Festivals | Jerusalem
Day
Chapter One :
Jerusalem Today - Center of People and Country
Jerusalem Through the Windows of Time
by ABRAHAM STAHL
Jerusalem has been the center of Jewish existence ever since the
city was captured by King David some three thousand years ago.
Even when the vast majority of Jews lived in exile, yearning for
Jerusalem remained a central feature of Jewish life. Through the
entire history of Jerusalem, there was hardly a time when Jews
did not live there, though at times they numbered no more than
a handful.
Today, since the return of the Jewish people to its land, and
particularly since Jerusalem's reunification after the Six Day
War in 1967, the city has become a true center for Jewish institutions
and organizations. Educational institutions of every sort have
sprung up here, particularly institutions of Jewish and religious
education. Many Jews from the Diaspora visit Jerusalem as representatives
of various organizations; many spend a portion of their lives
here as students. In this introductory chapter, we present a portrait
of the Jerusalem of today.
A Reunion in Jerusalem
As children, Judy and Susan, two Jewish girls, lived in Johannesburg,
South Africa. They studied together there in a Jewish school where
they became close friends. When they reached bat mitzvah age,
their parents decided to leave South Africa. Judy's family settled
in Toronto, Canada, and Susan's family moved to Sydney, Australia.
At first, the girls corresponded, but as time passed, they lost
touch with each other.
A few years later, Judy came to Israel. It was not her first time,
but this time it was not just another visit. Now she was in Israel
to study for a year in Jerusalem, and her parents agreed that
if she wished she could continue her studies at the Hebrew University.
Judy came to Israel with a group of young people from North America.
Although Judy was very happy with the program, she felt quite
isolated, as she did not know anyone else in the group. Before
the beginning of the school year, the group went on several tours.
One hot day in the middle of the summer, when the group was enjoying
an ice cream in the park adjacent to the old Knesset building
in the center of, Jerusalem another group of English speaking
young people passed. Among the young women, Judy saw one whose
face looked familiar. She took a closer look: Susan! The two girls
shouted and hugged in their joy and excitement at meeting each
other and were delighted to discover that both had come to study
at the same institution, one which takes in Jewish young people
from all over the world. With no previous planning, the two friends
met and renewed their friendship in Jerusalem.
Ingathering of Exiles
Look, O children, from afar
City of Zion, your people lives
If to the ends of earth we wander
Our hearts yet long for you
Before your summit we came together
Brother reaching out for brother
(Shaul Tchernikovsky)
Going Up to Jerusalem - a Memoir
Rahel Yana'it Ben Tzvi immigrated to what was then Turkish Palestine
as a young pioneer in 1908. She became one of the leading activists
in the Zionist movement and the Haganah (the pre-state, Jewish
military organization) and married Yitzhak Ben Tzvi, later elected
second president of Israel. In her memoirs, she describes her
first trip to Jerusalem a short while after arriving in the country:
Light-drenched memories of my first days in Jerusalem
fill my heart. I board the train to Jerusalem, and from the first
moment, I am enveloped in an indescribable feeling of exaltation.
In the same train car with me sits an Orthodox Jew of the old
settlement of Jerusalem in his traditional dress, and next to
him an Arab, resplendent in black with a red tarbush on his head,
his entire bearing signifying his importance. . . . Suddenly a
Jew sitting behind me addresses me: "Why are you so happy?" he
asks, "The Effendi asks why you are so happy." He explains the
reason for my happiness to the Effendi, that I am going up to
Jerusalem, and everyone knows that a Jew's heart is happy when
he goes up to Jerusalem.
(Rahel Yana'it Ben Tzvi, Anu Olim)
"We must make Jerusalem the center of the entire Jewish
people. . . . Jerusalem has always been and must remain the heart
of the Jewish people."
David Ben Gurion
In Memory of Jerusalem
From the time the Jews went into exile, they developed various ways
of remembering Jerusalem. In the Shulhan Arukh, the standard code
of Jewish law, we find:
From the time the Temple was destroyed, the Sages legislated
that we never erect a building decorated with pictures but rather
finish all buildings with simple plaster and paint and leave a
square cubit opposite the entrance unpainted (in memory of the
destruction of the Temple). When a man marries a woman, he takes
a bit of ash and smears it on his forehead. . ., and in some communities
he breaks a glass under the bridal canopy. . . . All these measures
are taken to remember Jerusalem, as is written, "If I forget thee,
O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning" (Psalms 137:5).
. . .
(Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 560:1-2)
"Every Jew carries his own Jerusalem within his heart."
(Levi Eshkol)
View from a Sidewalk Cafe in the Heart of Jerusalem
You can learn much about Jerusalem from a visit to her sites and
institutions, her archaeological monuments and museums. But you
can learn every bit as much about the city - and with a lot less
effort - just by stopping for coffee and cake in one of the many
sidewalk cafes on Ben Yehuda Street.
Ben Yehudah Street runs right through the center of downtown Jerusalem.
A few years ago it was closed to traffic and repaved in stone.
In English, Ben Yehuda Street is now called the Downtown Mall.
In Hebrew, they call it the Midrahov.
We sat there recently, my wife and I, and watched the crowds of
people passing by without break: native Jerusalemites and their
guests, Jews and non-Jews, the average and the curious you find
all of them on the Midrahov. Here is a group of black- skinned
men and women: tourists from some African nation? From the United
States? Or perhaps new immigrants from Ethiopia? While we try
to discover the answer, two Hasidim pass by in their long black
robes. They pass quickly looking neither right nor left, immersed
in their own world. Opposite us stands an older man, singing and
accompanying himself on the violin. Next to him is a hand-written
sign, "This is my work." He is a new immigrant, who, failing to
find employment in his field, decided to support himself by playing
music here on the Midrahov. Since he's been doing it for several
years now, he seems to be making a living. Now a group of people
has collected around him, all of them wearing identical shirts
bearing some message. My wife strains to read: "Jewish Volunteers
from Canada." Two policewomen join the circle. Next to them passes
an Arab and with him two women decked out from head to toe in
black garments and white head coverings. Two nuns approach, they,
too, are completely covered in black but with large crosses dangling
from their necks. Behind them stands a family with children of
different ages, hungrily eyeing the pizza and falafel stands.
A noisy group of high school girls crowds into a jewelry store.
They pay no attention to the strange skinny man in rumpled clothing
who passes by carrying a sign, proclaiming, "The Torah
Says: Jerusalem Belongs to the Jewish People Only."
On the Midrahov you can hear all languages and taste cuisine of
every origin. On the Midrahov, you can meet anyone, even someone
from Afula or Brazil. From the sidewalk cafes, you can see and
feel the Jerusalem of three religions, the international Jerusalem,
and more than anything else, Jewish Jerusalem in all its variety.
Jerusalem - Focus of Negotiations for Peace
Today, as so many times in the past, Jerusalem is at the center
of a great controversy. Since the signing of the Declaration of
Principles on 12 September 1993 ("the Oslo agreement"), Jerusalem
finds herself the focus of discussion between Israel and the Palestinians
concerning the permanent settlement between the two peoples.
Israel sees the united Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the
Jewish people and is not prepared to see the city divided again.
The Palestinians, on the other hand, view the eastern portion
of Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state they wish
to establish.
Is Jerusalem destined to become a symbol of peace between Jews
and Arabs or remain a bone of bitter contention?
There Is No Place Like Jerusalem
There is no place like Jerusalem
City of seers and God;
One are you, Jerusalem
Heart of the holy land.
There is no place like Jerusalem
Glory of many peoples
One are you, Jerusalem
Our soul goes out to you.
There is no place like Jerusalem
City holy to all
One are you, Jerusalem
Ours forever more.
(Avraham Broides)
The Jerusalem Shuttle
Joseph Pinto owns a travel agency in a large city in South America.
His city is the home of a small, but enthusiastic, Jewish community.
In spite of its small Jewish population, there is plenty of activity,
and at the center of it all you'll find Joseph Pinto and his wife
Alice. We bumped into Joseph on the Midrahov in Jerusalem. "Nu,
Joseph, in Jerusalem again?"
"Yes, recently, it seems that all I do is travel back and forth.
They ought to make me an honorary board member of the airline.
Three months ago, I was here for a conference of heads of Latin
American Jewish communities. A month and a half ago, there was
a conference to encourage Jewish tourism. In another two months,
the Jewish Agency will be holding a discussion on the problems
of educating Jewish youth."
"And now?"
"This time I'm accompanying my wife. She's president of the Hadassah
chapter in our city, and she has an important international conference
here."
"Where are you staying?"
"Well, you know, we don't stay in hotels anymore. I got sick of
being in a different place every time I came. My son got married
and made aliyah; he's living in Jerusalem. I'm here almost as
much as I'm at home. So we bought a little apartment, where we
stay every time we come now. Believe me, it's not often empty!"
Jerusalem the Crowded
Those who live in Jerusalem, and even those who are only visiting,
often encounter all sorts events connected to the city's being
the capital of Israel. A wide variety of governmental and Jewish
programs are conducted in Jerusalem. On the one hand, all this
activity makes the city an interesting place to be. On the other
hand, it can be quite a nuisance.
Whoever planned the city center a hundred or so years ago - and
it appears that no one planned it! - certainly did not consider
the city might need a boulevard for parades, as in ancient Babylon
and in modern day Paris. Narrow, twisting Jaffa Road, Jerusalem's
Main Street, is far from being suited to the throngs of marchers
who frequent it, particularly during the holidays, but on regular
week days as well. Who comes to march in Jerusalem? Athletic organizations,
youth movements, army units, friends of Israel from foreign countries,
demonstrators for and against the government, etc., etc., etc.
The list of who doesn't come would probably be shorter. When there's
no parade, there must certainly be some president, king, or prime
minister coming to visit another reason for Jerusalem's finest
to dutifully close all the main arteries. And when Jaffa Road
is closed, all Jerusalem is paralyzed. Cars stop moving and the
city turns into a giant traffic jam. The poor policemen have to
work for hours after to get the city unsnarled. May God have mercy
on anyone with the bad luck of having to get to work or get home
when the President of Upper Volta comes to visit or when the Mothers
Against Artificial Food Coloring have their demonstration.
If you're lucky, you won't be stuck more than two or three hours.
At the entrance to Jerusalem, you can always find signs welcoming
various Jewish and non-Jewish organizations holding their conventions
here:
Jerusalem Welcomes WIZO Women
Jerusalem Welcomes HaPo'el
Jerusalem Welcomes B'nei Akiva
The Zionist Congress
The World Conference of Rabbis
The World union of Jewish Students
Etc. etc. etc.
I've always wondered whether the municipal government has a storeroom
somewhere, where they keep all these signs, or maybe, the city
has a whole mini-staff of busy workers who do nothing but paint
them.
A Torah Center in Modern Times
Years ago, when a difficult problem of Jewish law arose in one
of the Jewish communities of the Diaspora, the local rabbi would
describe the problem in a letter, and when a group of merchants
would leave for a city with an important yeshiva, the rabbi would
send his query and wait for a response from the yeshiva's scholars.
Sometimes, he might wait a full year for an answer until the merchants
returned.
Today, the international center of Torah scholarship is Jerusalem
with her many yeshivot and religious institutions. When a rabbi
somewhere in South America or the Far East has a problem, he mails
his letter by fax. Today, you can even fax a note to be inserted
in the Western Wall. Those ancient stones which have seen so much,
are witness in our time to the wonders of modern technology.
Events in the Life of Jerusalem
Anyone who explores Jerusalem will be surrounded by structures
and ruins that testify to the city's rich history: days of glory
and ruin, periods when Jerusalem served as the center of a Jewish
kingdom, and periods when hardly any Jews lived here.
Alongside the Knesset and the Israel Museum, the new neighborhoods
that surround the city - all modern structures of our own period
- you can find synagogues built hundreds of years ago; churches
of every Christian denomonation and numerous mosques; monuments
commemorating battles and losses from the time of Israel's War
of Independence and the Six Day War; and foundations of buildings
and streets from Roman times. Jerusalem also contains mysterious
tombs of people from biblical times - Absalom son of David and
the prophetess Hulda - as well as tombs of important people from
every generation, including renowned sages from the furthest reaches
of the Diaspora - from Italy, Eastern Europe, Morocco, and Yemen.
Important figures from recent generations, such as Eliezer Ben
Yehudah and Theodore Herzl, are also buried here.
The names of Jerusalem's streets tell the history of the Jewish
people in all periods and places, from the prophet Isaiah and
the medieval Bible commentator Nahmanides to the murdered Herzl
Baazov, a Zionist leader from the Soviet Republic of Georgia.
Meeting place for Jews the world over, object of Jewish longing
throughout the generations, cosmopolitan tourist attraction and
center of three religions, host to conventions, congresses, parades,
and demonstrations; busy, overcrowded capital of a modern nation-
state; center of Jewish piety and scholarship; and burial ground
for the central figures of Jewish history - Jerusalem is greater
than the sum of its parts.
We hope that these pages will spark your interest in visiting
Jerusalem and getting to know the eternal capital of the Jewish
people on intimate terms.
Introduction to this unit
Proposed activities on this chapter