Jerusalem Day: A Legacy Worthy Day
Jerusalem Day is an Israeli national holiday. This year Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, falls on Friday May 19, 2023, and is celebrated annually on 28 Iyar on the Hebrew calendar.
Jerusalem became the capital city of the Jewish people in the time of King David who conquered it and made it the seat of his monarchy in approximately 1000 BCE (before common era)
To this day, Jews face in the direction of Jerusalem for prayer and Jewish services are filled with references to Jerusalem.
The emergence of the State of Israel in 1948, and the recapture and reunification of East Jerusalem with West Jerusalem following the Six-Day War of 1967, which saw Israel occupy East Jerusalem and the West Bank, effectively annexing the former. It has as for some Jews brought the heavenly and earthly Jerusalem together.
Jerusalem was conquered twice in antiquity. Destruction of Jerusalem was a watershed event in Jewish history that began thousands of years of mourning for Jerusalem. Including the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av and the official day of mourning every year on Tisha B’Av, the 9th Av, on the Hebrew Calendar.
During the ensuing two millennia of exile, Jerusalem remained the Jews’ spiritual capital. Jews pray for the in-gathering of the exiles and the return to Jerusalem where the Holy Temple will be rebuilt. This yearning to return is mentioned any time a Jew eats bread and recites Grace after Meals.
The 28th day of Iyar was, in antiquity, a day of pilgrimage as well as the yearly remembrance of the death of Prophet Samuel.
In Jewish tradition, the people of Amalek represents pure ego and evil. The major battle with Amalek took place on the evening before the Saturday Sabbath, Erev Shabbat, specifically on the 28th of Iyar according to the Hebrew Calendar. This date holds a deeper significance as it represents the archetypical struggle between holiness and depravity, which defines the essence of the 28th of Iyar. The victory of holiness over depravity was achieved through the answered prayers of Moses and the nation. The construction of the Beit Hamikdash (holy temple) on the holy mountain, which symbolizes the possibility of human connection with God and holiness, can be traced back to the prayers that Moses uttered.
The connection between Samuel (Shmuel) the Prophet and Jerusalem is both twofold and intertwined. Samuel anointed the first King Solomon (Saul), who was meant to defeat Amalek, and the course of subsequent history would have been different had Saul succeeded.
Samuel, who also anointed King David, played a role in the establishment of both Jerusalem as the holiness of the Temple and the seat of the Davidic dynasty. David took his place and sought to fulfill God's throne in both the physical and spiritual sense. King David and Shmuel the Prophet had a prophetic vision for the throne of God, searching for a place that would symbolize the complete destruction of evil—the place for the Temple—Jerusalem.
Together, David and Samuel surveyed the region in search of the proper place to build the Temple. King Solomon, the son of King David, was the ruler during the construction of the First Temple. also known as Solomon's Temple, constructed in the 10th century BCE and destroyed in 586 BCE.
The period between the destruction of the First Temple and the construction of the Second Temple is known as the Babylonian Exile, when Jerusalem was under Babylonian control.
The Second Temple was built on the same site after the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon. The construction of the Second Temple began around 516 BCE and was completed around 70 CE. Herod the Great, a Roman-appointed king of Judea, initiated an extensive renovation and expansion of the Second Temple, aka the Herodian Temple.
Jesus had interactions with the Herodian Temple and predicted the Temple's destruction. Jesus was a Rabbi who followed the Jewish faith. His teachings and ministry were deeply rooted in Jewish scripture, the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The temple events form a significant part of the New Testament of Jesus' ministry and teachings. The CE calendar system, used today, counts years forward from the estimated birth of Jesus Christ.
The Second Temple was eventually destroyed years after Jesus’s death, by the Romans in 70 CE during the Jewish revolt against Roman rule.
Throughout ancient and modern times, pilgrims have made their way to Jerusalem on the 28th day of Iyar. The date of Samuel's passing, the 28th of Iyar is commemorated each year, making it fitting to honor his memory by bringing family to the hilltop of the location of the Tomb of Samuel (Shmuel HaNavi) at the Israeli town of Nabi Samuel, on a mountaintop in the West Bank, near Jerusalem.
Jews are surrounded with touchstones and markers that remind them of their purpose and ultimate direction. The vision of Jerusalem as the heart and soul of the Jewish People, where they can profoundly connect to the Divine and recalibrate, is hardwired into the Jews’ collective guidance system.
Despite the passage of time, the Jewish people remain united, holding steadfast to their purpose and embracing their collective role as active participants in a narrative that surpasses generations. They recognize themselves as essential contributors to a larger story that weaves together the past, influences the present, and holds the promise of a future brimming with hope and meaning.
Jerusalem Day
Sources: Wikipedia, Aish.com, https://www.sefaria.org/Jeremiah.3.17