cave which the huge assemblage followed over loudspeakers. Towards dusk, the aged Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Toledano, the Minister of Religion, preached to the crowd of pilgrims and abjured them to shun falsehood and slander. Earlier in the day, Torahs were ceremonially presented to representatives of newly established synagogues in Israel’s new settlements.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
