O Jerusalem

It’s a sombre time here in Jerusalem. The Nine Days are upon us and there’s a pall in the air in the run-up to Tisha B’av. Naturally, it’s a slow time here at Temptations. Not many people are celebrating anything with cake this week. It’s a good time to reflect on what a privilege and a miracle it is to be living in Jerusalem as capital of an independent sovereign state.

This cake welcomed a group of North Americans who were in Israel for a short visit. I wanted them to appreciate the dynamic and vital city Jerusalem is, to recognize the traditional – the Tower of David, the Old City walls, a Hasid at the Kotel – along with the modern – an IDF soldier, the Knesset, an Egged bus and a tourist with a map and a camera.

The children playing in the sand are a nod to the fulfilment of the prophecy as foretold in Zecharia 8:4-5:

כה אמר ה’ צבאות: עֹד ישבו זקנים וזקנות ברחֹבות ירושלִָם, ואיש משענתו בידו מרֹב ימים. ורחֹבות העיר ימלאו ילדים וילדות משחקים ברחֹבֹתֶיהָ

So said the Lord of Hosts: Old men and women shall yet sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of old age. And the streets of the city shall be filled, with boys and girls playing in its streets.