The question of Jerusalem in Jewish consciousness

Jerusalem has occupied, since antiquity, a central and unique place in Jewish religious consciousness. The city of the Temple and capital of the kingdom of David and Solomon according to biblical tradition, it remained, after the destruction of the Temple, the focal point of hope and prayer. Its memory is inscribed in the daily liturgy, in blessings, in mourning rites, and in the conclusion of the Seder of Pesach ("Next year in Jerusalem"). The verse "If I forget thee, Jerusalem…" from Psalm 137 expresses this unshakeable attachment. A locus of messianic aspiration and collective Memory, Jerusalem has also become, in the modern era, a political stake and a major point of tension. It remains a crossroads where the sacred, History, and conflict converge.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan
• Sefaria ↗