How to define Jerusalem
(A small video condensing everything we have learned and how vast Jerusalem’s history is.)
We were asked at the beginning of the semester and then again this last week, “How would you define Jerusalem?”. Those that did not dive deep into the history of the world's “Holiest city” would say that is easy; Jerusalem is a Jewish city in Isreal with complex political and spiritual tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians. They would be missing out on a city that holds thousands of years of life, conflict, power struggles, and spirituality within its walls. Jerusalem is a living museum of all the good and the bad that humanity offers.
Jerusalem, at its core, is a town like ours. Students go to school, parents cook dinners, and life moves on. But there is more; people in Jerusalem seem to be caught in the past, present, and future simultaneously.
The ancient holy site allows people to connect with their faith in the past. The Dome of the Rock allows Muslims to connect with Muhammad at the site of his ascension. The Western Wall allows Jews to connect with the temple and a place for them to feel closest to God. The Church of the Holy Sepalcure allows Christians to connect with Jesus at the sight of his resurrected tomb. But the past also holds ties to lots of blood loss and tragedy. With Jerusalem being passed from leader to leader, often changing religious affiliations as well. This causes present-day tensions to arise.
Since all three monotheistic religions had a claim to the city at one point and time, some might feel that their religion has more claim to the city than another. Currently, the tensions are highest between Israelis and Palestine. The archeology done in the city today has become as important for political argument as it does for historical understanding. People are trying to use it to prove who had a claim to Jerusalem first. Parts of the city are left under control by foreign powers, such as the Al Aqsa mosque being in the Hashemites' custody or the church of the Holy Sepalcure being in custody by the Franciscans. These parties have a deep, inexplicable connection to Jerusalem that cannot be broken. Thus making peace seem impossible since their ties are often contradictory to the other religions' ties.
Lastly, there are the future views of Jerusalem. In the afterlife, when humankind is sentenced to death, only God will save those who are his people under his covenant. This conflicts with people's views of Jerusalem because that Jerusalem is an ideological one based on reality. No one knows what “heaven” may or may not look like. Still, when we start saying that Jerusalem will be resurrected with the rest of God’s people on judgment day, it becomes understandable why people feel the need to be in Jerusalem. It is as if being there in the present will allow them to make it to the future afterlife.
Jerusalem is complicated, messy, and full of spirituality that cannot be expressed in words. I think Jerusalem is humanity but zoomed in. Where else do you see as much claim and power turnover in the world? Where else do you see three major religions being born and subsequently fought about. Now and forever, Jerusalem will be a living testament to everything humanity is. We are complicated, messy, and full of thoughts and feelings that will never be fully understood. The beauty of Jerusalem is that time and time again, in the rubble, it rebuilds and continues to grow. I think Jerusalem is the spark of hope we need, especially after the last few years. Humanity slowly has to pick itself up out of COVID’s destructive path and rebuild. It will not allow being pretty, but we will survive just like Jerusalem. We cannot define Jerusalem just as we cannot define humanity, and we can only learn and hope to be better.
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