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“Of the ten measures of beauty that descended on the world, Jerusalem took nine”
Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 49b
The belief in the sanctity of the Land of Israel, coupled with the idea that Jerusalem is the core of Jewish existence, were frequently expressed in the Biblical literature as well as the post-Biblical texts of the Mishnah and Gemara. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the exile that followed it prompted a yearning for Zion. It was articulated in countless books and poems, but only a few Jews actually fulfilled it.
The memory of the Temple was conveyed in various ways in the public domain where Jews led their daily lives. Descriptions of Jerusalem and symbols associated with the Temple, and in particular the candelabrum, appear in Jewish art in all the different periods.
