The Holy Land (Hebrew: ארץ הקודש‎; Eretz HaQodesh ; Arabic: الأرض المقدسة Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah) is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identification of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel. The term "Holy Land" is also used by Muslims and Christians to refer to the whole area in between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea.

Part of the significance of the land stems from the religious significance of Jerusalem, the holiest city to Judaism, the assumed place of Jesus's ministry, and the Isra and Mi'raj event in Islam. The perceived holiness of the land to Christianity was one of the motivational factors behind the efforts of the Crusades, which sought to win the Holy Land back from the Muslim Suljuq Turks that had conquered it from the Muslim Arabs, who had in turn conquered it from the Christian Byzantine Empire.

Many sites in the Holy Land have been destinations for religious pilgrimages since biblical times, by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. According to a Stockholm University study in 2011, these pilgrims visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their faith, confirm their beliefs in the holy context with collective excitation, and connect personally to the Holy Land.^[1]

Judaism[link]

A 1759 map entitled The Holy Land, or Palestine, showing not only the Ancient Kingdoms of Judah and Israel in which the 12 Tribes have been distinguished, but also their placement in different periods as indicated in the Holy Scriptures by Tobias Conrad Lotter, Geographer. Augsburg, Germany

While the Tanakh does not refer to the Land of Israel as the "holy land", this is implied by the Land being given to the Israelites by God, that is, it is the "promised land," an integral part of God's covenant. In the Torah many mitzvot commanded to the Israelites can only be performed in the Land of Israel,^[2] which serves to differentiate it from other lands. For example, in the Land of Israel, " no land shall be sold permanently." (Lev. 25:23). Shmita is only observed with respect to the land of Israel, and the observance of many holy days is different in that that an extra day is observed in the Jewish diaspora.

According to Eliezer Schweid:

"The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is...'geo-theological' and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, that sphere of existence that lies beyond the physical world known to us through our senses. This is the key to the land's unique status with regard to prophecy and prayer, and also with regard to the commandments" ^[3]

"Four Holy Cities" in Israel, Jerusalem, Hebron, Tzfat and Tiberias are regarded as Judaism's holiest cities. Jerusalem, as the site of the Temple, is considered especially significant.^[4] According to Jewish tradition, Jerusalem is Mount Moriah, the location of the binding of Isaac. Jerusalem is mentioned 669 times in the Hebrew Bible, in part because many mitzvot can only be performed within its environs. Zion, which usually refers Jerusalem, but sometimes the Land of Israel, appears in the Hebrew Bible 154 times.

Christianity[link]

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Christianity.

For Catholics, the Land of Israel is considered holy because of its association with the birth, ministry, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians regard as the Savior or Messiah, rather than anything that intrinsically differentiates it from other lands, or that is required for Christian religious observance. Outside of the places traditionally associated with Christian personalities, the territory or the land of the Holy Land bears no mention in Christianity.

Islam[link]

In the Qur'an, the term الأرض المقدسة (Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah, English: "Holy Land") is mentioned at least seven times, once when Moses proclaims to the Children of Israel: "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin." (Surah 5:21)

Jerusalem (referred to as Al-Quds, meaning the "Holy") has particular significance in Islam. The Qur'an refers to Muhammad's experiencing the Isra and Mi'raj as "a Journey by night from the Sacred (Mecca) Mosque to the Farthest (al-Aqsa) Mosque, whose precincts We did bless" (17:1). Ahadith associate the "Farthest Mosque" as Al-Quds; for example, as narrated by Abu Huraira: "On the night journey of Allah's Apostle, two cups, one containing wine and the other containing milk, were presented to him at Al-Quds (Jerusalem). He looked at them and took the cup of milk. Angel Gabriel said, "Praise be to Allah, who guided you to Al-Fitrah (the right path); if you had taken (the cup of) wine, your Ummah would have gone astray". However, much modern scholarship argues that the 'Farthest Mosque' (al-Masjid al-Aqsa) was a building or prayer site just outside Medina. The present mosque of that name had not been built in Muhammad's day, nor does the Qur'an contain any reference to Jerusalem, apart from the reference to the change of the qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca. The rest is simple legend involving a magic horse, the archangel Gabriel, and a meeting with God in Paradise. Jerusalem was Islam's first Qibla (direction of prayer), however, this was later changed to the Kaaba in Mecca following a revelation to the Prophet Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel.

The exact region referred to as "Blessed Land" in the Qur'an verse [21:71] has been interpreted differently by various scholars: Abdullah Yusuf Ali likens it to a wide land range including, Syria, Palestine and the cities of Tyre and Sidon; Az-Zujaj describes it as, "Damascus, Palestine, and a bit of Jordan"; Qatada claims it to be, "the Levant"; Muadh ibn Jabal as, "the area between al-Arish and the Euphrates"; and Ibn Abbas as, "the land of Jericho".^[5] The references to 'Palestine' here, instead of Syria are achronological.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Holy Land

	Book: Abrahamic religions
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Abrahamic religion
• Archaeological sites in Israel
• History of the Jews in the Land of Israel
• Holiest sites in Islam
• Holy places
• List of Christian holy sites in the Holy Land
• List of significant religious sites
• Laws and customs of the Land of Israel in Judaism
• Religious significance of Jerusalem in Islam

References[link]

External links[link]

• American Travelers to the Holy Land in the 19th Century Shapell Manuscript Foundation

* Virtual tour of Holy Land