1.
This Jerusalem Day carries greater weight than those that preceded it. The war we find ourselves embroiled in erupted under the banner of Jerusalem. Our enemies dubbed the atrocities they committed "The Al-Aqsa Flood." Since our return to our capital and its unification, the primary aim of our nearby foes and detractors worldwide has centered on Jerusalem – challenging our sovereignty; denying our historic and spiritual ties; obstructing our development there; and inevitably – perpetuating their core tactic: The indiscriminate killing of Jews. They understand, almost instinctively, that Jerusalem epitomizes the national and spiritual essence of our existence. It is the catalyst for global uproar. The prophecy of Obadiah (1:11) has been fulfilled: "On Jerusalem, they cast lots."
2.
The Oct. 7 massacre occurred at a time of disunity in Israeli society. Recriminations were hurled, each side accusing the other of paving the path to a third temple's destruction. Yet in the aftermath of the national emergency response that transcended sectors, as the people rallied together through shared struggle and profound mutual accountability, a process of rehabilitation commenced – counterbalancing the self-destructive rupture.
Redressing last year's acrimony preceding Oct. 7 necessitates preferring Jerusalem as our chief joy and elevating it as a source of unifying jubilation. An acknowledgment that its liberation warrants designation as a national celebration, fittingly commemorated by all. This is the counterweight to the machinations of our adversaries. "Jerusalem, that art builded as a city that is compact together" (Psalms 122:3). Our sages expounded in the Talmud, "A city that turns all Israel friends." The Eternal City triumphs over dissension, revealing divergences as superficial, unable to rend the intrinsic bond forged at our ancestral origins.
3.
Jerusalem embodied the confluence of Temple, governance, spirit, and statecraft; Torah and peoplehood – the quintessential symbol of our multifaceted identity. After the destruction of the Temple, our sages recognized that to avert the fates of other exiled nations – assimilation and an exit from history's stage – we must perpetually remember where we came from and where we are heading.
When blessing bread, we Jews invoked more than sustenance, imploring God to rebuild Jerusalem. Thus affirming that just as individuals require nourishment, national endurance depends on Jerusalem – if not the reality, then the memory. On Tisha B'av, we mourned and fasted, reading the story about the destruction of Jerusalem by candlelight in scrolls. Thrice daily prayers beckoned its restoration and Divine presence's return. At every wedding, a glass was broken underfoot with the oath of Zion's inaugural exiles – to never forget Jerusalem, lest our right hands forget their skills and our tongues cling to our palates.
4.
Even when Jerusalem was but a longing, its memory sustained our peoplehood through wanderings from shore to shore, yearning to Zion. So self-evident was this truth that when Theodor Herzl branded his movement "Zionism," he harnessed over two millennia of devotional focus. Upon uttering "Zion" and "Jerusalem," a profound, pent-up yearning – dormant yet ever-potent – was unleashed, catalyzing history's next phase.
Let us reaffirm our foundational sources, irrespective of ideological leanings, elevating Jerusalem as a source of personal and national exultation. Long enough have we languished in lamentation; the moment calls for correction and compassion. "Sanctuary of the King, royal city, arise, go forth from the ruins; too long have you dwelt in the vale of tears; He will show you abounding mercy" (Rabbi Solomon Alkabetz).
