section_path: Religious significance/Judaism
section_name: Judaism
paragraph_text: Judaism
  
  Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since King David proclaimed it his capital in the 10th century BCE. Without counting its other names, Jerusalem appears in the Hebrew Bible 669 times. The first section, the Torah (Pentateuch), only mentions Moriah, but in later parts of the Bible, the city is mentioned explicitly. The Temple Mount, which was the site of Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, is the holiest site in Judaism and the place Jews turn towards during prayer. The Western Wall, a remnant of the wall surrounding the Second Temple, is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray. Synagogues around the world are traditionally built with the Holy Ark facing Jerusalem, and Arks within Jerusalem face the Holy of Holies. As prescribed in the Mishna and codified in the Shulchan Aruch, daily prayers are recited while facing towards Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Many Jews have " Mizrach " plaques hung on a wall of their homes to indicate the direction of prayer. The Western Wall is a remnant of the Second Temple and the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray.