Jerusalem: The Center of the World

 After taking the Creating Judaism course last semester, I feel like I was finally starting to get a grasp on the importance of geographical locations when it comes to religion. The importance of Israel to Jewish people is part of the way they define themselves within the religion, and this took me a very long time to fully understand. After watching the short film for class, I now am starting to see that this isn't such a strange thing. 

Growing up as a Christian in America, we don't have many ties to particular places, not even our place of worship really. As shown in the film, Muslims, Jews, and Christians living in Jerusalem have such a deep connection between the city and their own beliefs. The city is presented as the center of religion, and truthfully I can think of no other place that holds as much significance (spiritually) to such a large amount of diverse people groups. Each and every person interviewed in the film had their own perception and understanding of what the land means to them, and meant to their ancestors.

I think what really separates Jerusalem so other cities with religious backgrounds and roots is the fact that there are so many different areas shared by different groups of people that represent so many different things. At the beginning of the film we see how the market is viewed by one of the girls being interviewed. Even the market, not even necessarily a religious building or marker, holds a unique meaning to this person. Although it isn't touched on by any of the other interviewees, it makes you think about how each person has an interpretation of their surroundings. We obviously see the 3 big religious groups: Muslims, Jews, and Christians, but once again to reference the Creating Judaism class, there are veen more subgroups beneath all of these larger ones. Even if you find two individuals who belong to the same small group or church, you will find hundreds of differences in their own individual beliefs. Throughout the film I couldn't help but compare the city of Jerusalem to a work of art in a museum. A group of 100 people can view it, take it in, interpret it, and not a single interpretation will be the same. Each person finds their own meaning and significance within it that shapes them (their faith) into who they are and what they believe in. 

One of the last things I found interesting is the way that Jerusalem is known to be a place of disagreement. Jerusalem still holds its title of "The Holy City" regardless of the various issues regarding power. I think this just goes to show the way that each of the girls in the film understand the city: a place of diversity, but a place of love and devotion. Regardless of their religions, each one wonders what the other sees when they look around. To retain such a high title while being such a controversial place goes to show the devotion of the people living within it. Jerusalem is a place where God, whoever that might be to an individual, resides deeply and lives to this day.