As a history minor, I love studying past events and learning about how things came to be. I never learned much about the b.c. history of the Israel territory so reading the first four chapters was very informative.
Chapter 1: Zion
"At this date all cities were regarded as holy places, an alien concept for us in the modern West, where the city is often experienced as a godforsaken realm in which religion has an increasingly marginal role"(7) - This specific quote struck me as being very interesting because looking at the world today one can see that most cities are not seen as holy places. Yes, some cities have holy cities, but the city itself is still part of the modern technological world. I think that a lot of people living in Jerusalem might not view it as a sacred or holy place because they do every day things there- it is part of their lifestyle. However, most of the world views as being one of the holiest, if not the most holy city.
"Such sites are sacred to us because they are inextricably bound up with our conception of ourselves; they may be associated with a profound experience that transformed our lives, with memories of early childhood, or with a person who was important to us"(8). After reading this I instantly related this quote to my experience at the Western Wall. The Wall is a sacred place but it didn't mean much to me until I was actually there on Shabbat and felt the religious and emotional attachment to it. I associate the Wall to this night in May 2010 when I decided how important Judaism is to me.
Chapter 2: Israel
Many people always debate who had the land of Israel first and which religion should "own" it. This chapter did a great job at explaining the journey behind the possession of the land by the Israelites I thought that this chapter was pretty dry and a little confusing to follow. But it made an interesting point- "in the history of Jersalem and the Holy Land, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all found other people in possession." No one really felt that this land was theirs.
Chapter 3-4: City of David, City of Judah
I wear the Star of David on my neck every day. However I never really learned or studied why David was important to my religion. This chapter helped me learn some of the facts that I didn't know. I thought that it was very interesting that there were periods of time in which historians didn't know much about the city and if it even existed. It makes me think about how historians complete their stories about events, especially about B.C. history. They need to rely solely on texts and artifacts because for obvious reasons nothing else was left behind.
The last sentence of chapter 4 - "yet even in the ruins, the city of Jerusalem would prove to be a religious symbol that could generate hope for the future" was very meaningful because I think it can be applied to what is happening in the middle east today. There is war and rockets and bombs. But there is also hope that in the future there can be peace in this religious place.
You mentioned the search for information of old cities. I found it interesting that a lot of what we know about that time comes from the bible or other religious texts. Of course, like any book or historical story there are some parts that are biased. Most people don't view religious text like a history book because of the story-telling nature and emotional connection but that is what it truly is. It also surprised me how much missing information there is, especially about such important cities. Who knows what kind of information we might uncover in the future.
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