Torah and Jerusalem – the soul of the Jewish people

Unity at Har Sinai

(ב) וַיִּסְע֣וּ מֵרְפִידִ֗ים וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ מִדְבַּ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר וַיִּֽחַן־שָׁ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נֶ֥גֶד הָהָֽר׃

Exodus 19:2

(2) Having journeyed from Rephidim, they entered the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the wilderness. Israel encamped there in front of the mountain,

רש"י על שמות י״ט:ב׳

(ב) ויחן שם ישראל. כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד, אֲבָל שְׁאָר כָּל הַחֲנִיּוֹת בְּתַרְעוֹמוֹת וּבְמַחֲלֹקֶת:

Rashi on Exodus 19:2

(2) ויחן שם ישראל AND THERE ISRAEL ENCAMPED as one man and with one mind — but all their other encampments were made in a murmuring spirit and in a spirit of dissension (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:2:10).

Unity in Jerusalem

In 1967, less than a week after Israel liberated Jerusalem, unified the city and opened the doors to its holy sites, the Jewish people expressed its longing to bring back the fundamental principle of the three holidays of pilgrimage – none other than the pilgrimage itself.
“Huge waves of people, more than 200,000, ascended to the last remnant of the Western Wall yesterday on the holiday of Shavuot,” wrote Yosef Harif in the June 15, 1967 issue of Maariv.

Benjamin Glatt, "Up against the wall: Revisiting the 1967 liberation of Jerusalem", Jerusalem Post, May 2017, at https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/up-against-the-wall-revisiting-the-1967-liberation-of-jerusalem-494325

The famous words declared by Mordechai Gur, the commander of the paratroop division that entered the Old City, of “הר הבית בידינו” - “the Temple Mount is in our hands” implies that Har Habayit is now in the hands of all Jews. Even people who were not Torah observant could see Hashem’s hand in the Six Day War.

The importance of maintaining and promoting the unity of the Jewish people within Jerusalem is highlighted in BT Chagigah 22a.

חגיגה כ״ב א:ט״ו

ומאן תנא דחייש לאיבה רבי יוסי היא דתניא א"ר יוסי מפני מה הכל נאמנין על טהרת יין ושמן כל ימות השנה כדי שלא יהא כל אחד ואחד הולך ובונה במה לעצמו ושורף פרה אדומה לעצמו

Chagigah 22a:15

The Gemara notes that this sensitivity of not causing offense to the am ha’aretz is expressed elsewhere as well: And who is the tanna that is concerned for such antagonism of amei ha’aretz? It is Rabbi Yosei, as it is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yosei said: For what reason are all people, i.e., even amei ha’aretz, trusted with regard to the purity of their wine and oil that they bring to the Temple for sacrificial purposes throughout the year? Why is the status of these items not investigated to determine that they were prepared with the necessary regard for ritual purity? In order to avoid schisms among the people, so that each and every individual should not go off and build a private altar for himself and burn a red heifer for himself. Were the Sages to reject sacrificial wine and oil from amei ha’aretz, they would become alienated and go off and create schisms, going so far as to build their own separate temples and bring their own private offerings.

Connection between Torah and Avodah

Both Torah, given at Har Sinai, and Jerusalem are key unifying factors for the Jewish people. But the connection between Torah and Jerusalem goes much deeper.
Shavuot is the day of receiving the Torah, while Yom Yerushalayim is related to the Avodah because this is when Har Habayit was returned to us, and Har Habayit is where the Avodah was performed. One source that links Torah and Avodah is in BT Berachot 48b:

ברכות מ״ח ב:י״ג

תַּנְיָא רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר: כׇּל שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר ״אֶרֶץ חֶמְדָּה טוֹבָה וּרְחָבָה״ בְּבִרְכַּת הָאָרֶץ, וּמַלְכוּת בֵּית דָּוִד בְּ״בוֹנֵה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם״ — לֹא יָצָא יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ.

Berakhot 48b:13

With regard to the formula of Grace after Meals, the Gemara continues: It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: Anyone who did not say: A desirable, good, and spacious land in the blessing of the land, and who did not mention the royal house of David in the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, did not fulfill his obligation.

The blessing of the land cannot be detached from the Torah covenant: the foundation of our living in the land lies in the recognition that we have Israel by virtue of the Torah.
Similarly, the blessing of Yerushalayim cannot be severed from the blessing of the kingdom of David, which serves as an expression of Hashem’s kingdom in this world

Pesach and Yom HaAtzmaut = physical freedom

Pesach: from Egypt
Yom HaAtzmaut: from Europe

Shavuot and Yom Yerushalaim = spiritual freedom

Shavuot: freedom to observe Torah
Yom Yerushalaim: freedom to fully express our service of Hashem (Avodah)

Rav David Milston, Midreshet haRova