Editor's Note:
Dear Friend,
Jerusalem is never far from our minds. After all, it is there that creation began, and it has been the center of our national devotion for 3,000 years. Three times a day, we face Jerusalem as we pray for the return of G‑d’s presence to His holy city.
Over 150 years ago, there was a pious and devoted Jew who desired to apply himself to Torah study and prayer in the Holy Land. When he shared his plan with his rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, he was taken aback by the rebbe’s response, “Make Israel here.” He did not need to go to Israel; rather, he was to bring Israel where he lived.
Every time we do another mitzvah, we port a bit of Jerusalem to wherever we are. And when the word is full of such mini-Jerusalems, we will all gather in our homeland—for real.
Menachem Posner,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team