Reading Room

HINT:Use the Glossary of Yiddish and Hebrew (122KB) if you don't understand a word.

Jerusalem: The Eye of the Universe
by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

Abba Issi said in the name of Samuel the Lesser: The world is like a human eyeball. The white of the eye is the ocean surrounding the world, the iris is this continent, the pupil is Jerusalem, and the image in the pupil is the Holy Temple.

Derech Eretz Zuta 9

In his preface to Sefer haChinuch (The Book of [Mitzvah] Education), R. Aharon haLevi describes the Torah of truth and explains why G-d gave it to the Jewish people, why they are called "chosen ", and he briefly explains the importance of Israel and in particular, Jerusalem. His reasoning derives from the nature of the world:
"...most fields in the world are not prime, fertile land, but only a small part; and of the prime land, a fraction is the prime of the prime... the same is true of the produce of the world... of domestic animals and birds... and the same holds true about the human race...the same holds true in regard to the earthly globe: one part is more select than the rest. And knowing this select part to be the land of Israel, the Eternal Lord made it His wish to settle in it the choicest part of the human species. Then, of that choice part of the earth, the very best region is Jerusalem. Therefore it was picked to be the dwelling-place of the Torah and the center of Divine service; and from it the entire earthly globe was to be blessed, for there the Lord commanded the blessing (Tehillim [Psalms] 133:3).

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (of blessed memory) expands on the significance and uniqueness of Jerusalem in his book Jerusalem: The Eye of the Universe. He explains, among many things, why Jerusalem is the only city mentioned in Jewish prayers, what the source of its holiness is, and why the Temple can be located only on this one spot. Rabbi Kaplan explains the mystery of its origin and how Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel are connected with it. He also explains why Jerusalem's status is so significant to its friends and enemies.

Rabbi Kaplan also details how and why Jerusalem will become the spiritual capital of all mankind during the Messianic era, and relates how this will fulfill the prophecy found in Isaiah 2:2-4, may this happen speedily in our day.

Jerusalem: The Eye of the Universe
(112 Pages)
Published by National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY)/ Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
New York, New York

The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology, II
Published and distributed by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
4401 Second Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11232