most prominent jewel. In order to reach this destination, all travelers first had to go through the surrounding valleys, and then, in what felt like a symbolic journey toward holiness, they climbed upward to Jerusalem. By mule, in ox cart, and on foot they came—families, schools of disciples following their teachers, and solitary travelers banded together in caravans for safety from robbers and wild animals. Their voices rang out through the valleys below in echos of the Pilgrim Psalms and Songs