At a goodbye party at Ohr Somayach for R' Mordechai Becher, when he was leaving Eretz Yisrael for Toronto for kiruv purposes, R' Moshe Shapiro addressed the gathering. R' Becher was not happy about leaving Eretz Yisrael, and R' Shapiro sought to encourage him.R' Shapiro noted that the Rambam16 in Moreh Nevuchim17 asks why Yerushalayim is not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the Chumash (in Tanach it's mentioned many times). Instead, the Torah repeatedly refers to it as המקום אשר יבחר the place that Hashem will choose.18 The Rambam provides three answers.But R' Shapiro offered an additional insight. For you, "The place that Hashem will choose" may not always mean the geographical Yerushalayim. A person's "Yerushalayim"-the place where Hashem wants him to fulfill his mission-may turn out to be New York, London, a small town or somewhere else entirely. This is precisely why the Torah doesn't mention Yerushalayim.

R' Moshe Shapiro explains why Yerushalayim is not explicitly named in the Chumash, offering an insight that one's "Yerushalayim" is where Hashem wants them to f

The Unnamed City

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