The Temple-era holiday pilgrimage is making a comeback: Some 8,000 people will recreate the ancient tradition when they embark on a two-day march to Jerusalem over the Sukkot holiday next week. The Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces tried to revive the pilgrimage tradition back in the 1950s, establishing the "four-day march" over the Sukkot holiday. The first march took place in 1955. After 13 years, the march was scaled back to three days, and eventually, in 1975, it turned into a symbolic walk around Jerusalem. This year, the tradition will be revived anew and a full-scale pilgrimage will be attended by thousands. Rachel and Avi Frenkel, the parents of Naftali Frenkel, who was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists in June, are planning to take part in the pilgrimage. Marching alongside government ministers, MKs and other public figures, Shlomo Betat from Gan Yavne will be retracing his steps 51 years after taking part in the pilgrimage as an IDF soldier. This year, Betat will be bringing his grandchildren along. "I took part in the 'four-day march' in 1963 as a soldier in the Artillery Corps," Betat recalls. "My children and my grandchildren are very excited. They went and found the medal I received when I completed the march 50 years ago." Every facet of Israeli society will be represented in the march this year, including Israeli Arabs and Druze. According to Mitchabrim organizers Ram Shmueli and Avihu Soffer, "The objective is to unify the people and Israeli society in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge. There is grave concern over divisiveness, ignorance and a disconnection between the different parts of Israeli society. The people taking part in the march prefer the things that bring the different parts of society together over the things that divide." The march, an initiative of the Mitchabrim (connecting) organization, is being funded by six government ministries.
