Jerusalem Spiritual and Physical

And Melchizedek king of Shalem brought forth bread and wine and he was priest of God Most  High.                 Genesis 14:18

            Thus Melchizedek, king of Shalem, which our Sages teach us is Jerusalem, greeted Abraham upon his return from defeating the four kings. [verses 14 – 15]

            Rabbi Shlomo Aviner comments that Melchizedek was not offering Abraham a meal, rather, the bread and the wine are symbols, representing physical and spiritual life. Melchizedek is described as “priest of God Most High,” yet he realized that Abraham was greater than he and passed the priesthood to Abraham.

            It is significant that it is specifically in Jerusalem that Abraham receives a blessing of both physical and spiritual aspects of life.  Jerusalem itself combines these two aspects, being both the temporal and the spiritual capital of Israel. It is noteworthy that Jerusalem is known as the City of David [II Samuel 5:7; I Chronicles 15:1], as well as God’s city. [Isaiah 45:13]

            Jerusalem, in some sense, endows the earthly with a heavenly, spiritual aspect as well. Perhaps this is the reason that the name Yerushalayim is plural (the “ayim” suffix in Hebrew denotes a pair).