My God bless you my son Nachman that you may see the good of Jerusalem…

From Jerusalem the Holy City I am writing to you this letter….And what can I tell you about the land? Many are its forsaken places and great is the desecration. The rule seems to be that the more sacred the place, the greater the devastation it has suffered. Even in its destruction it is an exceedingly good land; there are more than two thousand citizens, and there are no Jews amongst them. There are two brothers, dyers by trade, There are ten men who meet every Sabbath and they hold services in their home. We motivated them and we found some ruins of a house built on pillars of marble and with a good dome, so we made it into a synagogue, since the city has been abandoned and every person who wants to take advantage of the ruins is permitted to do so. Many people come to Jerusalem, men and women, from Damascus, and Sidon and all parts of the land they come to see the Temple and to mourn it. And may He who let us see Jerusalem in its destruction, let us see Jerusalem rebuilt and restored. And you my son and your brothers may you deserve the good of Jerusalem and the consolation of Zion.

Your father who cares and forgets, sees and rejoices, Moses Nachmanides