Sacred Space in Israel and Palestine

Religion and Politics

Marshall Breger, Yitzhak Reiter, Leonard Hammer

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415783156
• eBook ISBN: 9781136490330
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

Religion and religious nationalism have long played a central role in many ethnic and national conflicts, and the importance of religion to national identity means that territorial disputes can often focus on the contestation of holy places and sacred territory. Looking at the case of Israel and Palestine, this book highlights the nexus between religion and politics through the process of classifying holy places, giving them meaning and interpreting their standing in religious and civil law, within governmental policy, and within international and local communities.

Written by a team of renowned scholars from within and outside the region, this book follows on from Holy Places in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Confrontation and Co-existence to provide an insightful look into the politics of religion and space. Examining Jerusalem's holy basin from a variety of perspectives and disciplines, it provides unique insights into the way Jewish, Christian and Muslim authorities, scholars and jurists regard sacred space and the processes, grass roots and official, by which spaces become holy in the eyes of particular communities. Filling an important gap in the literature on Middle East peacemaking, the book will be of interest to scholars and students of the Middle East conflict, conflict resolution, political science, urban studies and history of religion.

Part I

Designating and grading holy places

1 “How awesome is this place”

Holy places in Jewish law

Aviad HaCohen

Introduction

To those trained in modern legal systems, the connection between “holiness” and “law” will sound somewhat strange. “Holiness” is a concept drawn from the world of religion, theology and spirituality, whose source of authority and content are radically different from those of secular legal systems. Nonetheless, the legal system in Israel, as in other western, democratic, and liberal countries,¹ often has to rule on cases that appear to belong to the world of “holiness.”²

In contrast to modern liberal legal systems, Jewish law is a religious legal system,³ such that the connection between “holiness” and law appears natural. Within the halakhic codes one finds dozens of laws that bear the imprint of “sanctity.” The Rambam, (Maimonides, Spain, twelfth century), the great codifier of Jewish law, even named one of the fourteen volumes of his monumental “Mishne Torah”, the Book of Holiness.

Of the wide range of laws dealing with “holiness,” a significant number of them deal with holy places. The Bible describes the sanctification of specific places. Some, like Mount Sinai, became holy on a temporary basis, while others, such as Jerusalem, acquired a permanent sanctity. Hundreds of halakhot relate to appropriate behavior in these holy sites, whose sanctity also influenced their legal status.

The centrality of the Holy Land in general, and Jerusalem in particular, for pilgrimage and religious activity, as well as political and religious disputes, has brought the sacred places issue to the attention of religious leaders and military commanders, kings, politicians and diplomats. An expression of this centrality can be found in the legal system of the State of Israel on various levels. There have been many legislative attempts to establish norms related to “holiness” and “holy places.”⁴ Some of these attempts, such as legislative proposals, were never enacted.⁵ Court decisions dealing primarily with holy places in Jerusalem have played a major role with respect to this issue. There is a great deal of legal literature that tries to define the boundaries of holy places, suggesting different solutions for this complicated and sensitive issue.⁶

In this chapter, I will examine different aspects of the laws relating to holy places. What is the nature of “holiness,” and how is it brought into being? Can any person sanctify a place? Does every place have the potential to become a “holy place”? Does this “sanctity” remain forever, or does it cease with the cessation of certain religious ceremonies or due to other circumstances? Is the definition of a “holy place” dependent on some objective test or is it a subjective definition? And can those who themselves are not religious “sanctify” a place?

Given the diversity that exists within Jewish law, there is no one clear-cut answer to these questions. To the contrary, there exists a range of positions, some of them conflicting, regarding the Jewish legal view of the sanctification of places.

The term “Kedusha” – holiness: language and meaning

The term “kedusha” (holiness, sanctity, heiligkeit) is a term with a number of meanings, both linguistically and substantively. At the linguistic level, the Hebrew term “kadosh” (holy) and the derivative verb “le-kadesh” (to sanctify) has many meanings, in different contexts.

A holy place does not exist alone as it is found within the larger family of “kedusha” (holiness) that pertains to various elements, places, people, and even God. Therefore, anyone seeking to scrutinize the nature of a “holy place” and its standing in the Jewish tradition cannot limit the examination to the term by itself, but rather must integrate it into a more inclusive weave of “holy” things, of which the “holy place” is but one of them.

A methodological and thorough study of the phenomenon of kedusha in its various contexts in the world of Judaism demonstrates that there are many parallel lines between the difference objects of holiness, despite their appearance in varied contexts; hence their importance, even for the clarification of the question of a “holy place.”

In this regard, attention must be given to the literal, dictionary meaning of the term.⁷ An examination of Jewish sources reveals that the term has many meanings. Therefore, in examining a particular source, attention must be paid not just to the straightforward interpretation of the text, but also to the context in which it appears, as only through such study is its significance likely to become clear.

In certain contexts, the term “holy” is grasped by stating what it is not: something that is not impure. Thus, for example, it is said of a person “whoever touches the altar shall be holy” (Exodus, 29: 37). In other contexts, the term “kedusha” appears as a synonym for something that may not be eaten or touched. Thus, it is written in the Torah: “You shall not sow your vineyard with diverse seeds lest the entirety be forfeited [tikdash], the seed which was sowed and the fruit of the vineyard” (Deuteronomy 22: 9).

From many sources it is apparent that the “sanctification” [hahakdasha] must be accomplished in an active manner. On some occasions, it appears to be a one-time act, but in other cases it is grasped as an on-going, multi-stage process.

Even though the Holy One, Blessed be He, the King of the King of Kings, is holy,⁸ Scriptures describe various acts that add to His holiness, and even create it: “Neither shall you profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed (nikdashti) among the children of Israel” (Leviticus 22: 32) or “But the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in the judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified (nikdash) in righteousness.” (Isaiah 5: 16).

Sanctifying by speech or deed

Sanctification, the making of a particular object or a place “holy,” is generally accomplished by virtue of an active deed. This deed may be of various kinds such as a statement, an utterance, a memory or behavior and deed.

The Torah states that the creation of the “sanctification of time,” the Jewish Sabbath, was accomplished by speech, “And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (Genesis 2: 3). As a reminder of this act of creation, every Jew is commanded to “sanctify” the Sabbath verbally, with the start of the day and at its end through the “kiddush” and “havdalah,” two texts that mention the sanctity of the Sabbath and its significance. In the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel were commanded to “sanctify” the Sabbath solely by preserving it in memory, as stated (Exodus 20: 8) “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”

As opposed to this, the sons of Aaron as well as the sanctuary and its implements, were sanctified through a deed “… and anointed it and sanctified it” (Numbers 7: 1). The act of sanctification was carried out by anointing the implements and the priests (kohanim) with oil.

A special kind of sanctity dependent upon an act stems from the creation of the bond of marriage between a man and his wife, called “kiddushin,” requiring an active deed on the part of the man towards his wife by saying, “You are hereby sanctified (mekudeshet) to me according to the law of Moses and Israel.” The sages interpreted this language in the context of the laws of marriage as indicating both the positive nature of the act of marriage, designation and preparation of the woman for the bond with her husband, and the negative nature of the act of marriage, this woman hereby is only for her husband and she is forbidden to the world as “consecrated” (hekdesh). In this sense, the act of the “sanctification” is mentioned as a prohibition, and according to the sages as well, “one who plants something other than vines in a vineyard, or retains such a plant in it thereby consecrates (mekadesh) forty — five vines.” (Kila’im 5: 5). In this sense, “sanctification” means to “prohibit” and “forbid” something so it would be not permitted to use it in any form, not to eat it and not to sell it.

The act of “sanctification” marks the designation of the sanctified item or place for a particular and defined purpose. This meaning is derived from the book of Joel (2: 15): “[…] sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly!” and similarly in the book of Jeremiah (6: 4): “Sanctify (kadshu) war against it.”

Different levels of holiness

From the study of various Jewish sources we learn that there are different levels of holiness. The variation in the level of holiness is likely to stem from the source of the holiness: whether it is from the Torah (the highest normative level in the world of halakha) or only from rabbinic law (from the sages, a lower normative level), or from the use made of the sanctified item (the more important the function that it fulfills in religious life, the greater its level of sanctity).

This distinction also exists regarding a holy place. Even a place that was sanctified long ago can rise in its level of holiness through a certain act. Thus, inclusion of an additional area within the walls of the city of Jerusalem may turn that appended place into a holier place to which different norms may apply. Similarly, a certain geographic area of the Land of Israel that was conquered at the outset only by “individual conquest” (an act initiated by the king but not by force of divine command, or by virtue of authority accorded to him by the people) may rise in its level of holiness when it becomes a “public conquest,” conquered by the entire public.

Similarly, the street of a city used purely for public gatherings, or a house of study used only for the study of Torah, may rise in holiness with its transformation into a place of prayer, a synagogue. Entire halakhic compilations were devoted to the laws of the “sanctity of the synagogue” and “the sanctity of the house of study” (beit midrash).

The sanctity of these places increased so much that it was compared to the sanctity of the holiest place to the Jewish people, the holy Temple. The mishnaic midrash, Torat Kohanim, interprets one verse “and I will bring your sanctuaries to desolation”⁹ as a source for the sanctity of every synagogue. It does so by emphasizing the exact use of the term “sanctuaries” in the plural form and not “sanctuary,” in the singular form. Similarly, the Babylonian Talmud¹⁰ interprets the prophecy in Ezekiel:¹¹

“I [God] have been to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they have come.” The saying “this little sanctuary”, a kind of secondary temple “mikdash me’at” also refers to synagogues and houses of Torah study elsewhere, not only in Jerusalem. The Sages added to this by stating that God is permanently present in these places: “Seek the Lord where he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”¹² Where can he be found? “In the synagogues and in the houses of study[…]”¹³

These statements were not only idealistic as they have practical implications. The Sages restricted freedom of speech inside the synagogue and prohibited the use of any “profane language.”¹⁴ Similarly, there is a prohibition on entering a synagogue with arms, such as a gun or pistol.¹⁵ Due to its sanctity, one is forbidden to sleep in a synagogue or to behave with a lack of decorum.

A place may also descend in its level of holiness as a result of a change in the function that it fulfills due to historical processes or due to other factors. According to the opinion of some of the Sages, the destruction of the walls of the city of Jerusalem reduced the level of holiness of the geographic area included within them. This is the case regarding a holy site that was des...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Notes on contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• PART I. Designating and grading holy places
• PART II. Interpreting religious law in light of political need
• PART III. The role of religious leaders in addressing issues pertaining to holy sites
• Bibliography
• Index