Jerusalem is a place, but it is more than a place. It became a metaphor for the collective destination of the Jewish people. A city is what we build together, individually through our homes, collectively through our public spaces. So Jerusalem became a symbol of what the Jews were summoned to build, a city of righteousness worthy of being a home for the Divine Presence. Its stones would be good deeds, and its mortar, relationships of generosity and trust. Its houses would be families; its defensive walls, schools and houses of study. Shabbat and the festivals would be its public parks and gardens. For Jews believed that, even in a violent and destructive world, heaven could be built on earth. It was their most daring vision. The architect of the city would be God. The builders would be ordinary men and women. It would be a Jewish city, but it would be open to all, and people from all faiths would come and be moved by its beauty.

So Jerusalem, the “faithful city” (Yeshayahu 1:27), became the destination of the Jewish journey, which began with Avraham and Sara and will be complete only at the end of days. This is how the prophet Yeshayahu envisioned it, in words that for millennia have captured the human imagination:

In the last days

The mountain of the Lord’s Temple will be established

As chief among the mountains;

It will be raised above the hills,

And all the nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

To the house of the God of Yaakov.

He will teach us His ways,

So that we may walk in His path.”

For the Torah shall come forth from Zion,

And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will judge between the nations

And settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into ploughshares

And their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

Nor will they train for war anymore. (Yeshayahu 2:2–4)

These words, among the most influential ever written, sum up much of Jewish faith. They epitomise what it might be like to “perfect the world under the sovereignty of God” (as described in the Aleinu prayer). And as they journeyed through the centuries and continents, Jews carried this vision with them, believing that their task was to be true to their faith, to be loyal to God, to exemplify His ways to humankind, and to build a world at peace with itself by learning and teaching how to respect the freedom and dignity of others.

☛ REFLECT What must the Jewish people do when they reach their final destination, Jerusalem?

QUESTIONS TO ASK AT YOUR SEDER

1. Do you think Jews in Israel should still say this at the end of their Seder?

2. What does Jerusalem have to do with the Exodus story and Seder night?

3. Has anyone around your Seder table celebrated Pesaḥ in Israel? Was it special or different?