Ch. 14 and 15

In these chapters, we see a shift in the Jerusalem's history. Although I can't find the exact words to describe this shift, I think saying it illustrates the era of modern history in Jerusalem to some extent conveys this shift. There are two points in particular that stood out to me. The first is the Lurianic Kabbalah, "a spiritualized version of the old mythology. There was no need to make the physical aliyah to Jerusalem." It seems that so much of the past history of Jerusalem in based on the physical connection with the city. This new school of thought marks a rather prominent shift in ideology that changes how the city itself is viewed. Although many people today still feel a physical connection to Jerusalem, this idea that the religion can be within ones home and self seems to have a much stronger hold and is probably what enabled such a spread of the religion across the globe.
The second point that caught my attention was Napoleon's attempt to conquer Jerusalem. Most of the conquerors before Napoleon had some form of a religious connection to Jerusalem and as such felt a need to conquer the Holy land. Napoleon therefore again presents a definite shift in the history by wanting to conquer the city for the sole purpose of possessing an "eastern empire." Although politics always had a role in who ruled Jerusalem, so did sacred geography. It seems in these chapters however that the balance between politics and sacred geography had been tipped more on the side of politics.