We celebrate Yom Yerushalayim this year during a tumultuous time, marked by a heightened sense of vulnerability and fragility. Alongside our ongoing fight for survival and safety on seven fronts, Israeli society is contentious and unstable.
Many are frustrated with our government, which they view as incapable at best and corrupt at worst, while others are frustrated with the judicial system, which they see as politicized and hypocritical.
As both the government and the high court sit in Yerushalayim, the city has become the focus of ongoing protests and conflict. Many now associate the city with chaos rather than sanctity.
How should we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim this year?
Gratitude and Prayer
Chazal (Ber. 54a) teach us that moments of thanksgiving should include expressions of both gratitude and prayer. Ben Azai applies this to Tefillat HaDerech (the travel prayer) and directs one who completes a dangerous journey to give thanks for the past and pray for continued assistance in the future.
Birkat HaMazon is another prayer of thanks that follows this pattern. After its first two brachot, which recognize and thank Hashem for providing for us and the world, Birkat HaMazon’s third blessing requests the rebuilding of Yerushalayim.
These prayers are models for our Yom Ha’Atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim celebrations. On both of these days, we should express gratitude for Hashem’s blessings and pray for His future support.
Our Thanks
Sefer Tehillim (147:2) refers to Hashem as the “Boneh Yerushalayim” – the One Who is constantly rebuilding the city. Over the past century, and particularly since the first Yom Yerushalayim, He has accelerated the process. During this period, the Jewish population of the city has increased tenfold. On this Yom Yerushalayim, over 600,000 Jews call the city home.
Yerushalayim’s neighborhoods continue to grow, populated by people of all ages. We are witnessing the realization of Zechariah’s prophecies that Yerushalayim will “extend beyond its walls because of the multitude within it” (Zech 2:8) and “old men and women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem which shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets” (Ibid. 8:4-5).
The Sheva Brachot refer to Yerushalayim twice: the fifth bracha asks G-d to gladden the barren woman of Tzion by returning her children, and the last bracha asks Him to restore weddings to the city. Incredibly, we are privileged to see the fulfilment of both of these blessings in our time. Tzion has seen and continues to see the mass return of her sons and daughters. She is no longer an abandoned widow; instead, she has been consoled by and celebrates the return of her children. These sons and daughters celebrate tens of weddings each night in Yerushalayim and her many suburbs. When we recite these blessings at these and other weddings, we thank Hashem for fulfilling the prophecies and answering our prayers.
Yerushalayim also continues to evolve as a center of Torah, featuring hundreds of yeshivot and seminaries along with thousands of schools. Hashem’s Word once again emanates from Tzion and Yerushalayim.
Indeed, when we reflect upon Yerushalayim on Yom Yerushalayim, we have much to be thankful for, and we must fully seize the opportunity to thank Hashem. Our Hallel on the 28th of Iyar, the day of Yerushalayim’s reunification, should express our appreciation for Yerushalayim’s physical and spiritual revival.
Our Prayers
Despite this revival, Yerushalayim remains a mere shell of its original and intended self. The city lacks many things, beginning at its center – the Temple Mount.
Most of us have had the great zechut of davening at the Kotel many times. We enjoy and are inspired by the achdut and uplifting spirit present there. Dancing down to the Kotel with Yeshivat HaKotel and the hundreds who join us on Friday night, with the Har HaBayit and the Yerushalayim mountains in full view, I am exhilarated by the Jewish people celebrating Shabbat Yerushalayim.
That said, it is critical to remind ourselves that the Kotel is a mere remnant of the greater Beit HaMikdash and the full presence of G-d meant to reside there.
And so we pray in our Shemoneh Esrei every day: “And to Yerushalayim, Your city, return with mercy, and dwell within it as You have spoken.” As opposed to the Sheva Brachot, which pray for the return of Yerushalayim’s people, Shemoneh Esrei focuses upon the return of the Shechina. Yerushalayim aims to reunite the Jewish people and Hashem. Though we have returned, we continue to await the Shechinah and the Beit HaMikdash.
Our prayers for Yerushalayim should encompass the full scope of our aspirations for the city, including both gratitude and longing. We should thank Hashem for returning us to it, and also pray for the similar return of His Shechina and the Beit HaMikdash.
This return is a precondition for Yerushalayim’s complete restoration, as evidenced by the continuation of the Shemoneh Esrei bracha: “And to Yerushalayim, Your city, return with mercy, and dwell within it as You have spoken. And build it soon in our days, an everlasting structure. And establish the throne of Dovid within it swiftly.”
Yerushalayim’s permanence and the return of the Davidic dynasty hinge upon the return of the Shechina. Yerushalayim is intended to be the site of the Beit HaMikdash and the Shechina, as well as the seat of the Davidic dynasty. The order of the bracha teaches us that the two aspects are interconnected – the latter becomes possible once the former is realized.
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The frustration many feel towards our political and judicial systems is well-founded. Neither system is ideal. We are meant to be governed by Dovid HaMelech’s scion, guided by Davidian principles, and judged by those who, like the judges we “once had,” seek to apply G-d’s Will and Law.
All this depends upon G-d’s return to Yerushalayim. Our frustration with our political and judicial systems, along with our physical vulnerability, should strengthen our prayer for this return.
Shemoneh Esrei has two parts: the first focuses on our material needs, while the second relates to our national and spiritual aspirations, including the ingathering of the Jewish Diaspora to Eretz Yisrael, the restoration of righteous judges, Hashem’s return to Yerushalayim, and the restoration of the Davidic dynasty.
Though we often feel drawn to pray for our material existence, it is crucial that we focus our prayers on our ultimate eschatological goals – the return of the Shechinah to Yerushalayim and the national repairs and restorations associated with it. Living at a time when the process of redemption has already begun and its continuation seems more within reach than ever should help make these prayers more heartfelt.
This Yom Yerushalayim, let’s thank G-d for our return to His city and pray that He return as well, and that His return completes the eternal rebuilding of Yerushalayim and restores the Davidic dynasty.
“And to Yerushalayim, Your city, return with mercy, and dwell within it as You have spoken. And build it soon in our days, an everlasting structure. And establish the throne of Dovid within it swiftly.”
