Since the 10th century BCE, Jerusalem has been the holiest city, focus and spiritual center of the Jews."Israel was first forged into a unified nation from Jerusalem some three thousand years ago, when King David seized the crown and united the twelve tribes from this city... For a thousand years Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish sovereignty, the household site of kings, the location of its legislative councils and courts. In exile, the Jewish nation came to be identified with the city that had been the site of its ancient capital. Jews, wherever they were, prayed for its restoration". Roger Friedland, Richard D. Hecht. To Rule Jerusalem, University of California Press, 2000, p. 8. "The Jewish bond to Jerusalem was never broken. For three millennia, Jerusalem has been the center of the Jewish faith, retaining its symbolic value throughout the generations". Jerusalem- the Holy City, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, February 23, 2003. Accessed March 24, 2007. "The centrality of Jerusalem to Judaism is so strong that even secular Jews express their devotion and attachment to the city and cannot conceive of a modern State of Israel without it... For Jews Jerusalem is sacred simply because it exists... Though Jerusalem's sacred character goes back three millennia...". Leslie J. Hoppe. The Holy City:Jerusalem in the theology of the Old Testament, Liturgical Press, 2000, p. 6. "Ever since King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel 3,000 years ago, the city has played a central role in Jewish existence". Mitchell Geoffrey Bard, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict, Alpha Books, 2002, p. 330. "For Jews the city has been the pre-eminent focus of their spiritual, cultural, and national life throughout three millennia". Yossi Feintuch, U.S. Policy on Jerusalem, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1987, p. 1. "Jerusalem became the center of the Jewish people some 3,000 years ago" Moshe Maʻoz, Sari Nusseibeh, Jerusalem: Points of Friction - And Beyond, Brill Academic Publishers, 2000, p. 1. "The Jewish people are inextricably bound to the city of Jerusalem. No other city has played such a dominant role in the history, politics, culture, religion, national life and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of Jewry and Judaism. Since King David established the city as the capital of the Jewish state circa 1000 BCE, it has served as the symbol and most profound expression of the Jewish people's identity as a nation". , Anti-Defamation League, 2007. Accessed March 28, 2007. Jerusalem has long been embedded into the Jewish religious and national consciousness. Religious Jews believe that in the future the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem will become the center of worship and instruction for all mankind and consequently Jerusalem will become the spiritual center of the world.
In the Hebrew Bible The name Yerushalem ()—also written as Yerushalayim ( on five occasions—is mentioned a total of 669 times in the Hebrew Bible, while the term Zion, which is used as a symbolic mention of Jerusalem or as a reference to the entire Land of Israel, appears 154 times.Rivkin, Mendel. "Why is Jerusalem not Mentioned in the Torah?", Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana, May 7, 2021. Accessed June 12, 2026. "Although Yerushalayim is mentioned 669 times in Tanach (823 if you include references to Zion), the Torah (Pentateuch) does not mention either of them."Cargill, Robert. "First Person: A Little Jot on a Jerusalem Column", Biblical Archaeology Review, January / February 2019. Accessed June 12, 2026. "Early in the Hebrew language’s development, Jerusalem was spelled without the final yod, as ירושלם. In fact, of the 660 times that the name “Jerusalem” appears in the Hebrew Bible, all but five instances appear as this shorter version, ירושלם. However, in Jeremiah 26:18, Esther 2:6, 1 Chronicles 3:5, and 2 Chronicles 25:1 and 2 Chronicles 32:9—all relatively late Hebrew Bible texts chronologically—the spelling of Jerusalem appears as ירושלים, that is, with the extra yod as the penultimate letter." Jerusalem first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua.The History of Jerusalem in the Bible, Zondervan, September 9, 2019. Accessed June 7, 2026. "Two events in the life of Abraham place him in close proximity to Jerusalem. Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Gen 14:18; cf. Ps 76:2), met Abram after his rescue of Lot. Later Abraham took his son Isaac to one of the mountains in the 'region of Moriah' to sacrifice him (Gen 22:2), the same place where Solomon built the temple (2 Chron 3:1). Jerusalem next appears in the stories of the conquest under Joshua. When the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-Zedek, heard of the Gibeonites’ treaty with Joshua, he realized that his major line of communication with the coast, and hence to Egypt, was in jeopardy. He assembled a coalition of four other Amorite kings and attacked Gibeon but was defeated by Joshua."
For example, the book of Psalms, which has been frequently recited and memorized by Jews for centuries, says:
"By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion." (Psalm 137:1) "For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning . If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof; O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that repay eth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." (Psalms 137:3–9) (King James Version, with italics for words not in the original Hebrew) "O God, the nations have entered into your inheritance, they have defiled the sanctuary of your holiness, they have turned Jerusalem into heaps of rubble...they have shed their blood like water round Jerusalem..." (Psalms 79:1–3); "...O Jerusalem, the built up Jerusalem is like a city that is united together...Pray for the peace of Jerusalem..." (Psalms 122:2–6); "Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains as God surrounds his people forever" (Psalms 125:3); "The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcast of Israel he will gather in...Praise God O Jerusalem, laud your God O Zion." (Psalms 147:2–12)Jerusalem is not explicitly mentioned in the Pentateuch. Instead when referring to Jerusalem, the place names Salem and Moriah, and the term "the place that God will choose" are used:You shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place.Deuteronomy 12:5
Maimonides cites various reasons why this is so, the first being that if the nations of the world had learned that this place was destined to become the centre of the highest religious ideals they would have occupied it to prevent the Jews from ever controlling it.
In Rabbinic literature The centrality of Jerusalem in Jewish thought is illustrated in rabbinic literature, which describes the city as the "navel of the earth," symbolizing its status as the cosmic center:
Jewish religious writings contain thousands more references to Jerusalem, some of which are included in the following: If one is praying in the Land of Israel, he should direct his heart towards Jerusalem; If he is standing in Jerusalem, he should face towards the Holy Temple — Berakhot 27a Why are the fruits of Ginosar not found in Jerusalem? So that the pilgrims should not say "were it only incumbent on us to eat the fruits of Ginosar in Jerusalem, it would be enough" — Pesachim 8b In the future the Holy One will expand Jerusalem to the extent that a horse will flee and its owner will be able to recover it [while still being within the city’s limits] — Pesachim 50a Jerusalem was not divided among the tribes — Yoma 12a A snake or scorpion never injured anyone in Jerusalem — Yoma 21a Whoever did not see Jerusalem in her glory has never seen a beautiful city — Sukkah 51b Ten measures of beauty descended to the world, Jerusalem took nine — Kidushin 49b Jerusalem is the light of the world — Bereshit Rabbah 59 Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until the ingathering of the exiles has occurred — Tanchuma Noach 11 The Land of Israel sits at the centre of the world and Jerusalem sits at the centre of the Land of Israel — Tanchuma Kedoshim 10 Why did the omnipresent not create warm springs in Jerusalem, like those of Tiberias? So a person should not say “Let us ascend to Jerusalem in order to bathe” — Sifre Behaalotecha 89 There is no beauty like that of Jerusalem — Avot of Rabbi Natan 28 Ten miracles occurred for our forefathers in Jerusalem — Avot of Rabbi Natan 35 ”From all your tribes” – This refers to Jerusalem because all Israel are partners in her — Avot of Rabbi Natan 35 In the future all the nations and kingdoms will be gathered unto Jerusalem — Avot of Rabbi Natan 35 All who pray in Jerusalem - it is as if he prayed before the throne of glory, because the gate of heaven is situated there — Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 35 In the merit of Jerusalem I split the sea for them — Yalkut Shimoni Isaiah 473 In the future the suburbs of Jerusalem will be filled with precious stones and jewels and all of Israel will come and take them — Yalkut Shimoni Isaiah 478 From the day Jerusalem was destroyed, God has no joy, until He rebuilds Jerusalem and returns Israel to it — Yalkut Shimoni Lamentations 1009
In Jewish Law and custom
Temple in Jerusalem
In antiquity, Judaism revolved around the Temple in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin, which governed the nation, was located in the Temple precincts. The Temple service was at the heart of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur proceedings. The Temple was central to the Three pilgrim festivals, namely Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, when all Jews were incumbent to gather in Jerusalem. Every seven years all Jews were required to assemble at the Temple for the Hakhel reading. The forty-nine-day Counting of the Omer recalls the Omer offering which was offered at the Temple every day between Passover and Shavuot. The eight-day festival of Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple after its desecration by Antiochus IV. A number of fast days including the Ninth of Av, the Tenth of Tevet and the Seventeenth of Tammuz, all recall the destruction of the Temple.
Maimonides records a list of bylaws which applied to Jerusalem during the Temple period: A corpse must not be left within the city overnight; human remains must not be brought inside the city; its houses are not to be rented out; residence for a ger toshav was not granted; burial plots are not maintained, other than those of the House of David and Huldah which existed from ancient times; the planting of gardens and orchards is forbidden; sowing and plowing is forbidden due to the possibility of decaying produce; trees are not planted, except for rose gardens which existed in ancient times; garbage heaps are forbidden due to infestation; girders and balconies may not overhang the public domain; pressure ovens are forbidden due to the smoke; it is forbidden to raise chickens.
In commemoration