The Pilgrimage to the Temple For Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot

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At the giving of the Torah, G-d commanded the Jewish People to make a pilgrimage three times a year to the place that He would show them, Jerusalem. These appointed times were called Pesach (Passover),Shavuot and Sukkot. As long as both the First and Second Temple stood, Jews ascended to Jerusalem from all over Israel and from across the ancient world.

Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE-50 CE), On the Special Laws, I:

“Thousands of people from thousands of cities--some by land and some by sea, from east and west, north and south--come for every festival to the Temple, as to a shared haven, to a harbor sheltered from the storms of life.”

“For no one country can contain the whole Jewish nation, by reason of its populousness; on which account they frequent all the most prosperous and fertile countries of Europe and Asia, whether islands or continents, looking indeed upon the holy city (Jerusalem) as their metropolis in which is erected the sacred Temple of the Most High G-d…”

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City of David Megalim Institute, Courtesy of George Blumenthal and the Gol Family

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Overview

Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE-50 CE), On the Special Laws, I:

“Thousands of people from thousands of cities--some by land and some by sea, from east and west, north and south--come for every festival to the Temple, as to a shared haven, to a harbor sheltered from the storms of life.”‍…

‍“For no one country can contain the whole Jewish nation, by reason of its populousness; on which account they frequent all the most prosperous and fertile countries of Europe and Asia, whether islands or continents, looking indeed upon the holy city (Jerusalem) as their metropolis in which is erected the sacred Temple of the most high God…”