A Cure for Homesickness

While Karen Armstrong's book is through, I find her summary and analysis of the history of Jerusalem often confusing. Granted, the task of summarizing such an arduous history is nearly impossible. As we have discussed in class, the primary historians of ancient Jerusalem were nameless biblical writers. Countless documents and artifacts have been lost or unable to be translated. Lastly, the lunar calendar that was used to tell time is in conflict with our modern calendar.

To help me understand Jerusalem’s complicated history better, I sought out a less detailed summary. The Jerusalem Center produced a video which condenses 4000 years of Jerusalem’s history into five minutes. Once again the history maybe not be entirely correct, but it does reveal certain patterns. Over and over again we hear about cultures that came to call Jerusalem home were exiled or conquered. Notice the cycle of conquest, destruction, and restoration that the city has endured since biblical times. So what happens when you and your entire culture is pushed out of your spiritual homeland?

In chapter five, Armstrong discusses how the people of Judah fell back on their cultural traditions after being exiled from Jerusalem. Caught in the crossfire of Babylonian conquest and forced into exile, the Judeans found a way to remain tied to the city despite the physical distance. To maintain ties with their sacred land, and to uphold the Deuteronomist ideal which states that the only legitimate shrine for Yahweh remains in Jerusalem, the “Judaeans developed a practice of lifting up their hand, turning in the direction of Jerusalem, and speaking words of praise of entreaty to Yahweh precisely as a substitute for sacrifice” (83). The Judaeans also kept a distinctive diet and other “codified regulations and practices” that distinguished themselves from other nearby religious identities (82). This process of self-identification is apparent in many other religions and cultures. To adapt after a disassociation with their home, cultural groups use traditions, including religion, to orient and maintain an identity. As we proceed through more of Jerusalem’s it will be fascinating to learn about more of these traditions. Specifically the traditions of other cultural groups that settled in Jerusalem and about the cultural flows between these groups.

Armstrong, Karen. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. Ballantine Books, 2005.