Maps of the Holy Land and Jerusalem

Jewish maps, though few and far between, represent the centrality of the Land of Israel in the history and hopes of the Jewish people. Traditional Jewish maps reflect two distinct trends in cartographic tradition: one group of maps follows  the original maps made by the prominent Bible commentator Rashi, while another follows Christian map models adapted to Jewish notions.

SHLOMO OF HELM'S MAP

R. Shlomo of Helm (1717-1781) was a famous Jewish scholar and Rabbi in Poland. Although he was famous for his erudition in Jewish sources and law (Halakha), he chose extraordinarily to emphasize the importance of the study of Philosophy and Sciences alongside Jewish studies.

In the autograph manuscript of his book "Hug Ha-Aretz", recently purchased by the NLI, written in beautiful classical Hebrew language and in handsome calligraphic script, R. Shlomo drew a series of maps of the Land of Israel divided among the Tribes. Unlike the tradition following Rashi's maps, the legends in his maps prove that he was clearly inspired by the Christian maps of the Holy Land made by Adrichom and by Seutter.

This lithograph, printed by Schottlaender in Breslau around 1900, is the last in a long line of maps, or tables, depicting Jewish pilgrimage sites and tombs of righteous men in the Holy Land. It is special in that it chooses to present only the most significant holy sites, omitting the rest. In their stead, the author elects to show the new colonies just established by Jews thus blending traditional views with the new Zionist movement!

The most prominent settlement in the map is Jerusalem; Safed appears above, to its left surrounded by many sacred tombs. The new Zionistic settlements are identified by the author as "colonie". 

Matthaeus Seutter's map of Palestine was part of his atlas, which was popular in Europe in the 18th century. The map, based on a prototype made a century earlier by Sanson, aims to depict the Holy Land to the Christian European audience from the First Temple until the Roman period, covering the period of the events told in the Old and New Testament. Equally important, is the scene on the top left, showing Jesus exorcising a demon, watched from above by God and the Holy Spirit, with the Crucifixion in the background. On the bottom right the route of the Exodus from Egypt is depicted separately.

Christians throughout the ages were drawn to Jerusalem, captivated by its glorious past: it was the city into which according to Christian tradition Jesus made his Triumphal Entry, the stage upon which the events of the Great Week took place, and the place of his Crucifixion and Resurrection and the Ascension. It was also the city of David and Solomon and the setting of a multitude of biblical events. Although many pilgrims and scholars purported to depict "modern" Jerusalem, their maps often followed much earlier maps, and their main aim was to map out the Christian sites, usually ignoring the Muslim presence in the city.

This view of Jerusalem was one of three maps of the city included in the famous city atlas compiled by Braun and Hoghenberg, in 1575. The quotation from Ezek. 5:5 at the top of the map conveys the idea of Jerusalem as the center of the earth, while the citation from Pliny the Elder on the bottom left lauds "Jerusalem, the most famous of the cities in the Orient, Metropolis of Judaea".

The city is seen here from the perspective of pilgrims standing on the Mount of Olives, looking eastwards. Although the round shape of the city is schematic, there are various realistic elements such as the citadel in the background, the bridges over the Kidron valley and the blocked doorway to the church of the Holy Sepulcher.

This landscape drawn by L. Mondhare in 1770, portrays Ottoman Jerusalem as a city commanded by towering minarets and crescents in a surreal mixture of imagination and reality. Prominently situated towards the left of the map is the Dome of the Rock while in the center the Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands out clearly. At the front of the sketch is the Kidron River, usually a dry riverbed, appearing as a broad, rushing, European style river. The inscription at the bottom states that the City of David and Solomon is currently controlled by the Ottomans and notes the existence of a Franciscan monastery within the city.