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Old new thoughts as we approach Yom Yerushalayim 5761
3676 years ago, Avraham Avinu was commanded by G-d to bring Yitzchak up as an Olah on the mountains that G-d will tell him. The Jewish claim of Avraham and Yitzchak to that special place was reconfirmed by Yaakov Avinu and his experiences in the same special location. 

About 800 years after the Akeida, David HaMelech established Jerusalem as the Jewish capital of Israel. Our hold on Jerusalem and Eretz Yisrael has had its ups and downs. If we are marking 34 years since the Reunification of Jerusalem, following 19 years during which we were denied access to the Old City and Temple Mount, which followed years of British rule, which followed years of Turkish rule, etc. etc. etc., then we must see something and understand it well. 

Jerusalem is ours. This is our belief and our knowledge. Whether we retain possession over it, is G-d's decision. His decision depends to a large extent on our faithfulness to Him and our observance of the spirit and the letter of Jewish Law. 

This is the message of B'chukotai, the sedra that we read before Yom Yerushalayim. The sedra that reminds us not to be overly proud of military prowess. Our military superiority and the Arabs blessed lack of military skill combined to serve G-d's plan. Our hold on this City and this Land does not depend upon America or the U.N., not the P.A. nor the Arabs, but on us, and whether we deserve to be here. 

B'chukotai has the simple formula for our keeping Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim (which are really the same thing — Zion is defined as the Land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, and the People of Israel.). Even before we follow the formula is to believe it. If a Jew truly believes in G-d, and that He created the World, and took us our of Egypt, etc. then he must believe G-d's promises in B'chukotai, and elsewhere. In the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the Earth. Believe it? Then believe and count on dwelling in our Land in peace and prosperity. All we have to do is keep our part of the deal.

Reflections, in honor of Jerusalem,
Yom Yerushalayim, 5761.

From the Tanchumah, Kedoshim 10 – 
The Land of Israel is at the center of the world,
Jerusalem is at the center of the Land,
The Temple is at the center of Jerusalem,
The Sanctuary is at the center of the Temple,
The Holy Ark is at the center of the Sanctuary,
The Foundation Stone, from which the world was established,
Rests before the Ark.

By Obadiah Jare, Jerusalem, 8 Elul, 5248
All possible winds blow in Jerusalem. It is said that every wind, 
Before going where it listeth, comes to Jerusalem to prostrate itself
Before the Lord.

Vayikra Rabba, 13
The Blessed Holy One,,, considered all the cities
And found only Jerusalem fit to contain His Temple;
The Blessed Holy One considered all the countries
And found only one suitable for the People of Israel –
The Land of Israel.

Psalms 137
If I forget thee O Jerusalem
Let my right hand forget its cunning;
If I do not remember you
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I do not set Yerushalayim above my highest joy.

Sincerely yours, Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center