Yerushalaim, al-Quds, Gerusalemme. La pratica del pellegrinaggio nelle religioni di Abramo

Abstract

The subject of pilgrimage for Christians is firmly embedded in the biblical tradition, even prior to the respective ritual customs of Book's religions. The first destinations were tied to the stories that surrounded the patriarchs and the leaders of the Israelites such as Abraham, Jacob, and Joshua. The Jewish pilgrimage, from which the Christian pilgrimage ultimately derived, became regulated over time by legislation that was formulated in the fourth to fifth century BC. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all venerate Jerusalem, and find a common matrix in the lineage of Abraham, the most notable traveller, pilgrim and exile found in the biblical tradition. We might ask what relationship exists between these religions in relation to the practice of devotional journeys. What are the differences and what are the similarities? Unlike Judaism and Islam, Christianity does not recognize pilgrimage as a fundamental value in the religious life of the faithful. Pilgrimage has a binding character in Islam which is not found in Christianity and which takes on a totally different meaning in Judaism. Islamic Hajj, regulated in relation to the Book, assumes and updates the pre-existing practices of a nomadic people. Conversely, the Jewish Aliyah is the metaphorical translation of the framework of settling and implies a national dimension. Both the Hajj and the Aliyah take on an identity that is totally removed from Christian pilgrimage. Christianity was born in the context of a settled society and rooted in a Roman world centred on city-based institutions, it reflects an urban character that profoundly affects the relationship with mobility. In the light of this, we ask, is the relationship between religious experience and the social significance of pilgrimage the same in Judaism, Christianity and Islam? What relationship do the respective cultures have with the concept of the journey? These are the questions I will try to answer through this research.