Jerusalem as a place of pilgrimage Where is

Jerusalem as a place of pilgrimage.

Where is Jerusalem? United Kingdom JERUSALEM Mecca

Who goes to Jerusalem? u Jerusalem is a very special place for Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Why is it important to Christians? u It is where they believe Jesus lived and died. Jesus was born in Bethlehem but was brought to the temple in Jerusalem a few days after he was born. Jesus died on Golgotha, which is in Jerusalem.

Why is it important to Muslims? u Muslims believe it is where Mohammed ascended into heaven. Muslims believe that Mohammed was carried on a winged horse from Mecca to Jerusalem. Then he was taken up to heaven by angels.

Why is it important to Jews? u It is where they believe that Abraham sacrificed his son. Can you remember where Muslims believe Abraham sacrificed his son? On Mount Arafat… in Mecca! u It is also where King David brought the Ark of the Covenant in 1000 BC. Can you guess what is meant by the ‘Ark of the Covenant’? It is the ten commandments that were written on stone by Moses.

u Jews believe that King David’s son, Solomon, built a temple to keep the Ark of Covenant safe. They say that Solomon prayed to God and asked Him to accept the temple and to live inside its walls. Jews believe that God agreed, and so this is where they came to be close to Him. …until….

The temple was destroyed by a group of people called the Babylonians! The Jewish people started to rebuild the temple… but it wasn’t finished until 75 years later! …But….

The temple was destroyed again … …this time by the Romans!

u u u Jews pray every day that God will allow a third temple to be built. Jews believe that one day God will send his only son, and some people think that when this happens they will be allowed to build the temple. Now, all that remains of the temple is one wall, the western wall.

u u u Today, Jews come from all over the world to visit the western wall. They believe that God is still there, and that coming to the wall is the closest way of reaching Him. If they pray at the wall, then God is sure to hear them!

u Sometimes the wall is called ‘The Wailing Wall’ because people pray loudly and are sometimes moved to tears.

A lot of pilgrims write their prayers on a piece of paper and push the paper into the cracks in the wall. Some Jews can’t come themselves and so put their prayers in the post addressed to: ‘God, Jerusalem’ It isn’t just Jews that do this. People from all faiths will come and post their Prayers. Twice a year the Rabbi and his helpers collect up all of the prayers to leave room for others. They bury the papers on Mount Olive, a holy place in Jerusalem.