Why Am I In Israel?

Why am I in Israel? To get a better understanding of the Bible? On a spiritual pilgrimage which I hope will be pleasing to God? To add a live view of history to my faith? To show support for a country and a people that I love? I could make a long list, and my idea of the best answer might change depending on the experience of each day here.

Being here does make the Bible come alive. Today I was on the Temple Mount, the location of the second Temple which was destroyed by the Romans,  the place where the holy of holies once was, and this is also the location of the first Temple. I realize that precise identification of these locations is a problem, which this website addresses. But as stated here,  "According to Rabbinical sources both the First and Second Temples were built on the same foundations, at the same location somewhere on the Temple Mount."    Why did Solomon build the first Temple here?  It is not enough to say that his father, David, had brought the Tabernacle here.  The picture only  becomes clear when you go back much further to the days of the Patriarchs, and recall that the Temple Mount is on Mount Moriah, the scene of Genesis 22, the holy place of the binding of Isaac.   You are not allowed to "visibly" pray here.  To do that and to venerate this holy place we go down to the Western Wall.

But perhaps the best answer to the opening question comes from an orthodox shop owner named Moshe who spoke to me in the Old City today.  He said, "You come to Israel because God invites you here."