O Jerusalem!

Even though we've been saying it for 2000 years, this year it is not just an annual routine recital. We make this bold statement at a crucial time, when Jerusalem is surrounded by violence, political turmoil and turbulence. Jerusalem has become highly controversial among the nations. When snipers fire at passing cars and distant outposts, they are really aiming for Jerusalem, the heart of this explosive issue.

But why this global struggle over a place with no strategic industrial, commercial or military value? Why such tumult over an outer wall, and an old city that seems to have seen better days?

Whether or not we fully understand it, 'Jerusalem' is etched into our sub-consciousness deeper than we realize. Like the impressive stones of the Western Wall, more of it is hidden deep below than is visible on the surface.

As we were exiled from Israel, we took a solemn oath by the rivers of Babylon: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand lose its strength. Let my tongue cling to my palate if I fail to recall you, if I fail to elevate Jerusalem above my highest joy." (Psalms 137)

Historically, this is where Abraham offered his son Isaac, and declared "This is the place where G‑d will be seen." Jerusalem is central to Jacob's ladder, whose angelic vision caused him to exclaim: "How awesome is this place; this is nothing else but the House of G‑d, and this is the portal to Heaven."

Jerusalem is the chosen site where G–d directed King David to select for His eternal dwelling place. The Temple Mount is where both Holy Temples, built by King Solomon and later by the prophets Ezra and Nehemia, were built.

Jerusalem was host to pilgrimages from all over Israel and around the world, where people came to experience its miraculous manifestations of Divine presence (Ethics of our Fathers 5:5).

Even after the Destruction of the Holy Temples, Jerusalem's holiness did not dissipate, being the central place where G‑dliness is real and palpable. This is the point where Heaven and Earth meet; the focus of all our prayers from all corners of the earth.

Just as we retained Jerusalem's memory, its vision guided us through two thousand years of the Diaspora. Through thick and thin, oppressed and impoverished, we yearned: "Next year in Jerusalem."

Locked into medieval ghettoes, concentration camps and gulags, and even as we live comfortably in the twenty first century, Jerusalem remains the essence of our memory, the focus of our hopes and aspirations.

"Jerusalem unites us together" (Psalms 122), as the great poet Judah HaLevy romanticized: "I am in the west, but my heart is in the east." Jerusalem is the world's heartbeat, from where Divine energy and consciousness ripple out to the rest of the world.

Jerusalem represents the world's memory. The Romans tried to crush Judaism by ruining the Temple and plowing over the city. A millennium later, the Crusaders fought their way across Europe to rewrite Jerusalem's history, expelling its Jews and destroying its synagogues. And Islamic Jihads tried to erase Jerusalem's memory by expelling both Jews and Christians, and building mosques on Jewish holy sites. Only recently, the Moslem Waqf has issued an edict "forbidding Jews from placing prayer papers or touching the stones of the Western Wall."

Despite and through it all, Jews preserved Jerusalem as a most precious memory. We keep Jerusalem in our prayers, turning to face it from whichever direction. We break a glass at our weddings to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem above all our joys. And we conclude our Yom Kippur services and Seder celebrations by crying out: "Next Year in Jerusalem!"

When Jerusalem was liberated during the Six Day War, battle hardened soldiers wept like children, suddenly recalling a 2,000-year old memory. It was a moving homecoming when past became present, incredibly transforming who we knew ourselves to be. Jerusalem became united, and at the same time, united us, old and young, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, religious or not.

Unfortunately, some of us needed a reminder to jolt us out of complacency, as Jerusalem almost became negotiable and riddled with question marks.

Let's not forget that memory is more than just the ability to retain facts or collect memorabilia. People who suffer memory loss don't just forget phone numbers or misplace their keys. Amnesia robs its victims of their personal identity and dignity; it is not just a loss of the past, but also of the present and future.

Jerusalem is part of our eternal bond and covenant, and it is full of promise. It is not just nostalgia for old time's sake; indeed, even Jews who reside in Jerusalem conclude their Seder by exclaiming: "Next year In Jerusalem!"

Jerusalem embodies not only our past, but also our future, to be fulfilled in the final Redemption with Moshiach. Our attachment to Jerusalem runs deeper than archaeological concerns for old relics and artifacts.

Our destiny is rooted deeper in the Scriptures, where the prophets predicted a future when Jerusalem's former glory will be reinstated, and even expanded above and beyond. That universal event will transform Jerusalem into the center of true peace, and the whole world will rejoice!