As the Torah prescribes, the Paschal Lamb can be prepared only in one place: ''You shall sacrifice the Passover offering to the Lord your God . . . in the place that God shall choose to make His Name dwell there'' (Deuteronomy 16:2). The Torah states that God would choose a place, and that it would be the only place in the world where such an offering could be made. And what was true of the Passover offering was true of many other important aspects of Jewish life. According to the rule set down by the Torah, these rituals could be observed only in ''the place that God would choose." (1) This ''place'' was Jerusalem.

For almost a thousand years, from the time that it was dedicated by King David until it was destroyed by the Romans, Jerusalem was the focal point of the Jewish people. (2) There were certain things that could only be accomplished in Jerusalem; no matter where a Jew lived, he would have to go to this holy city to do these things. Since there were so many rituals that could be performed only in Jerusalem, our sages teach us that ''Jerusalem is more holy than the rest of the Land of Israel." (3)

Among the most dramatic of these observances were the three annual pilgrimages. There are three festivals, Succot, Passover, and Shavuot, during which, in the days of the Temple, the Torah required every Jew who was able to make a pilgrimage to ''the place chosen by God.'' The Torah thus states, ''Three times a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose, on the feast of Matzot (Passover), on the feast of Shavuot, and on the feast of Succot" (Deuteronomy 16:16).

During these pilgrimages, Jews poured into Jerusalem from all over the world. They renewed friendships and exchanged news. As a result, the Jews were united and molded into a single people. (4) But most important, all this was done within a context of holiness and serving God. The fact that so many people were gathering in worship would reinforce all of them religiously and morally, so much so that in the course of these pilgrimages, no Jew would be suspected of harming another in any way. (5) Thus, Jerusalem united the Jewish people in a context that directed this unity toward the unity of God.

This helps us to understand why the ''place chosen by God'' had to be a city. What is a city? Besides a mere concentration of people, it is a place where civilization grows and develops. The very concentration of people in a city results in an exchange and growth of ideas. It is therefore no coincidence that the growth of civilization in general has historically emanated from its cities. While the farmlands provided food for the body, the cities provided food for the mind and soul. As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch points out. the Hebrew word for city, "Ir", comes from the same base as the word "Ur" meaning ''to awaken." (6) It is the city that awakens mankind, bringing out his best creative instincts. Indeed, in the Torah we find that the building of cities led to many of the most important developments in civilization. (7)

The focal point of Jewish civilization was to develop a relationship with God; and this too required a city. Jerusalem became the place where Jews from all over the world would gather to exchange ideas and develop a civilization enhancing this relationship. Vital to this process were the Temple and the many teachers of Torah who lived in But in general, it was Jerusalem that was THE city--the ''awakener"--arousing and motivating the Jew toward his mission. It is not very surprising that our sages teach- that Jerusalem is the highest realization of the concept of the City. (8)

This is seen very explicitly also with respect to the ''Second Tithe'' (Maaser Sheni). There were a number of tithes from all crops grown in the Holy Land, that had to be given as a kind of income tax to support the Priests (Cohanim) and Levites, who served as religious leaders and teachers. One-tenth of all produce grown in the Holy Land was the tithe given to the Levites, while a smaller portion, known as Terumah, was given to the Cohen-Priest. In addition, there was the Second Tithe. (9) This was not given away; instead, the owner himself had either to eat it in Jerusalem, or redeem it and spend the money for food in Jerusalem. Here, the Torah itself provides a reason: ''You shall eat before the Lord your God in the place that He shall choose for His Name to dwell, the tithe of your corn, wine and oil . . . that you may learn always to fear the Lord your God'' (Deuteronomy 14:23).

Instead of giving this tithe to the Priest and Levite, the owner himself would become a ''Priest and Levite" while living off this tithe in Jerusalem. (10) He would have to take time off from his usual occupation, purify himself in the prescribed manner, and remain in Jerusalem until the tithe was consumed. If he could not go himself, he would send his children to Jerusalem to live off the tithe. In this manner, either he or his children would be exposed to the atmosphere of Jerusalem, to the worship and intellectual ferment that filled the air; and they would be able to grow and develop in the ways of the Torah. In this manner the ideal would be fulfilled, wherein the entire Jewish people would become ''a kingdom of priests and a holy nation'' (Exodus 19:6). The system of the ''Second Tithe'' insured that every Jew would spend at least a part of the year as a resident of Jerusalem, and this would be a period of spiritual regeneration for all members of the Jewish people. (11)

There were many other observances that could be kept only in the ''place chosen by God,'' that is, in Jerusalem. There was a tithe of all livestock that had to be eaten in the Holy City. (12) The First Fruits had to be brought to the ''place that God will choose,'' involving a meaningful ceremony. (13) These practices served the important purpose of causing each and every Jew to make regular visits to Jerusalem, thus experiencing the spiritual renewal and unifying influence associated with this city.

Most of these practices affected only Jews living in the Holy Land. There were other commandments, however, that affected Jews wherever they lived. These involved the system of sacrifices. In the Torah, particularly at the beginning of Leviticus, a number of sacrifices are prescribed. Some can be brought as a free will offering, but the most common reason for the offering of a sacrifice was the atonement of a sin.

According to the 12th century Ramban (Nachmanides), the primary purpose of the sacrifice was that by being involved in the slaughter of an animal, the person bringing it would also experience vicarious death. When the Cohen-priest slaughtered the animal and burned it on the altar, the person bringing it would feel as though he himself had been killed and burned for having gone against the word of God. (14)

Furthermore, God gave man the power of intellect so that he would be able to perfect himself. When a person sins, it is as if he has rejected his God-given intellect. Since the main thing distinguishing man from the animals is his intellect, when a person sins he is actually identifying with the animals. For this reason, an animal must be sacrificed. (15)

On a deeper level, man consists of two elements, the animal and the divine; and these two elements are in constant conflict with each other. (16) While the divine in man pulls him toward the spiritual, the animal in him draws him toward the physical and the mundane. When a person sins, he must therefore bring an animal as a sacrifice. By being an offering to God, the animal itself is elevated; at the same time, the animal in man, which can identify with this animal being sacrificed, is also elevated. The animal in man, which caused him to sin, is then brought back under the subjugation of the divine. (17)

All of these reasons merely touch the surface of the concept of sacrifices, which involves some of the deepest ideas of Judaism. It is obvious that the entire sacrificial system would appear brutal and barbaric unless administered in an almost perfect religious atmosphere. Only a nation of the highest moral and spiritual caliber could be worthy of it. Therefore, because of the moral laxity and spiritual degeneration of the Jewish people, the sacrificial system was eventually abolished. (18)

Sacrifice could be offered only in one place, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. This is explicitly prescribed in the Torah: ''God shall choose a place for His Name to dwell; there shall you bring your offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and gifts'' (Deuteronomy 12:11). Ever since the Temple was built in Jerusalem, in no other place in the world can sacrifices be offered.

It is considered a most serious sin to offer a sacrifice outside the Jerusalem Temple. (19) Here again, the reason is that it must be done in a place of the utmost holiness, so that the sacrificial system will not degenerate into something barbaric and brutal. The thirteenth century author of the Sefer HaChinuch writes that killing an animal wantonly, if not done for food or in the proper worship of God in the proper place, is an act of murder. (20) In this manner, the sacrificial system actually taught us to respect all life, even that of an animal. The severest penalties were invoked against a person who killed an animal as a sacrifice, not in a place of holiness and according to the prescribed law.

There was therefore a commandment that a person offering a sacrifice must be actively involved in bringing it to the Temple in Jerusalem, as the Torah states, ''You shall take the holy things that you have and your vow-offerings, and go to the place that God will choose'' (Deuteronomy 12:26). (21) Beyond this, it was important that every individual be physically present to place his hands on his sacrifice before it was offered. One could send his sacrifice to Jerusalem through an agent or messenger, but the latter could not perform the ritual of laying the hands on the offering. The sacrifice might be valid without this laying of hands, but the atonement was not complete. (22) The actual offering of the sacrifice, of course, could be done only by a Cohen-Priest.

Thus, whenever a person committed a sin requiring a sacrifice, he was virtually compelled to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to seek atonement. There was a particular significance in the fact that one had to make this pilgrimage. In sinning, the person demonstrated that his relationship to God was not perfect and complete; therefore, he would have to visit Jerusalem to strengthen this relationship. Only in Jerusalem could he once again become spiritually whole, renewing his commitment so as to avoid future sin.

The Temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 68 c.e. and since then, sacrifices are no longer offered. People sin so often today that if they had to bring a sacrifice for each offense, everyone would be bringing an offering daily. In the concluding Neilah service on Yom Kippur, we say, ''there is no end of the offerings required of us, countless would be our guilt sacrifices.'' As mentioned earlier, this is actually one reason why the sacrificial system had to be abolished. Today we make up for the lack of sacrifices with prayer and Torah study, as the prophet said, ''We shall render for bullocks the offerings of our lips" (Hosea 14:3). (23)

From all this we learn a most important lesson. The fact that a single city was central to Judaism is not an accident. In many places, the Torah mentions such a central city--the ''place that God will choose''--and mandates many practices that will obligate the Jew to make periodic pilgrimages to this place. God knew that if the Jewish people were to be molded into a people worthy of fulfilling their mission, they would have to have such a center as its focus.

Although most of these practices are no longer observed, Jerusalem still retains its status as a focal point of Judaism. God Himself determined that Jerusalem would be the holy city; and something so prescribed by God cannot be retracted Thus, the status of Jerusalem as a holy city exists even to this day. (24) God considers it necessary that such a focal point exist even today. Jerusalem still serves as a focus of the Jewish people, as well as a central point of their mission.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Sefer HaChinukh 487. See Chapter 6, note 1.
2. According to traditions, David captured Jerusalem in the year 2892 (868 b.c.e.), and it was destroyed by the Romans in 3828 (69 c.e.), or 976 years later. See Chapter 7, notes 22 and 53. According to Josephus, however Jerusalem retained this status for 1179 years, see Wars 6: 10. Also see Antiquities 20:10.
3. Kelim 1:8..Cf. Bava Kama 62b, Yad, Bet HaBechirah 7:14. Also see Ketubot 13:11 (ll0b), Isaiah 52:1, 66:20.
4. Yerushalmi, Chagigah 3:6, Bava Kama 7:7, from Psalm 122:3. Cf. Chagigah 26a, Isaiah 33:20.
5 Ibid. Cf. Metzudot David (Radbaz) 266.
6 Hirsch on Genesis 4:17. Note that Cain was originally a farmer, and that the first city was built by Cain as an atonement for his murder of his brother. Cf.Malbim ibid. Their altar was in Jerusalem, see Chapter 6, note 9.
7. See Genesis 4:20-22.
8. Ketubot lllb, from 2 Kings 19:34; Tanchuma, Ki Tavo 4, from Lamentations 2: 15. Cf. Likutey Moharan 280.
9. This was the tithe given annually, except for the fourth and sixth year of the seven year cycle, when the Tithe for the Poor (Maaser Ani) was substituted as a second tithe. See Yad, Matnot Aniyim 6, Maaser Sheni l: I .
10. Hirsch on Deuteronomy 14:23.
11. Deuteronomy 14:23, Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Seforno ad loc., Tosafot, Bava Batra 21a, s.v. ''Ki." See Chinukh 360, Metzudot David 256.
12. Chinukh 360.
13. Deuteronomy 26:2. See Bikkurim 3:1-4.
14. Ramban on Leviticus 1:9. See Tanchuma, Vayikra 8.
15. Chinukh 95.
16. Man is thus like an angel in three ways, and like an animal in three ways, Chagigah 16a. Also see Tanchuma, Vayikra 8, Zohar 2:94b, 3:33b, Ramban on Genesis 1:20, Leviticus 17:24, Ralbag on Proverbs 12:10, Shaarey Kedushah 1:1, Or HaChaim on Genesis 1:21, Leviticus 17:10, Likutey Amarim (Tanya) 1:1 (5b).
17. Etz Chaim, Shaar Kitzur ABYA 2 (Aslag edition, Tel Aviv, 5720), Volume 2, page 395. Cf. Ramban on Genesis 2:8, 3:22.
18 Cf. Yoma 9b, 39b, Tosefta, Minachot 13:4, Yerushalmi, Yoma 1:1 (4b), BaMidbar Rabbah 7:10. Also see Isaiah 1:11, Jeremiah 7:11, Psalms 50:12.
19 Yad, Maaseh Karbanot 18:2.
20 Chinukh 186.
21 Yad, Maaseh Karbanot 18:1, Chinukh 453.
22. Leviticus 1:4, 3:2, 3:8, 3:13, 4:4, 4:24, 4:29, 4:33, 16:21; Minachot 93b, Yad, Maaseh Karbanot 3:6, 8.
23. Yoma 86b, Shemot Rabbah 38:4, Pesikta 6 (60b), Yalkut 2:479. Also see Minachot 110a, Taanit 27a, Megillah 31a; Rosh. Rosh HaShanah 4:14, Orach Chaim 1:5.
24. Chinukh 95, Yad. Bet HaBechirah 6:16.