The lion has been a symbol of the Jewish people for thousands of years.

Lions that roam the desert are mentioned over a hundred times in the Torah, and the Israelite tribe of Judah is compared poetically to lions, as the leaders and protectors of the nation.  The writings of Jewish sages draw many analogies between the lion and righteous people.  In medieval times, the lion began to appear on Jewish art: on the holy ark, crowns of the Torah, on depictions of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, and upon images of the Tree of Life.  More recently, the lion was placed on the shield of Jerusalem, as a continued symbol of guardianship and order.

Today, in the context of our present-day urban life, the modern Jew in pursuit of Jewish knowledge and identity is a contemporary manifestation of this ancient symbol.  In our life-long learning, we are the modern keepers of the tradition, the persistent learners, the guardians of our heritage.  Like the lions that were said to have roamed and ruled the deserts thousands of years ago alongside the tribes of Israel, we protect and keep our tradition while re-defining our connections to an ancient religion in a modern context.

You are today's urban lion.  What is your next journey?