Jerusalem is described by King David as "the joy of the world" and every effort was made in days of yore to preserve that atmosphere.

Outside of the holy city was a structure known as kipah shel cheshbonot – The Dome of Accounts. Its purpose was to provide a place for residents of and visitors to Jerusalem to do their accounting in order to determine whether they had suffered any loss of money. If such a discovery took place in Jerusalem itself, it was felt that it would dampen the spirit of the loser and compromise his enjoyment of Jerusalem.

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