According to reports detailed by JNS, hundreds of thousands of sephardim have been flock to the plaza throughout the season, leading to overflow crowds reaching into the Old City streets.
The Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem attracts massive nighttime crowds during the weeks leading up to the High Holidays to recite and sing Selichot.
Selichot consists of ancient prayers and liturgical poems asking for forgiveness, mercy, and renewal ahead of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah has passed for this year, and Yom Kippur is coming up very soon.
Jerusalem is widely regarded by Jewish people worldwide as their spiritual, historical, and eternal heart, a focal point of prayer and longing throughout two millennia of exile.
Worshippers share a deeply ingrained knowledge of the ancient texts and traditional melodies (such as the 13 Attributes of Mercy) that have been passed down for generations, allowing individuals to anticipate the rhythm and pitch.
Selichot prayers heavily utilize a repetitive, responsive structure where the leader chants a line and the crowd responds collectively, naturally locking thousands of voices into a unified tempo.
Powerful public address systems broadcast a lead cantor or rabbi's voice across the entire Western Wall Plaza, giving the massive gathering a single, synchronized audio point to follow.
The stone enclosure of the Old City plaza combined with the powerful, meditative atmosphere creates a strong psychological and acoustic environment where people tend to align their volume and pacing with those immediately surrounding them.
While individual prayers happen throughout the day and late evening, peak communal gatherings with cantors often start around midnight or late night when the Old City is quiet.
Sephardic communities follow this full 40-day timeline to match Moses' period of intense supplication. Ashkenazic communities start later, usually just a few days or one Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah, totaling fewer days of recitation.
