For 200 years, Jerusalem was something
unattainable to most Jews, and during that time, a huge mystery
grew up around the city. Jerusalem is mentioned 656 times in
the Bible but over 2.000 items in the literature of the sages:"
Jerusalem is the light of the world, " Says the Midrash.
The Talmud adds:" Ten measures of Beauty descended on the
world. Nine were taken by Jerusalem and one the rest of the worlds."Almost every Jewish prayer on any length mentions Jerusalem and asks G-d to restore it to its former glory. There was no fewer that four annual fast days mourning various aspects of the destruction of the city. Two major Jewish events, Yom Kippur and the Passover Seder, ends with the words," Next Year in Jerusalem." In fact, it is nearly impossible to take part in any Jewish ceremony at all without somehow bringing Jerusalem into the picture.
We've been taught that Jerusalem is as close to heaven is it possible on earth. But can any place on earth be like heaven?