Rabbi Nachman Bulman z”tl beautifully describes the eternal connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem in the Forward of David Rossoff’s, Where Heaven Touches Earth:
“Locations where Jews have lived since our Father Avraham’s time, have dotted the globe. But one Place remains central from beginning to end – Yerushalayim, the heartland of Hashem’s People. Its evocations are vast beyond words: Even Sheseeya (the Foundation Stone); at its center point, the alter where Yitzchak Avinu was bound; Yaakov’s ladder connecting Heaven and Earth; Dovid HaMelech’s lyre. Here Yeshaya and Yirmiya spoke; here our People “see and are seen” three times a year; here conquerors destroy but no one else rebuilds; here the Shechina remains, even after its withdrawal. From the endlessness of Exile, Jewish prayer breaks through all barriers to arrive here… The heart of our People trembles over the fate of Yerushalayim in fear and hope, such as no other People could ever know.”
It is in this spirit OlamiResources.com shares the resources below to teach the vital importance of Jerusalem in Judaism.
Video:
Jerusalem: Holiest City to Whom? by Rabbi Ken Spiro and J-TV
Is Jerusalem Israel’s Rightful Capital? by Rabbi Ken Spiro and J-TV
Rabbi Sacks on Jerusalem: The 50th Anniversary of Reunification by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Unique Relationship Between Hashem, Yerushalayim and the Jewish People by Rabbi Eliyahu Bergstein: Part II, Part III (Part I, currently not available, is summarized at the beginning of Part II.)
Tales of Jerusalem by Sivan Rahav Meir
Yom Yerushalayim SHTEIG Sources
Yom Yerushalayim SHTEIG Sources – Mentor
Yom Yerushalayim SHTEIG Sources – Student
Infographic
Jerusalem Facts by Aish.com and Yvette Alt Miller
Source Sheets:
Class & Source Sheets on the Meaning of Jerusalem for the Jewish People by Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel
The Value of Jerusalem & Heart of Israeli Soldiers by Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel (Includes some English translations to the Source Sheets on the Meaning of Jerusalem for the Jewish People above.)
In the Olami / NLE Morasha Amidah Companion pp. 106-113 describing the beracha of Binyan Yerushalayim.
Close Encounters of the Transcendent Kind: The Temple and the Sacrifices by Olami / NLE Morasha Syllabus
The Three Weeks and Tishah B’Av I: Exile & Destruction by Olami / NLE Morasha Syllabus
The Three Weeks and Tishah B’Av II: Why the Temple was Destroyed & How to Rebuild It by Olami / NLE Morasha Syllabus
MP3
Yom Yerushalayim by Rabbi Berel Wein
Jerusalem is Not for Sale by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach
Yom Yerushalayim and Sefiras HaOmer by Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz
Kinnah 36 – Maalas Eretz Yisroel and Yerushalayim by Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky
Praise and Prayer on Yom Yerushalayim by Rabbi Dovid Miller
Essays
Why Celebrate Jerusalem Day by Sara Yoheved Rigler
Why Jerusalem Matters by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Yom Yerushalayim/ Jerusalem Day • Torah.org by Rabbi Yehuda Prero
A Home for the Soul by Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky
Books
Jerusalem, the Eye of the Universe by Rabbi Aryeh-Kaplan
Where Heaven Touches Earth by Dovid Rossoff
