I7: Jerusalem

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Introduction

If you want to see Jerusalem the way most Jews have seen her throughout history, the best thing to do is to close your eyes. More Jews have seen an internal, imagined city that lives in their hearts and minds than have had the fortune to actually make it there. Only by looking at the reality and image of Jerusalem will we be able to understand her centrality to Jews the world over.

Between Heaven and Earth

The story of Jerusalem actually begins with Creation. Tradition has it that Heaven and Earth were created from the point that was to become Jerusalem. Nearly 4000 years ago, Abraham showed his willingness to give his son to God with the 'binding of Isaac' at Mt. Moriah which is in Jerusalem. King David captured Jerusalem about 3000 years ago and his son, Solomon, built the first Temple there when he became king.

Thus this city is the point of connection between God and Man. How are people to relate to God if He exists neither in space or time? It is Jerusalem, in thought and in actuality, that provides the link between Godliness and humanity. This is why when Jews pray, no matter where they are in the world, they always face Jerusalem. It is the gateway through which we reach the divine.

Yom Yerushalayim

Jerusalem Day is a very special festival. It was introduced after the Six Day War in 1967 to recall the reunification of the city. It has the potential to become a very spiritual holiday. Thousands come to pray at the Kotel. Others go on walks around the city learning about its history. People dance and sing in the streets. Many Jews all over the world celebrate this day in memory of a modern miracle and historic moment.

It is no coincidence that Yom Yerushalayim falls one week before Shavuot. On Shavuot the Jews received the Torah at Mt. Sinai and over three thousand years later, when Jerusalem was won in 1967, Jews all over the world reconsidered their Jewishness. Though the two festivals are many years apart in history, they share the same time location in the spiral of the Jewish calendar. Both dates remind us of what it means to be Jewish and have a connection and commitment to God.

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