The vision of life's promise is one we surrender at our peril, because it gives us the will to live. The other part of the name is peace, but the peace of Jerusalem is not the absence of strife. Jerusalem has rarely known anything but strife. The peace of Jerusalem is the peace at the center of the spokes of a wheel, where opposing forces may be delicately balanced and reconciled. The Talmud says that creation began in Jerusalem, and the world radiated outward from this place.
Medieval maps show Jerusalem at the epicenter of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
The world flows into this spot, and all life's forces resonate here. From this place, the whole world is cast into perspective. Jerusalem, the center, which gives perspective to the rest of the world. Jerusalem where God is seen. Jerusalem the perfected world.