A model of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. Photo: Ariely via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Temple-era holiday pilgrimage will make a comeback when some 8,000 people recreate the ancient tradition during 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” during Sukkot. After 13 years, the march was scaled back to three days, and in 1975 it turned into a symbolic walk around Jerusalem.

This year, the full-scale pilgrimage is back. An initiative of the Mitchabrim (“connecting”) organization and funded by six Israeli government ministries, the march will include every facet of Israeli society, including Israeli Arabs and Druze. Mitchabrim organizers Ram Shmueli and Avihu Soffer said, “The objective is to unify the people and Israeli society in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge.”