Summary of the day
Yom Yerushalayim falls on 28 Iyar and marks the reunification of Jerusalem and the liberation of the Old City and the Western Wall in the Six-Day War (28 Iyar 5727, 7 June 1967). In many synagogues Hallel is said, and a march and the “Flag Dance” take place in the Old City, with study about Jerusalem.
Mitzvot and customs of the day
- Hallel: in many communities, with or without a blessing according to custom.
- Psalm 122 (“A song of ascents of David: I rejoiced when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord”), and other Psalms about Jerusalem.
- Going up to the Western Wall and praying there, and learning about the Temple Mount, the borders, and Jerusalem’s place in halacha.
- The Flag Dance: a march through the Old City, with singing and dancing.
- Reading: passages from Tanakh about Jerusalem, and the stories of the liberators.
Origin in history
After the War of Independence, in 1948, Jerusalem was divided: the Old City and the Western Wall remained in Jordanian hands, and Jews could not pray there for 19 years. In the Six-Day War (5-10 June 1967), after Egypt’s blockade of the Straits of Tiran, Israel struck Egypt, Syria and Jordan. On 7 June paratroopers entered the Old City, and the Western Wall returned to Israel. The Chief Military Rabbi, Shlomo Goren, sounded the shofar at the Wall. Within six days the country tripled its territory, and the bond between the people and the city was restored.
The message for today
Jerusalem is named “Shalem” by Malchizedek and “Yireh” by Abraham, and the Holy One joined the two names: Yerushalayim (Shalem + Yireh), a city of wholeness and of awe of heaven. Scripture says the city is “joined together” (Psalm 122:3), which is unity: we join one another. This is a connection that is not only territorial but one of values: the holy city invites all of Israel to peace and to mitzvot. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love you prosper.”