Israel’s Chief Rabbi, HaRav Kalman Ber, published a special letter marking Yom Yerushalayim, which begins on Thursday evening, offering an extensive Torah-based view on the significance of the day.

At the opening of his remarks, the rabbi writes that Jerusalem Day is “a day established by the Chief Rabbanut as a day of thanksgiving and praise for generations over the nissim of salvation and deliverance during the Six-Day War. On this day, we thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu for His great kindness in returning our holy land, foremost among them Jerusalem, our holy and glorious city, the makom Hamikdash, the Kosel, and the other holy places.”

“The members of that generation vividly remember the days of fear that preceded the war, when the yishuv in Eretz Yisrael stood under grave threat, and their hearts were filled with tefillah and anticipation for yeshua. And through much chasdei Shamayim, the fear was transformed into great yeshua, and we merited a wondrous victory and the return to Yerushalayim and the Kosel,” he adds.

“In a sichah delivered in those days, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir, HaRavi Chaim Shmuelevitz, z’tl, recalled the words of the Vilna Gaon, who wrote to his mother on his journey to Eretz Yisrael: ‘If I’m zocheh to stand at the Shaarei Shamayim, I will daven for you, adding that the Gra did not reach Eretz Yisrael, while we are zocheh to stand in that holy place and daven on behalf of Klal Yisrael.

“This zechus should by no means be taken for granted, and it is our obligation to thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu for the great kindness He bestowed upon us by allowing us to return to those holy places for which many generations longed,” Rav Ber emphasized.

“Yerushalayim is the heart and center of Eretz Yisrael, and its condition reflects, to a large extent, the condition of Klal Yisrael in their land. Rav Betzalel Ashkenazi, zl’l, already said (שו”ת סימן ט”ו): ‘And if there is no Jerusalem, chas v’chalilah, there is no Chevron.’ HaRav Avraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, z’tl, explained (Igrot HaRe’iyah, Vol. 1, Letter 39) that Jerusalem is the center of kedushah in Eretz Yisrael and its vitality extends to all parts of the land. Therefore, the building and honor of Jerusalem serve as a barometer of the situation of Klal Yisrael in the land, and the more its kedusha and our hold upon it are strengthened, the more the entire land is blessed and established.

“Indeed, the story of Jerusalem’s revival is, to a large extent, the story of the revival of Am Yisrael in their land. In the year 1267, when the Ramban arrived in Jerusalem, he described the city’s difficult condition in chilling terms in a letter to his son: ‘For the abandonment is great and the desolation immense,’ and he added: ‘The more kadosh the place, the greater its desolation. Jerusalem is the most desolate of all…’

“How greatly things have changed from the days of the Ramban until our own time,” Rav Ber continued. “Since our nation began returning to its land, and especially after the reunification of Jerusalem, the renewal and ongoing rebuilding of the holy city are visible before our eyes. Anyone who walks through its streets can tangibly feel that the words of the Navi are being fulfilled before us. Its bustling streets, filled with elderly men and women alongside boys and girls, seem to bring to life Zechariah’s nevuah: ‘Old men and old women shall yet sit in the streets of Jerusalem… and the streets of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets’ (Zechariah 8:4–5). Likewise, its renewed construction, with neighborhoods constantly expanding, fulfills the words of consolation: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land’ (Yirmiyahu 32:15). And the multitudes of Beis Yisrael who flock during the Chagim to the Kosel appear to realize the words of Yechezkel: ‘Like holy flocks… so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people’ (Yechezkel 36:37–38).

“And great is the stature of Jerusalem, for every Jew has a share and connection to it, since Jerusalem was not divided among the shevatim (Yoma 12b; Sotah 45b). Great is Jerusalem’s power to unite hearts, as stated in the Yerushalmi (Chagigah 3:6) on the passuk ‘Jerusalem, built as a city joined together’ — ‘a city that makes all of Yisrael into friends.’ During these days, Jerusalem is the broadest common denominator uniting all parts of the nation. And from Jerusalem’s blessing flow all brachos and goodness to Yisrael, as Chazal taught (Vayikra Rabbah 24:4), that yeshuah, bracha, life, and Torah all emerge from Tzion.”

“We conclude with a tefillah that Hashem will soon grant us the zechus to see Jerusalem rebuilt in its completeness: ‘You shall arise and have mercy upon Tzion, for it is time to favor her, for the appointed time has come. For Your servants cherish her stones and favor her dust’ (Tehillim 102). And as written in the Kuzari (Maamar 5, 27), that the awakening of hearts and longing for the holy place is what brings Geulah: ‘For Jerusalem will indeed be rebuilt when Bnei Yisrael yearn for it with the utmost longing.’

“Let us renew our bris with the holy city, and daven that we merit speedily in our days the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash and the Geulah sheleimah. Amen and Amen.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)