What is the significance of Jerusalem?

Question

Can someone pleased answer this question for me, to see if i understood this question. please give me the answer. Thank You

Answer 1

Judaism teaches Jerusalem is the sight Abraham offered up his son Isaac, & where David built the Temple.

Islam teaches mohammed rose up to heaven on his winged horse from there.

Christianity claims Jerusalem is where Jesus, their Messiah, was crucified there.

All 3 Monotheistic religions claim religious significance to Jerusalem. Although the name Jerusalem means city of peace, it has known nothing but bloodshed.

Answer 2

Jerusalem has been THE holiest site in Judaism for over 3500 years.  Thre were no muslims in Jerusalem when Jesus walked those streets 2000 years ago.  Islam, has only been around since the 5th century AD.  That is only 1500 years.  

Answer 3

Jerusalem is the city of the Great King.

Answer 4

Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE.

The city of Jerusalem is given special status in Jewish religious law. In particular, Jews outside Jerusalem pray facing its direction, and the maaser sheni, revai and First Fruits must be eaten in Jerusalem. Any expansion of the city for these purposes must be approved by the Sanhedrin.[citation needed] Also, when the Temple in Jerusalem was standing, Jerusalem observed special laws regarding the Four Species on Sukkot, and the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah.

Jerusalem has long been embedded into Jewish religious consciousness. Jews have studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there, as described in the Book of Samuel and the Book of Psalms. Many of King David's yearnings about Jerusalem have been adapted into popular prayers and songs.

Jerusalem appears in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem, sometimes the Land of Israel) appears 154 times. The first section, the Torah, only mentions Moriah, the mountain range believed to be the location of the binding of Isaac and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and in later parts of the Tanakh the city is written explicitly. The Tanakh (or Old Testament), is a text sacred to both Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it is considered the Written Law, the basis for the Oral Law (Mishnah, Talmud and Shulkhan Arukh) studied, practiced and treasured by Jews and Judaism for three millennia. The Talmud elaborates in great depth the Jewish connection with the city.

In Christianity

For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the life of Jesus gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, as described above.



Main entrance to the Church of the Holy SepulchreJerusalem is the place where Jesus was brought as a child, to be 'presented' at the Temple (Luke 2:22) and to attend festivals (Luke 2:41). According to the Gospels, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem, especially in the Temple courts. There is also an account of Jesus' 'cleansing' of the Temple, chasing various traders out of the sacred precincts (Mark 11:15). At the end of each of the Gospels, there are accounts of Jesus' Last Supper in an 'upper room' in Jerusalem, his arrest in Gethsemane, his trial, his crucifixion at Golgotha, his burial nearby and his resurrection and ascension.

In Christianity, the Jewish connection with the city is considered as the account of God's relationship with His chosen people - the original covenant - and the essential prelude to the events narrated in the New Testament, including both universal commandments (e.g. the Ten Commandments) and obsolete or Judaism-specific ones.

In medieval Christian thought, Jerusalem was considered to be the center of the world (Latin: umbilicus mundi, Greek: Omphalos), and was so represented in the so-called T and O maps. Byzantine hymns speak of the Cross being "planted in the center of the earth," and the imagery is tied to the concept of the Death and resurrection of Jesus being for the benefit of all mankind. Medieval maps of Europe usually placed the east ("orient")—Jerusalem—at the top, and this arrangement led to the use of the term "to orient" to mean to align a map with actual compass directions.

In Islam

Jerusalem has played role in Islam. It is the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (built on the ruins of the Temple), considered by many Muslims to be the third holiest site. Also in particular:

It is strongly associated with people regarded as Prophets of Islam - in particular, David, Solomon, and Jesus;

They have a legend telling that Muhammad hase been taken by the flying steed Buraq to visit Jerusalem, where he prayed, and then to visit heaven, in a single night in the year 620. The Qur'anic verse (17:1) is interpreted by all widely used tafsirs (commentaries) as referring to this journey, with the term "the farthest Mosque" (al-masjid al-Aqsa) which lies in the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem today.

Answer 5

JERUSALEM IS VERY IMPORTANT, Ever since King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel 3,000 years ago, the city has played a central role in Jewish existence. The Western Wall in the Old City — the last remaining wall of the ancient Jewish Temple, the holiest site in Judaism — is the object of Jewish veneration and the focus of Jewish prayer. Three times a day for thousands of years Jews have prayed “To Jerusalem, thy city, shall we return with joy,” and have repeated the Psalmist's oath: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.”

By contrast, Jerusalem was never the capital of any Arab entity. In fact, it was a backwater for most of Arab history. Jerusalem never served as a provincial capital under Muslim rule nor was it ever a Muslim cultural center. For Jews, the entire city is sacred, but Muslims revere a site — the Dome of the Rock — not the city. “To a Muslim,” observed British writer Christopher Sykes, “there is a profound difference between Jerusalem and Mecca or Medina. The latter are holy places containing holy sites.” Besides the Dome of the Rock, he noted, Jerusalem has no major Islamic significance.

Meanwhile, Jews have been living in Jerusalem continuously for nearly two millennia. They have constituted the largest single group of inhabitants there since the 1840's (map of Jerusalem in 1912). Today, the total population of Jerusalem is approximately 850,000. The Jewish population in areas formerly controlled by Jordan exceeds 160,000, outnumbering Palestinians in “Arab” Jerusalem

Answer 6

Where the Temple of Solomon stood (Jews)

Where Jesus preached and died (Christians)

Where Muhammad ascended into heaven (Muslims)

Answer 7

There are too many points of view and emotional attachments to get an unbiased opinion.

Where are you coming from?

Past?  Present?  Future?

I'm sure some one will give you their point of view.

Answer 8

On opening the Holy Ark every Jew says: כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר ה מירושלים which means "Because from Zion the Torah shall come forth and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." When Jews pray they turn to Jerusalem, and what are they praying for if not the State of Israel where they can feel at home and not have to act or do as they would in a non-Jewish country. Just as Israel is the focal point for the Jewish People, Jerusalem is the focal point for Israel where both the seat of government and the seat of religious authority reside and are UNIFIED, so that the principles of the Jewish religion and government become ONE, since Jewish government must govern in accordance with those principles, and Jerusalem is crucible where this unification happens. In short, Jerusalem is the central or the unifying point of the Jewish faith.

Answer 9

Jerusalem is the third holiest city in Islam. Muslims have lived in Jerusalem for thousands of years, even today the Jerusalem Old City has a Muslim majority.  

Answer 10

It is the most Holy Site for Jewish people in the world. It has been like that for Jews for over 4,000 years at least. Jews have been there for over 3,000 years before Muslims have.

It is also Holy for Christians cause Jesus was a Jew and that whole story but even as a Christians I support Israeli Jewish sovereignty- at least under Israeli/Jewish rule...all religions get a fair share, they are generous.

Answer 11

Jerusalem, previously known as the city of David, was constructed by King David over 3,000 as the Jewish capital.  It has remained the holiest place in the Jewish faith even after the destruction of the Temple.  It is mentioned hundreds of times in the Jewish Bible (zero times in the Koran) and in countless prayers.

According to Judaism, Jerusalem is the holiest place in the world.