I7: Jerusalem

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The City of Peace

Jerusalem is also known in Talmudic literature as Ir Shalom - the City of Peace. Many stories connected with the idea of peace have been woven around Jerusalem...

Long ago Jerusalem was just a field tended by an old man and his two sons. When the old man died, they divided his property equally. One brother had a large family which helped tend his field and so he grew rich. The other son had not yet married and tilled his land alone; he remained poor. One day, the wealthy brother looked across the fence to see his brother working. He pitied him and thought to himself: "How can I help my brother? He works hard but sees little profit. I would gladly share my grain with him, but he would never accept my charity. At night I will bring him some of my produce and he will never know that it came from me."

That same day the poorer brother looked into his brother's house and saw him feeding his children. "My brother has such a large family," he thought. "He surely cannot feed them all from his field. I would gladly share my grain with him, but he would never accept my charity. At night I will bring him some of my produce and he will never know that it came from me."

That night each brother brought several bags of grain to the other, but both woke in the morning to find that they had no less grain than the day before. For several nights they each brought grain to the other's barn, but every morning they were both left with the same amount. Until finally, one night, they met in the middle of field with their sacks of grain on their backs. When they realised what had been happening, they embraced each other and promised to share all that they had.

And God, who was a witness to the brothers' deep love for each other, swore that on that site he would make His home... and call it Jerusalem.

The Living City

Modern day Jerusalem is a strange place, full of contradictions. Tourists stop in awe as they first glimpse the Old City walls while Israelis casually walk past on their way to work. Excavators uncover ancient relics while across the road children play in the park. A Chasid walks down the street reading the Talmud and passes a businessman conducting a meeting on his portable phone. The Western or 'Wailing' Wall which is also known to us simply at the Kotel, the Wall, has many visitors. Some are begging, some praying, some are taking holiday snaps, some are searching for their roots, some are looking at their tourist maps and some are phoning home to tell their families how their lives have changed. Old and new, fresh and faded, modern and ancient - Jerusalem is all of these. It is a modern city steeped in the past. Every stone tells a story, every tree has a past.

What makes Jerusalem so special is that life goes on. More and more Jews keep coming. Some stay, some move on, but all are moved. Everyone who has been there has a story to tell, a personal memory that links them with this eternal city. In this way, it belongs to every Jew. A living city - bound up with the life of every Jew.

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