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| I took this photo of the Jaffa Gate during our honeymoon in June 2009. |
Every Jew connects with
Jerusalem in their own way with the roots of our faith as the common thread
among us. It is this deep passion and bond that makes this modern holiday
resonate so deeply within us. It is the Holy City and our capital after all.
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| One of the many narrow alleys in the Old City, July 2011. |
And even though I only spent
about half a second living in Jerusalem, that short time has magnified the
connection I have with the city. It is a bond stronger that steel that it is
hard to describe to those who have never walked those ancient streets, gotten lost
in the maze of alleyways in Old City, and placed their hand on the Kotel (Western Wall). It is this
passion that prevents me from accurately putting into words the importance of Yom
Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day). It is that
passion that forced me to let the holiday nearly pass before starting to write this post.
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| The Kotel, June 2009. |
Even now, it is difficult to
put this day into words. Taking the time to celebrate and free and unified
Jerusalem has never been more important than it is today as we are constantly
facing forces (mostly politicians) that seek to once again divide the capital. At
the very least, those people are a shekel short of sanity. To understand the
importance of liberation of Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967, you have
to look at the centuries old struggle that led to that day. For this
background, I have included the summary of the history found on Jewish Virtual Library website:
Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day
in Hebrew) is the anniversary of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem under Jewish
sovereignty that occurred during the Six Day War. It is one
of four holiday (in addition to Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom HaAtzmaut)
that were added to the Jewish calendar in the 20th century. Yom Yerushalayim is celebrated on the
28th of the month of Iyar (one
week before Shavuot).
The liberation
of Jerusalem in 1967
marked the first time in thousands of years that the entire city of Jerusalem,
the holiest city in Judaism, was under
Jewish sovereignty. The destruction of Jerusalem was a watershed event in
Jewish history that began thousands of years of mourning for Jerusalem, so, it
follows, that the reunification of Jerusalem should be a joyous celebration
that begins the process of reversing thousands of years of destruction and
exile. Jerusalem is central to the Jewish tradition. Jews face in the direction
of Jerusalem and all of the prayer services are filled with references to
Jerusalem.
The observance
of Yom Yerushalayim outside of
the city cannot compare to its celebration in reunited Jerusalem. In Jerusalem,
thousands of people march around the city and walk through the liberated Old City, where Jews
were denied access from 1948 to 1967 while it was under Jordanian control. The
march ends at the Kotel (Western Wall), one of
the ancient retaining walls surrounding the Temple Mount, Judaism's
holiest site. Once everyone gets to the Kotel, there are speeches and concerts
and celebratory dancing.
Rare in the
Jewish liturgy, a festive Hallel is recited
during the evening prayers. This practice is only done on the first night (and,
outside of Israel, on the second night) of Passover and Yom
HaAtzmaut. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared that the holiday version of
Pseuki d'Zimra and Hallel should be recited. According to the major religious
Zionist halakhists (decisors of Jewish law), even those
who do not recite the blessing over Hallel (psalms of praise) on Yom HaAtzmaut
should recite it on Yom Yerushalayim because the liberation and reunification
over the entire city of Jerusalem is said to be of an even greater miracle than
Jewish political sovereignty over part of the land of Israel.
Many religious
leaders also hold that the mourning restrictions of 33 days of the omer are lifted on Yom
Yerushalayim for those who observe them after Lag B'omer. In the
Progressive (Reform) community in
Israel, the prayerbook notes that Hallel should be recited on Yom Yerushalayim
but the Masorti (Conservative)
prayerbook does not. The American Conservative siddur Sim Shalom mentions that
Hallel is recited "in some congregations" on Yom Yerushalayim. When
it is celebrated in liberal Jewish communities the commemoration tends to
include special programs on Jerusalem and festive celebration.
Despite the fact
that the religious Zionist community in Israel holds that Yom Yerushalayim is
even more important than Yom HaAtzmaut, the non-Orthodox diaspora Jewish
community generally does not observe Yom Yerushalayim. This may be because the
holiday makes politically liberal Jews uncomfortable as the status of Jerusalem
in the international community is debated, and the international community does
not recognize the liberation and restoration of Jewish sovereignty over
Jerusalem as valid.
This
holiday, this monumental moment in Jewish history, will continue to inspire and
motivate Israel and the Jewish people in general to stand our ground. We cannot
be forced to make near sighted sacrifices which will make long term peace and
security an impossibility. Jerusalem needs to remain a free, unified, holy city
if peace is every going to have a chance in Israel and the entire Middle East
in general. And if you don’t believe me, get on a plane and see it, feel it,
breathe it for yourself.
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| View of the Temple Mount at night with Mount Scopus in the background. June 2009. |
