Choice of Yerushalayim/2
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Choice of Yerushalayim
Exegetical Approaches
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 Yerushlayaim 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".3
Continuous site of worship – Rambam, following Chazal,4 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.5 This was no coincidence, but a result of the location's inherent selection. 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.6
"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.7 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 Bereshit Rabbah Yaakov declares, "this is a house of God and gateway to heaven" after his dream in Beit El, not because God was especially present in Beit El, but because in his dream, he saw Jerusalem (the midpoint of the ladder marked the site of the Beit HaMIkdash). Rashi, drawing on Bavli Sanhedrin, goes a step further to suggest that Mt Moriah was actually uprooted and brought to Beit El. Neither of these suggestions, though, match the simple sense of the verse.
"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 Israel8 – Keli Yekar, in contrast, suggests that Hashem wanted to keep the name a secret lest people belittle the earlier holy sites of Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov and Givon which housed the Mishkan. Rambam adds that Hashem wanted to prevent the tribes from fighting over the site, as each would have desired that it be in their tribal territory.9
Why wasn't Yerushalayim the first center?
"וָאֶבְחַר בִּירוּשָׁלִַם לִהְיוֹת שְׁמִי שָׁם "
Moving the Ark
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 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.