Israel. Zionism. Eretz Yisroel. The Holy Land. Jerusalem. Yerushalayim.

They say that the Inuit have endless ways of describing snow in their native language. Something that plays such a constant and critical role in a culture develops nuance—multiple ways of describing what, on the surface, seems like the same thing. The more central something is, the more ways we learn to speak about it.

We know that the Land of Israel has many names. So does Jerusalem. Endless monikers that are used throughout the Oral and Written Torah. And yet, the land that was promised, and the city about which we speak three times a day, seems to have lost its place at the center of the Jewish experience.

Of the 613 commandments that we received, how many are exclusively dependent on being in the Land of Israel? When God took the Jewish people out of Egypt, to which land was He bringing them? When the Temple was built, in which city did it stand? For over 2,000 years of exile, in which direction did we pray? When God made a promise to Avraham, which land did He promise to him and his descendants?

Someone I know recently responded to a comment with the following: “You know, there’s more to Judaism than Israel.”

There are few things in the Jewish tradition that are as central to the experience of being a Jew as Israel.

Have we given........

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