Choice of Yerushalayim/2

Choice of Yerushalayim

Exegetical Approaches

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Religious Significance

Yerushalayim was picked as David's capital for its religious significance. The city was considered holy and Divinely chosen from the very creation of the world.

Center of the world and site of creation – According to Tanchuma,¹ Jerusalem lies at the heart of the world² and from there the heavens and earth were created, as alluded to in Tehillim 50, "מִצִּיּוֹן מִכְלַל יֹפִי אֱלֹהִים הוֹפִיעַ".

Site of Worship – Rambam, following Chazal,³  maintains that the site of the Mikdash in Yerushalayim had a history of holiness, being a site of Divine worship throughout the ages.  It was the place where Avraham set up an altar to bind Yitzchak, and where Adam, Kayin, Hevel, and Noach all sacrificed to Hashem. This was no coincidence, but a result of the location's inherent chosenness.  It should be noted, however, that there is no textual evidence in Sefer Bereshit that any of these individuals, except for Avraham, sacrificed in Yerushalayim.⁴

"וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא י"י יִרְאֶה" – Rambam learns from Avraham's name of the site of the Akeidah (י"י יִרְאֶה) that he already declared it to be the future site of the Mikdash in Jerusalem.⁵  Rambam adds that this fact was known to many, so that in the time of Moshe it was said of the mountain, "בְּהַר י"י יֵרָאֶה".

Beit El: "אֵין זֶה כִּי אִם בֵּית אֱלֹהִים" – According to several midrashim, Yaakov declares, "this is a house of God and gateway to heaven" after his dream in beit El, not because Beit El was so spiritual, but because in his dream, he saw Jerusalem: the midpoint of the ladder that reached heavenwards was at Jerusalem.  According to Rashi,  Mt. Moriah was actually uprooted and brought to Beit El.

"הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר י"י" – According to this approach, this verse refers specifically to Yerushalayim. Various reasons are given as to why, then, it is not mentioned by name:

• For the nations – Rambam maintains that had the nations known the elevated stature of Yerushalayim they would have either fought violently to control it, or destroyed the city so as to prevent others from having it.
• For Israel⁶ – Keli Yekar, in contrast, suggests that Hashem wanted to keep the name a secret lest people belittle the earlier holy sites of Givon, Shiloh and Nov which housed the Mishkan.  Rambam adds that Hashem wanted to prevent the tribes from fighting over the site, each desiring that it be in their tribal territory.⁷

Jerusalem in the period of the Avot

Military and Economic Advantages

David chose Jerusalem as his capital due to a combination of strategic factors including its defensibility, central location, and availability of water sources and other resources.

Political Move

David's choice was political in nature, a part of his effort to unite the various tribes (especially Yehuda and Binyamin) into one centralized nation.

¹ See also Tosefta Yoma, Yerushalmi Yoma, Bavli Yoma who all speak of Jerusalem as the site of creation, though they do not mention it being in the center of the universe.

² This idea is pictorially represented by Heinrich Bunting, in his famous clover leaf map of 1581.

³ See Bereshit Rabbah 34:9, Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer 2323About Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31.

⁴ Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer asserts that when speaking of the altar on which Avraham placed Yitzchak, the verse writes, "וַיִּבֶן שָׁם אַבְרָהָם אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ" with a definite article, suggesting that this was a known altar that had been used before. However, no sacrifice of Adam is even mentioned in the text, and there is no reason to believe that Kayin and Hevel's offerings were given in Yerushalayim specifically. Similarly, since the ark landed on the mountains of Ararat it would be likely that Noach offered his sacrifice thereabouts rather than on Mt. Moriah.

⁵ Avraham announces, "Hashem will see", declaring that this place will later be one of revelation. See also Targum Onkelos, who does not explicitly mention the Mikdash but explains similarly: "וּפְלַח וְצַלִּי אַבְרָהָם, תַּמָּן בְּאַתְרָא הַהוּא, אֲמַר קֳדָם יְיָ הָכָא יְהוֹן פָּלְחִין דָּרַיָּא".

⁶ This position assumes that though already chosen, the fact was not yet known to the masses.

⁷ For a full discussion of why Yerushalayim is never named in Torah, see R"Y Levy's article, Why Does the Torah Not Mention Jerusalem by Name?