Jerusalem: Origins and Destinies

(18) And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High.

(1) “Avraham named that site: “The Lord will see.” The place is known in our days as the mountain of Moriah. It is called thus as it became a mountain due to the extreme degree of awe of the Lord Avraham had demonstrated there. It had actually first been a valley. Suddenly it was transformed into a tall mountain. Since it had previously been called “shalem” as we know from when its king congratulated Avraham on his victory over Kedorleomer and the kings with him (Genesis 14,18) Avraham now added another word to its name, i.e. יראה, “awe of the Lord,” so that after David conquered it from the Jebusites it is called “Y’ru-shalem.”

(1) And Malchitzedek king of Shalem – This is Jerusalem as it says, “His Tabernacle was in Shalem…” (Tehillim 76:3) And in the days of Yehoshua her king was also called “Adonitzedek” (Yehoshua 10:1) because from long ago the nations knew that site was the choicest of all places, located at the center of the settled world. Or they knew its value through received tradition, that it was aligned counter to the heavenly Temple where the Holy One’s Presence dwells, which is called “tzedek” (righteousness). In the midrash Bereshit Rabbah (43:6) it says this place makes its inhabitants righteous (matzdik) – Malchitzedek, Adonitzedek (Yehoshua 10:1). Jerusalem is called righteousness as it says, “…in which righteousness would lodge…” (Isaiah 1:21)

(1) By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept, as we thought of Zion. (2) There on the poplars we hung up our lyres, (3) for our captors asked us there for songs, our tormentors, for amusement, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” (4) How can we sing a song of the LORD on alien soil? (5) If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither; (6) let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you, if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory even at my happiest hour. (7) Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall; how they cried, “Strip her, strip her to her very foundations!” (8) Fair Babylon, you predator, a blessing on him who repays you in kind what you have inflicted on us; (9) a blessing on him who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!

And Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: What is the meaning of that which is written: “It is sacred in your midst, and I will not enter the city” (Hosea 11:9)? This verse is puzzling: Because it is sacred in your midst, will God not enter the city? Rabbi Yitzḥak said to Rav Naḥman that Rabbi Yoḥanan said the verse should be understood as follows: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: I shall not enter Jerusalem above, in heaven, until I enter Jerusalem on earth down below at the time of the redemption, when it will be sacred in your midst. The Gemara asks: And is there such a place as Jerusalem above? The Gemara answers: Yes, as it is written: “Jerusalem built up, a city unified together” (Psalms 122:3). The term unified indicates that there are two cities of Jerusalem, a heavenly one and an earthly one, which are bound together.

Even though the Temple is now in ruin because of our sins a person must hold its [site] in awe, as one would regard it when it was standing.… as [implied by Leviticus 19:30]: “You shall observe My Sabbaths and you shall revere My Sanctuary.” Just as the observance of the Sabbath [applies] for eternity, so too, the reverence for the Temple must be eternal. Even though it is in ruin, it remains holy.

“May my tongue cling to my palate, if I do not remember you, if I do not bring up Jerusalem at the beginning of my joy.” (Psalms 137:6) In the future the Holy One will return to Jerusalem all of her joy, as it says “And the redeemed of Zion shall return, and they shall come to Zion with song, with joy of days of yore shall be upon their heads…” (Isaiah 35:10) And anyone who mourns for Jerusalem in this world will rejoice with her in the time to come, as it says “Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her all those who love her: rejoice with her a rejoicing, all who mourn over her.” (Isaiah 66:10) They said in the name of Abaye: joy only comes on the ninth of Av, because they mandated mourning then in this time and in the future the Holy One will make it into a holiday, as it says “…and I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow.” (Jeremiah 31:12) ...