ABSTRACT
Jerusalem has occupied a pivotal position in Jewish life and consciousness
over the past three thousand years. For one millennium, the city constituted
the political and religious focus for Jews,1 in the beginning for those in the
region of the tribe and kingdom of Judah and subsequently, for some 800
years, for Jews everywhere. Even after the destruction of the Second Temple
in 70 CE, its memory was ever present despite the fact that the Jews would
not regain control of the city for almost two millennia. Countless expres-
sions of the intimate ties to Jerusalem maintained and strengthened their memories of and attachment to the city. Below we will examine these two
distinct aspects-history and tradition-which are, in fact, different chron-
ological stages, in order to understand how this centrality and sanctity
emerged and how Jewish tradition succeeded in preserving these associa-
tions through the ages.
