Tammuz and Av: Longing for Jerusalem

• The students will be familiar with Jerusalem as the beating heart of the Jewish people throughout Jewish history.
• The students will learn about how Jews have longed for Jerusalem throughout the generations, and their hopes and prayers to return there.
• The students will learn about present-day Jerusalem.

Opening Activity
Here is a list of incomplete sentences. Ask the students to complete each sentence based on their own feelings:
• Jerusalem reminds me …
• The most important thing in Jerusalem is …
• I want Jerusalem to …
• For me, Jerusalem is …
• I learned that Jerusalem is …
• Jerusalem causes me to …
• One song that reminds me of Jerusalem is …
• One food that reminds me of Jerusalem is …
Part 1: Longing for Jerusalem
Read the following quote from the Talmud: “A person who never saw Jerusalem in its splendor has never seen a beautiful city. A person who never saw the Temple in its constructed state has never seen a magnificent building.” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sukkah 51b)
Explain that in ancient times, from the time of King David, Jerusalem was the impressive and important capital city of the Land of Israel. The Temple in Jerusalem was the religious center to which Jews from around the world would travel on the three pilgrimage holidays (shalosh regalim) – Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Show this video, which presents a model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple era, which is located at the Israel Museum.
Show a presentation with the following verses from Psalm 137 (verses 1, 4–5). Explain the content of the psalm. Tell the students that “Zion” is another name for Jerusalem, which later became another name for the Land of Israel. The word “Zionism” comes from this name.
Ask:
• Why were the Jews who had been exiled crying?
• Why didn’t they want to sing?
• The last sentence is an oath. What oath did the exiled Jews swear?
Distribute to the students the activity sheet (Supplement 1) that presents different Jewish customs that remind us of Jerusalem or teach us about its importance. Invite the students to work on the activity sheet in pairs.
Bring the class back together and ask the students to share: Which of the customs that remind us of Jerusalem were they familiar with? Were there any customs that were new to them, but caused them to feel a certain way or that they particularly liked?
Level 3: As a class, discuss the customs related to Jerusalem. Ask: Do you think that the mourning customs are relevant today, when Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel and a large, important city? Is there a change that you would like to see in Jerusalem?
Explain that longing for Jerusalem has been an important part of Jewish and Israeli identity for generations. We encounter this longing in the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah”. Divide the students into pairs and give each pair a copy of the study sheet (Supplement 2). Explain to the students what a “hevruta” is. Have the students study the source sheet in pairs. Bring the class back together.
Part 2: The Light of Jerusalem
Project the presentation “Jerusalem, Light of the World” on the board. (Beresheit Rabbah 59). Explain that the sentence was said by the Sages in the midrash.
Ask: What is the meaning of the word “light”? Does it refer to a lot of flashlights? What do you think the Sages were referring to?
Show the rest of the presentation which suggests the different types of light that Jerusalem brings.
Hand out postcards to the students (thick paper, 15 × 10 cm) on which they can draw one of the types of light of Jerusalem, as shown in the presentation. On the other side of the card, they can write a note to an imaginary child living in Jerusalem, in the past or today.
Display the postcards. You can hang them on a wall of the classroom that you have dedicated to the theme of Jerusalem.
Conclusion
Conclude the lesson by saying that today, many Jews live in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and many come to visit the city and enjoy its renewed beauty. Thanks to the customs that remind us of Jerusalem, the connection with the city and warm feelings for it were preserved for generations. One custom mentioned in the lesson is the custom of facing Jerusalem when we pray. Invite the students to figure out which wall of the classroom faces Jerusalem and to put a sign on that wall with an arrow pointing toward Jerusalem. On the sign itself write “Jerusalem”. Around it, students can add relevant things: personal prayers for Jerusalem, words connected to Jerusalem, or simply their names.