Yerushalayim Oro shel Olam

At Meir and Yitty's wedding tonight, they sang the song "Yerushalayim Oro shel Olam." "Jerusalem is the light of the world, and Who is the light of Jerusalem? The Holy One Blessed be He."

What does this mean?

Jerusalem, as the center of the Jewish people (and as drawn on some medieval maps, the center of the world), is supposed to be the city from which Torah, including ethics, shines to the world. "Ki Mitzion Teitzei Torah, uDvar Hashem miYerushalyim - For from Zion will come forth Torah, and the word of God from Jerusalem." People look to the Jews, especially those in their "home turf", as a paragon of right and wrong. When we do the right thing, or the wrong thing, people look to us as an example. Sometimes, especially in the diaspora, we only have the chance to be an example as individuals; when we exist in Jerusalem, in a country with Jerusalem as its capital, we are a national example.

This week, Israel, and thus the entire Jewish people, are under the spotlight for our actions in Gaza. When people see what Israel does, they see it as reflecting the Jewish people, the Am Hashem. When Israel acts in a moral and ethical way, that creates a kiddush Hashem, a spreading of G-d's light from Jerusalem. If they act otherwise, it creates a chilul Hashem, a darkening of that light.

I don't know enough about the situation to make an intelligent comment on what they've done, but I know that appearances are important too. You can't create a kiddush Hashem by acting ethically and looking like a sleazeball. This just creates the obligation for us, as Am Hashem, even if we are not generally political people, to do what we can in the area of hasbara, explaining to people how Israel's actions are not just morally justified but morally positive so this light can continue to go forth.

My tefilla as I sang the song (and now as well) is that as we do the right thing, Yerushalayim should be the Oro shel Olam, and HKBH should be seen as Oro shel Yerushalayim.