Ode to Jerusalem

"You have to love Jerusalem". This is the phrase that I heard numerous times from a lot of different people many times in my five months of living in our nation's capital. This is the phrase that I found myself using when showing this city to my friends recently. The thing is, I don't remember the point where I finally became a proponent of Jerusalem. It just happened. You simply have to love Jerusalem.
The truth is, there is still probably more to not like about Jerusalem if you look at it from a more logical side. There are not enough good jobs. Housing is among the most expensive in the country. Transportation is still a mess even with all the promises and future projects. There are probably too many Arabs. There are definitely too many religious people. Another lingering question of mine is why there are so many crazy and sick people here? Does the city make them this way or do they come here in search for a cure or some other high purpose? This last year, ten percent of Jerusalem's eighteen year olds didn't pass psychological evaluation by the army. Another high percent didn't succeed on a general medical check. And yet, you still have to love Jerusalem.
Everybody who chooses to stay here does it because without Jerusalem they are incomplete. The name itself fills their hearts with an unexplainable trepidation. In that name countless songs and poems are written. The name is also what saved Judaism for two thousand years of exile. The name that rose the nation from the dead. When the anthem is sung, the last word that remains with you is that of this everlasting city. There is a reason for three thousand years of blood, sweat and tears. For every time it's burned to the ground, it comes back even bigger. From David's psalms to Hadag Nahash's rap, Jerusalem is always larger than life. This is the only place that can claim that the entire universe started on a mountain where it stands. The only that could launch the story of Jesus and be the last earthly stop of Muhammad. Maybe that's why you have to love Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is beautiful and romantic. One can walk it's streets for years and still discover something wonderful at the next corner. It's peacefully breathtaking at night and angrily majestic during the day. Everybody can find a bit of space for themselves here and claim their independence from the world. Honestly, I just don't have enough words or knowledge in using them to do this city justice. Trust me, you have to love Jerusalem.