Zion and Jerusalem By: Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
For the sake of Tzion I will not be silent, For the sake of Yerushalayim I will not be still, Till her victory emerge resplendent And her triumph like a flaming torch. Isaiah 62:1
Zion vs. Jerusalem
Throughout the Bible, “Zion” and “Jerusalem” are used interchangeably as names for Jerusalem, or so it seems. Is there any difference between them? What does each of these names imply? By answering these questions, we will understand our verse with greater depth and accuracy.
“Zion” first appears in the Bible in the context of King David’s conquest of Mount Moriah, the eventual site of the Temple.
The City of David, as we know from the extensive archaeological evidence today, is the neighborhood immediately adjacent to the Temple Mount. That Zion refers to this section of the city, rather than to all of Jerusalem, is evident from many verses in the Bible. For example:
It’s evident from these verses, and many others, that Zion and Jerusalem are not mere synonyms. “My holy mountain” clearly refers to the Temple Mount, as does the verse in Lamentations. Whereas “Jerusalem” refers to the entire city, “Zion” refers specifically to the Temple Mount and the City of David, the neighborhood inhabited by the king and his surrounding nobility.
What is our verse saying? With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at our verse:
For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still.
The word for “be still” is eshkot. This word refers to the cessation of action, not a refraining from speaking. In other words, the first phrase of the verse is a promise to speak and cry out, and the second phrase is a promise to continue to act.
Now let’s take a look at the second half of the verse.
The phrase “till her victory emerge resplendent and her triumph like a flaming torch” can also be translated as “till her righteousness emerge as brightness and her redemption like a flaming torch.“
The word for “resplendent” also means “as brightness.” Brightness is just that, brightness. It is a shining light. It illuminates, and nothing more. “A flaming torch” on the other hand, is fire.
Zion and Jerusalem = two stages of redemption
Our verse describes two aspects of the restoration of Jerusalem.
Zion represents spiritual restoration. As we showed, Zion implies the Temple and the kingdom of David. Jerusalem, on the other hand, represents the wider city, the general population at large beyond the spiritual center. Throughout the Bible, we see that the restoration of Israel and Jerusalem happens in stages. Specifically, there is a physical restoration of Israel that is followed by a spiritual restoration. For example, in the very first prophecy of foretelling the ingathering from exile we read:
The Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. – Deuteronomy 30:3-6
First God will ingather Israel and make them numerous and prosperous in the land. Then, once this physical redemption has happened, the next stage of the process, the spiritual restoration, will take place. This idea is reiterated many times in the Bible.
Other than the physical redemption occurring prior to the spiritual rejuvenation, there is also a fundamental difference between these two processes. This may seem obvious, but physical redemption is a process that takes place through action. What I mean is that the physical restoration of Israel is defined by physical material events. People streaming from the exile to the land. The reinstatement of Jewish sovereignty. Fighting wars. Building a nation-state.
But what does the spiritual restoration look like? How does that unfold? As the verses in Deuteronomy we cited state, the spiritual renewal of Israel involves a changing of the heart. In other words, the later stage of the redemption process, the spiritual restoration, is primarily about how people think and what they believe. Do we recognize God? Do we see Him as King? Are we serving Him and worshipping Him? The facts on the ground relating to the material aspects of the rebuilding of the nation of Israel are not the defining elements of this stage of the redemptive process.
For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still
The restoration of Zion – the spiritual aspect of the process, means that we hear what God is saying. He is not silent because He wants us to hear Him. The restoration of Jerusalem, on the other hand, means that God will not sit idly. He acts. He changes the reality on the ground.
The second half of the verse parallels the first half.
till her righteousness emerge as brightness and her redemption like a flaming torch.
“Her righteousness” refers to the spiritual renewal. This is likened to “brightness,” a light that shines. It illuminates. It inspires. “Her redemption” refers to the ingathering of the exiles, the physical reconstruction of the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. This is likened to “a flaming torch,” a fire which burns what comes before and clears the way for a new reality. Fire changes things materially.
I just showed from Deuteronomy 30 that the physical redemption precedes the spiritual. So why does our verse present the opposite? Why does Zion, “the brightness,” come before “Jerusalem,” the flaming torch?
It is true that in the process of redemption, the physical aspects take place before the spiritual renewal. But in terms of purpose and goal, the spiritual aspects of the redemption are primary. They are the ultimate goal.
So, in this verse, where God is stating His commitment to the restoration of Israel both materially and spiritually, He first states what is most important, what is the true end goal of the entire process. That is Zion, the Temple and the kingdom of David restored to His “Holy Mountain.”
To bring the ultimate kingdom of God to this earth, we must fix the world both materially as well as spiritually. Like God we must not be silent but must continue to share His word and His truth.
At the same time we must also never cease to act, to repair all that is broken in the world. This is Tikun Olam.
Tikkun olam also appeared in the prayer Aleinu, which dates to the 3rd century CE, though it only became part of the liturgy in the early 1200s.
The verse, translated from Hebrew, reads:
"Let the time not be distant, O God, when all shall turn to You in love, when all the brokenness in our world is repaired by the work [tikkun olam] of our hands and our hearts, inspired by Your words of Torah."
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