The pilgrimage was made when the Temple was standing. Jews would go there three times a year as commanded, to celebrate the Festivals (Deuteronomy ch.16).

The mitzva (Torah-precept) of pilgrimage existed during Temple times (that is, until about 1950 years ago).

The Torah tells us (Deuteronomy ch.16 and elsewhere) to visit the Holy Temple three times a year, at the time of the three yearly festivals (which are enumerated there).

-- welcoming the Sabbath

-- three pilgrimage festivals

-- community care of widows, orphans, travelers, Levites

-- circumcision

-- temple sacrifice as source of meat

Pesach is the Hebrew name for the pilgrimage festival of Passover, one of the three great pilgrimage festivals of Judaism. The others are Shavuot (Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks) and Succot (the Feast of Booths). Before the year 70, when the Temple still stood in Jerusalem, all Jews were supposed to make a pilgrimage to the Temple for each of these festivals. Since the destruction of the Temple, these have become synagogue and (particularly Passover and Succot) home-centered festivals. Pesach, in particular, is a festival celebrating the spring barley harvest and also a time to re-enact the exodus from Egypt so that every Jew may live as if he or she had personally been redeemed from Egyptian bondage.

Mecca is the central place of worship for people of the Islamic faith. This is done yearly, and ends in a festival called 'Id al-Adha. There are many prayers during the pilgrimage.