The camera was not there when King David made Jerusalem his capital, but many artifacts of those days have been unearthed over the years. And the breathtaking landscape has always been there. The Temple Mount. The Western Wall. The Mount of Olives.

We will walk the streets and rub shoulders with penitents and peddlers. We will explore the Cardo -- the Old City market that was build by Romans and Crusaders, and rebuilt by the State of Israel. We will walk among the graves on the Mount of Olives and look longingly across the Kidron Valley to the site of the Temple, now topped by the Dome of the Rock. We will gaze at Sir Moses Montefiore’s windmill and walk the alleyways of the daring pioneers who built the first humble settlements outside the Old City’s walls. And we will thrill to the accomplishments of the new builders, who made Jerusalem thrive and grow as it gathers in its children from the far corners of the world.

This is more than a magnificent picture book, however. Its textual and philosophical underpinning is Jerusalem, Eye of the Universe, the modern classic by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, one of contemporary Jewry’s greatest wordsmiths. Never did he better demonstrate his unerring facility with words, his uncanny ability to take complex and esoteric concepts and translate them into everyday language, beautifully and eloquently.

In this volume, exquisite pictures complement elevating words, creating a combination that does justice to its eternal subject -- the Eye of the Universe.

This is a stunning book that will enrich minds, excite hearts, and grace shelves and coffee tables for years to come. It’s a masterpiece you’ll be privileged to own and proud to give.