Jerusalem and Shavuot

            Those who believe in Divine Providence understand that it is not by chance that Yom Yerushalayim, the day of the liberation of the Old City in the Six Day War, precedes Shavuot, the anniversary of Israel’s acceptance of Torah, by exactly one week.

            Both Isaiah [2:3] and Micha [4:2] prophesied:

For out of Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of God from Jerusalem.

            Though Torah was given at Mount Sinai, Jerusalem is the focal point from which it is disseminated to the world.

            Additionally, it is Torah which allows a Jewish army to win its battles, as our Sages [Babylonian Talmud, Makot 10a] taught:

Who caused our feet to stand firmly in war? The gates of Jerusalem, which are engaged in the study of Torah.

            Ultimately, it is Israel’s continued devotion to Torah which allowed us God’s beneficence of uniting Jerusalem in 1967. 

            There is an additional point which connects Jerusalem and the revelation of Sinai. The verse [Exodus 19:2] which describes Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai reads:

They had departed from Rehidim and had arrived in the Sinai Desert, camping in the wilderness. Israel (singular) camped opposite the mountain.

            Rashi, quoting Mechilta, explains the use of the singular by stating that Israel encamped “as a single person, with a single heart.” That is, it was Israel’s unity which allowed it to stand at the foot of Mount Sinai and experience the greatest divine revelation in history and to accept Torah there. 
            Our Sages consistently teach us that it is Jerusalem’s destiny to unite all Israel. Just as Israel’s unity at Sinai enabled us to receive Torah, so the ultimate unity of Israel will bring about the rebuilding of Jerusalem with the establishment of the Third Temple. May we merit that it be speedily in our days.