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{{Short description|Significance of the city of Jerusalem in Jewish religious belief}}
{{main|Religious significance of Jerusalem}}
{{see also|Timeline of Jerusalem}}
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{{Jews and Judaism sidebar |History}}
Since the 10th century BCE, Jerusalem has been the [[Four Holy Cities|holiest city]], focus and spiritual center of the [[Jews]].<ref name=1000BCE>
*"Israel was first forged into a unified nation from Jerusalem some three thousand years ago, when King David seized the crown and united the twelve tribes from this city... For a thousand years Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish sovereignty, the household site of kings, the location of its legislative councils and courts. In exile, the Jewish nation came to be identified with the city that had been the site of its ancient capital. Jews, wherever they were, prayed for its restoration". Roger Friedland, Richard D. Hecht. ''To Rule Jerusalem'', [[University of California Press]], 2000, p. 8. {{ISBN|0-520-22092-7}}
*"The Jewish bond to Jerusalem was never broken. For three millennia, Jerusalem has been the center of the Jewish faith, retaining its symbolic value throughout the generations". [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts%20About%20Israel/State/Jerusalem-%20the%20Holy%20City Jerusalem- the Holy City], Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, February 23, 2003. Accessed March 24, 2007.
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*"For Jews the city has been the pre-eminent focus of their spiritual, cultural, and national life throughout three millennia". Yossi Feintuch, ''U.S. Policy on Jerusalem'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1987, p. 1. {{ISBN|0-313-25700-0}}
*"Jerusalem became the center of the Jewish people some 3,000 years ago" Moshe Maʻoz, Sari Nusseibeh, ''Jerusalem: Points of Friction - And Beyond'', Brill Academic Publishers, 2000, p. 1. {{ISBN|90-411-8843-6}}
*"The Jewish people are inextricably bound to the city of Jerusalem. No other city has played such a dominant role in the history, politics, culture, religion, national life and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of Jewry and Judaism. Since King David established the city as the capital of the Jewish state circa 1000 BCE, it has served as the symbol and most profound expression of the Jewish people's identity as a nation". {{Citation|url=http://www.adl.org/israel/advocacy/glossary/jerusalem.asp|title=Basic Facts you should know: Jerusalem|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104013732/http://www.adl.org/israel/advocacy/glossary/Jerusalem.asp|archive-date=2013-01-04}}, [[Anti-Defamation League]], 2007. Accessed March 28, 2007.</ref> [[Jerusalem]] has long been embedded into Jewish religious consciousness and Jews have always studied and personalized the struggle by King [[David]] to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Holy Temple]] there, as described in the [[Book of Samuel]] and the [[Book of Psalms]]. Many of King David's yearnings about Jerusalem have been adapted into popular prayers and songs. Jews believe that in the future the [[Third Temple|rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem]] will become the center of worship and instruction for all mankind and consequently Jerusalem will become the spiritual center of the world.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Kaplan
|first=Aryeh
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|chapter =25: The Messianic Era
}}</ref>
==In the Hebrew Bible==
Although '''Jerusalem''' ({{
<blockquote>You shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place.<ref>Deuteronomy 12:5</ref></blockquote>
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|chapter =Beginnings
}}</ref>
In Judaism it is considered the [[Written Law]], the basis for the [[Oral Law]] ([[Mishnah]], [[Talmud]] and [[Shulkhan Arukh]]) studied, practiced and treasured by [[Jew]]s and [[Judaism]] for three millennia ([[list of Jewish prayers and blessings]]). The Talmud elaborates in great depth the Jewish connection with the city.
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==In Rabbinic literature==
The centrality of Jerusalem in Jewish thought is illustrated in [[rabbinic literature]], which describes the city as the "navel of the earth," symbolizing its status as the cosmic center:<ref>{{Citation |last=Sivan |first=Hagith |title=Jerusalem: The Contrasting Eyes of Beholders |date=2008-02-14 |work=Palestine in Late Antiquity |pages=192–193 |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/6825/chapter-abstract/151007928?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=2024-09-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199284177.003.0006 |isbn=978-0-19-928417-7}}</ref>
Jewish religious writings contain thousands of references to Jerusalem, some of which are included in the following:▼
{{Quote|text=As the navel is in the middle of a human being, the Land of Israel is the navel of the world, as it is written: "dwellers of the navel of the earth. Just as Eretz Israel is located in the centre of the world so is Jerusalem in the centre of Eretz Israel, the temple in the centre of Jerusalem, the [[holy of holies]] in the centre of the temple, [[Ark of the Covenant|the ark]] at the centre of the holy of holies, and right in front is the [[Foundation Stone|foundation stone]] of the whole of the universe.|title=Tanhuma to Leviticus, Qedoshim 10, ed. Buber, 78}}
▲Jewish religious writings contain thousands
<blockquote>
*If one is praying in the [[Land of Israel]], he should direct his heart towards Jerusalem; If he is standing in Jerusalem, he should face towards the [[Holy Temple]] — <small>[[Berakhot (Talmud)|Brachot]] 27a</small>
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==Creation of the State of Israel==
The [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] authorities created the new offices of "Chief Rabbi" in 1921 for both [[Ashkenazi Jews]] and [[Sephardic Jews]] with central offices in Jerusalem. Rabbi [[Abraham Isaac Kook]] (d. 1935) moved to Jerusalem to set up this office, associated with the "[[Religious Zionism|Religious Zionist]]" ''[[Mafdal]]'' group, becoming the first modern Chief Rabbi together with Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yaakov Meir. The official structure housing the Chief Rabbinate was completed in 1958 and is known as ''Heichal Shlomo''.
In contrast, the [[Haredi]] Jews of Jerusalem formed the anti-Zionist [[Edah HaChareidis]], an umbrella organization for all Haredi Jews, who were not Zionists and fiercely opposed the activities of the (Religious) Zionist movement. The first Chief Rabbi of the Edah HaChareidis was Rabbi [[Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld]]. Several groups formerly aligned with the Edah gradually broke away from it; these include the Hasidic movements [[Belz (Hasidic dynasty)|Belz]] and [[Skver (Hasidic dynasty)|Skver]]. The Hasidic group [[Ger (Hasidic dynasty)|Ger]] was never part of the Edah. Aside from the more famous Ashkenazi Edah, there is also a lesser known Sephardi Edah HaChareidit.
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==Jerusalem in modern Israel==
Jerusalem in the 21st century is perceived by [[Israeli Jews]] in different ways, depending on their religious beliefs. In the summer of 2009, riots by Haredi Jews broke out in Jerusalem over the opening of a parking lot near the Old City on Saturdays.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1110855.html |publisher=Haaretz |access-date=2009-10-12 |title=Five police officers hurt as Haredi riots renew in Jerusalem}}</ref> However, secular groups counter-protested,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/world/middleeast/03jerusalem.html |work=New York Times |access-date=2009-10-12 |title=Religious-Secular Divide, Tugging at Israel's Heart | first=Isabel | last=Kershner | date=September 3, 2009}}</ref> claiming that Jerusalem should be a city for all people, religious and non-religious. The call for an "open" Jerusalem has received support from Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman an Orthodox Rabbi and President of the [[Shalom Hartman Institute]], in Jerusalem. He wrote: "As a religious Jew who is also a Zionist I believe Jerusalem is not simply important as the city of God, but as the capital of the State of Israel, a state which, as distinct from you, I value as a part of my religious life. As a committed Zionist, I believe the citizens of our country need unifying symbols around which to construct our shared collective life. Jerusalem, one of the few remaining unifying concepts in our deeply divided Jewish world, may serve as precisely such as symbol. The meaning of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is that it is a city which belongs to all citizens of the State of Israel. While you and I may observe Shabbat in similar ways, my fellow citizens of Israel observe it very differently. While you want to preserve the city, I want to preserve our people".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hartman.org.il/Opinion_C_View_Eng.asp?Article_Id=365 |publisher=Shalom Hartman Institute |access-date=2009-10-12 |year=2009 |title=The ultra-Orthodox, gays and the future of Jerusalem |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012143126/http://www.hartman.org.il/Opinion_C_View_Eng.asp?Article_Id=365 |archive-date=2009-10-12 }}</ref>
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