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Through many Eyes
Every day, observant Jews face Jerusalem three times and pray for her rebuilding. The Jewish
prayerbook is full of references to Zion, to Jerusalem, and the holy city. Jewish poetry and liturgy writes of
her with the most fervent longing and romantic imagery.
In this section, we explore Jerusalem through the eyes of Jewish sources throughout the ages.
Jerusalem in the Bible
Genesis 22, 1-2
Some time afterward,
God put Abraham to the test.
He said to him: "Abraham,"
And he answered: "Here I am."
And He said: Take your son
... And go to the land of Moriah
And offer him there
as a burnt offering ...
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Binding of Isaac on Mt. Moriah:
Traditionally associated with Temple Mount |
David - Poet and King:
Architect of the Temple |
Samuel II, 24:15-16, 18
The Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel
... But when the angel extended his hand
Against Jerusalem to destroy it,
The Lord renounced further punishment...
[The prophet] Gad came to David
The same day and said to him:
"Go and set up an altar to the Lord
On the threshing floor of
Araunah the Jebusite...
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Isaiah 62:1
For the sake of Zion
I will not keep silent
And for the sake of Jerusalem
I will not rest
Until its righteousness flares
Like a comet
And its deliverance
Like a flaming torch.
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Jeremiah 33:10-11
A song shall be heard
In the cities of Judah
And in the streets of Jerusalem:
The voice of joy
And the voice of gladness,
The voice of the bridegroom
And the voice of the bride.
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Zechariah 8:3-5
Thus says the Lord:
I will return to Zion
And will dwell in the midst
of Jerusalem.
There shall yet old men
and old women
Sit in the broad places
of Jerusalem.
And the broad places of the city
Shall be full of boys
and girls playing.
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