Yom Yerushalayim

Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day, is the most modern Jewish holiday on the Hebrew calendar. It takes place annually on the twenty-eighth day of the month of Iyar—six weeks after the Passover Seder and one week before the eve of Shavuot—which usually falls in May or June. The holiday celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem following the Six-Day War on June 7, 1967,[1] after the city had been divided for nineteen years.

During those years of division, Jordan controlled the eastern portion of Jerusalem, while western Jerusalem remained under Israeli control. Its reunification marked the first time in thousands of years that the Jewish people controlled all of Jerusalem and had access to their holiest site, the Western Wall, the only remnant standing from the mount on which the Second Temple was built.[2]

Jerusalem’s Importance to the Jewish People

Ever since King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel around 1,000 bc (1 Samuel 5), the city has been a central component of Jewish life and practice. When Jewish people pray, they traditionally turn in the direction of Jerusalem; the annual Jewish Passover Seder ends with the shout of “Next year in Jerusalem!”; Jewish prayer services consist of references to Jerusalem; and Jewish wedding ceremonies end with the stomping of glass to signify mourning over the Temple’s destruction in ad 70.[3] In the words of the psalmist, the Jewish heart cries, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy” (Psalm 137:5–6).

Celebration in Israel

Jerusalem Day is more widely celebrated in Israel than in the Diaspora. The week before the holiday, Israeli schools focus on the city’s history, geography, and messianic expectations;[4] and a day or two beforehand, a festive parade takes place called “Rural Communities Salute Jerusalem,” where thousands of rural Israelis march through the city.[5]

On the actual day, thousands of Israelis throughout the country travel to Jerusalem to commemorate Jerusalem Day. It consists of festive ceremonies, memorial services to honor those who died during the Six-Day War, and a “Dance of Flags” procession, in which people sing songs, dance, and wave flags from Jerusalem’s city center to the Western Wall.[6] These celebrations include proclaiming Jerusalem as “a city uniting all” (Psalm 122:3) and reciting psalms of praise.[7]

The Future “Jerusalem Day”

At Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem, we look forward to the future reunification of Jerusalem when the Lord regathers the Jewish people “from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11–12) back to Israel and reigns as Lord and Messiah from the New Jerusalem. On that day, people from every nation will be blessed through the Jewish people and the Jewish Messiah as we worship together in peace in the New Jerusalem (Zechariah 8:13, 22–23; Revelation 7:9–10).

Click here to read more about what Scripture says about Israel’s future.

by Jennifer Miles

_____________________________________________

[1] “Jerusalem Day,” The Knesset, accessed May 22, 2022, https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/About/Pages/jerusalem.aspx/.

[2] “What Is The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem? | Western Wall Heritage Foundation,” The Western Wall, Jerusalem, accessed May 27, 2022, https://thekotel.org/en/facts-and-figures/.

[3] Rabbi Ed Snitkoff, “The Jewish Connection to Jerusalem,” My Jewish Learning, accessed May 27, 2022, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-jewish-connection-to-jerusalem/.

[4] My Jewish Learning, “Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day,” My Jewish Learning, accessed May 27, 2022, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yom-yerushalayim-jerusalem-day/.

[5] “Jerusalem Day,” The Knesset, accessed May 22, 2022, https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/About/Pages/jerusalem.aspx/.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.