What Are We Missing Really? – Devarim
Parshat Devarim, Shabbat Chazon, (named for its Haftara חזון ישעיהו בן אמוץ), always precedes the fast of Tisha Be’av when we mourn the destruction of our two Batei Mikdash.
In this week’s shiur I will to attempt to encapsulate in a few short pages, what it really means to have a Beit Mikdash. Do we truly understand what we are missing that we do not have a Beit Mikdash and more importantly, what we need to do to rebuild it?
In our affluent, Western society we live lives of abundance, stability and security and it is not always easy to discern how life could be improved if we had a Beit Mikdash in this modern day and age. We tend to nostalgically look upon the Beit Mikdash as a building in which the Kohanim brought Korbanot on the Mizbeach, where the Levi’im sang Mizmorim and where Am Yisrael celebrated Simchat Beit HaShoeva (amongst other things), but these romantic reminiscences are only a miniscule part of a much larger “whole”.
Let us define what a Mikdash is, in one short sentence. A Mikdash is an environment for accommodating HKB”H’s שכינה.
This is best illustrated by a משל. Many years ago when I was younger and fitter, I was a volunteer in the כיתת כוננות in our town, the first-response team in the event of a terror attack (chas vechalila). I vividly remember once we were informed that the Prime Minister was coming to visit the Mayor of our town in his home and that we had to assist the security forces in preparing for his visit. Our part in the effort was actually very minor. It was mostly facilitated by members of the Shabak (secret service) and the Prime Minister’s personal bodyguards, following a multitude of detailed procedures in their operations manual. A security perimeter had to be established, by closing off streets surrounding the house within a certain radius, creating a “sterile” area, with security personnel strategically stationed at vantage points from which they could monitor and control the goings on. The event was planned weeks in advance and many hours before the PM arrived, all the security measures were already in place so that he walked into a “ready-made” secure environment. This is what happens when a head of state visits the “common folk”. He doesn’t simply arrive. Firstly the person who is being visited must be worthy of such a visit and secondly, myriad preparations must be made prior to his arrival.
להבדיל אלף אלפי הבדלות, when the Creator of the Universe, HKB”H visits us in this physical world, He does not just “arrive”. Firstly the party He is visiting must be worthy of such a visit and secondly, myriad preparations must be made prior to such a visit to establish an environment that is suitable to accommodate the presence of the Master of the Universe. This environment is a Mikdash.
A Mikdash contains a number of spiritual components and (in our world) corresponding physical components that reflect them.
There are three levels of Mikdash.
The first level is the מקדש של מעלה, a Heavenly, purely spiritual Mikdash - which Shlomo Hamelech called (in Shir Hashirim) אפרסמון.
The second level is the מקדש של מטה, an earthly Mikdash, combining both spiritual and physical components - which Shlomo Hamelech called (in Shir Hashirim) אפיריון. When an earthly Mikdash exists, it creates an umbilical connection with the Heavenly Mikdash, as David Hamelech said –
יְרוּשָׁלִַם הַבְּנוּיָה כְּעִיר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה לָּהּ יַחְדָּו (תהילים קכב, ג)
Since the earthly Mikdash exists in a physical plane, in addition to all the spiritual components, that are identical to those in the Heavenly Mikdash, there are also physical components that embody and reflect the spiritual components in physical form. Therefore in the earthly Mikdash you find architectural structures (buildings, gates, ramps etc.), utensils כלים (Aron Habrit, Menorah, Shulchan, etc.), clothing (בגדי כהונה), personnel (כהנים, לויים), etc.
Every, and I mean every molecule and atom - nut, bolt, board, metal, fabric, shape, form, angle, color, orientation, etc. is designed in such a way to embody and reflect a spiritual component of the Heavenly Mikdash - nothing is random.
HKB”H revealed much of the physical blueprint of the Mikdash to Moshe Rabbeinu in images of fire – the Menorah, the Shulchan, etc. The remainder was revealed to Betzalel, who possessed Ruach Hakodesh, which is why HKB”H chose him to build the first earthly “Mishkan”, a portable Mikdash suitable for travelling in the Midbar. The fact that Betzalel was only thirteen-years-old at the time hints to the fact that the blueprint of the Mikdash combines, on the one hand great complexity, but on the other – innocence, as it says –
. תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה עִם ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ (דברים יח, יג).
Above we have seen specific examples of the physical components, such as the Aron, the Menorah, etc. What is an example of a spiritual component?
Although each and every aspect of the earthly, physical Mikdash embodies and reflects a spiritual component, I feel confident enough to only talk about one in particular, which I have studied in depth and through hishtadlut and with enormous סייעתא דשמיא, was given the זכות to uncover some of its secrets and that is the Shulchan and the Lechem Hapanim.
The Shulchan and the Lechem Hapanim are physical components and one of the spiritual components they embody and reflect is איזהו עשיר השמח בחלקו. This is an intangible, spiritual concept – someone who is content with their lot. The physical manifestations of this are reflected in the shape of Lechem Hapanim, which resembles a smiling mouth, the gold plating and crown of the Shulchan reflecting Malchut and wealth (you may read more about this and other spiritual concepts related to the Lechem Hapanim in my new sefer מאיר פנים which bli neder and with סייעתא דשמיא will be published soon).
When anyone saw the Lechem Hapanim on the Shulchan, and many did see it – all of Am Yisrael in fact, when they went up to the Mikdash on the שלושת הרגלים and the Kohanim brought the Menorah and Shulchan out to show to everyone. Anyone seeing that sight, could not mistake the imagery it portrayed and it drove home the spiritual principle in a most effective way – a picture is worth more than 1000 words. This was one of the primary purposes of the earthly Mikdash – it was a series of “visual aids” meant to evoke and teach spiritual concepts.
When the earthly Mikdash (Bayit Rishon, Bayit Sheini and בבי"א Bayit Shlishi) were/will be established according to the Divine blueprint both in their physical (structural) and spiritual (kavanot) components, they create an appropriate, pure environment to accommodate HKB”H’s שכינה in this physical world on a global, national and personal level.
For example the Shulchan and Lechem Hapanim disseminates abundance and prosperity throughout the world (global), the Korban Hatamid atones for the sins of Am Yisrael (national), and a Korban Chatat atones for an individual’s sin (personal). When HKB”H’s שכינה was present in the earthly Mikdash (in Bayit Rishon for certain – and some opinions also say in Bayit Sheini), it was visible to the naked eye in the form of the myriad supernatural miracles that occurred there, like the fire on the Mizbeach that was never doused, even during heavy rain, like the Lechem Hapanim that remained fresh an entire week on the Shulchan and many others listed in the Mishna and the Gemara.
The third and final level of Mikdash is the Mikdash within each and every one of us. When HKB”H commanded Moshe to build a Mikdash –
וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם (שמות כה, ח).
His intention was to ultimately rest His שכינה within each and every one of us, בְּתוֹכָם and not only within the confines of the earthly Mikdash.
Every human is built according to the blueprint of an earthly Mikdash. Each physical component of our anatomy and physiology, on a gross anatomical, cellular and molecular level, embodies and reflects a spiritual component. For example the human face is parallel to the Lechem Hapanim and embodies and reflects (amongst others) spiritual components such as שמחה. For more details on this, watch my shiur “The Mikdash Within Us” at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIL7qNWwUdY
In order to create the appropriate environment for HKB”H’s שכינה to rest within us as individuals, we have to transform our own physical bodies into the equivalent of an earthly Mikdash. We have to manage both the physical (body) and spiritual (neshama) components according to the Divine blueprint.
This was a primary purpose of the Mishkan, Bayit Rishon and Bayit Sheini – to facilitate and aid the building of a personal Mikdash within each and every one of Am Yisrael. By viewing the components and workings of the earthly Mikdash, Am Yisrael then applied the spiritual principles derived from them within themselves, developing middot, learning to control physical desires and actions, refraining from impurity, serving HKB”H every second of the day by fulfilling His Mitzvot, etc.
This means that today, even though we do not have an earthly Mikdash (we fervently pray that Bayit Shlishi will be rebuilt בבי"א), it is still possible to build an individual Mikdash within ourselves. True – we do not have the visual aids of a physical Mikdash to trigger emotions, thought processes and spiritual lessons within us, like we did during Bayit Rishon and Sheini, but we do still have the documentation of what transpired there – in the Mishna and the Gemara of Seder Kodshim. By studying, understanding and applying the lessons there, it is possible to reach the same individual level of a Mikdash as we could during Bayit Rishon and Sheini. This is on an individual level.
On a national and global level however, unless we have an earthly Mikdash (Bayit Shlishi), we cannot experience the benefits of a Mikdash on those levels. One example of this is that global prosperity and abundance today can never match that which existed during the time of Bayit Rishon and Sheini. Leaders from all the nations of the world would pay pilgrimage to the Mikdash on Sukkot to give thanks to HKB”H for the prosperity they too enjoyed, through Am Yisrael. Another example is during the time of Bayit Rishon, the entire world was at peace. Shlomo was so named because he was המלך שהשלום לו. This in fact is a central theme of the Mikdash – peace.
The aim of the game is to have HKB”H’s שכינה resting within us as individuals and as a nation. The pleasure of that experience is indescribable and we can only try to imagine it from what Chazal teach us about Olam Habah and basking in the זיו השכינה for eternity. That is the greatest שכר imaginable. If you took ALL the pleasures of this physical world, condensed them into one single enormous pleasure …… and then multiplied that by 10 trillion, you would still not match the pleasure of experiencing the זיו השכינה.
We get a taste of it when we study Torah לשמה. Chazal say in Pirkei Avot (3,6) that the שכינה rests on even one person studying Torah. This is what we can look forward to when Bayit Shlishi will be rebuilt, when each of us will sit under their fig tree and grapevine studying Torah most of the day.
We will not have to worry about parnasa – in the time of Bayit Rishon and Sheini people had to work only 2 hours a day to make a parnasa. The rest of the time they had free to spend with their families and study Torah.
We will not have to worry about war, terrorism and anti-Semitism – there will be worldwide peace, like there was during the reign of Shlomo Hamelech.
We will not have to worry about drought, excessive winter heat damaging most of the fruit crops (like this year in Israel – Hashem is trying to tell us something), floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, like plagues.
Yes, we live today in an affluent, Western society. We have fully stocked supermarkets, we have internet, we have technology to make life easier, we have advanced medical knowledge and technology allowing us to live longer, healthier lives. We have much. But it is a fragile existence – because it is all man made. All it takes is one minor hiccup, like COVID-19, to throw our entire world into turmoil – income, health, political stability.
How many of us want to get Tisha Be’Av over with so we can get back to the “real” stuff – enjoying our summer vacation and getting back to our regular lives? We are unwittingly captive in an illusion of the stability of our existence.
The challenge is to leverage Tisha Be’Av to lay the groundwork for a STABLE reality that is not man-made, but created by HKB”H, with us serving Him the correct way, the way He asked us to serve Him, through a Mikdash. That reality will be no less pleasurable than our current modern Western society existence, quite the opposite, it will be far MORE pleasurable and more importantly it will be stable and sustainable.
That is the true business of the day on Tisha Be’Av. It is not only analyzing mistakes of old and rectifying them. It is predominantly understanding what we are really missing that we don’t have a Mikdash and resolving to set about working to build one. First a Mikdash within ourselves and eventually a national Mikdash, so that once again Heaven and earth will be reunited כְּעִיר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה לָּהּ יַחְדָּו.
How do we practically do that?
By understanding how HKB”H wants us to serve Him. We get that from Seder Kodshim – by learning about the different aspects of the Mikdash, understanding the spiritual concepts they embody and applying them within ourselves. The avodah in the Mikdash encompasses ALL the character traits we need to acquire to build the Mikdash within us – ענווה, יראה, צניעות, שמחה, דביקות, התמדה, טהרה and many more.
Most Yeshivot do not study Kodshim, they consider it impractical today and rather concentrate on subjects that are more “useful”, like Nezikin, Zeraim, etc. Yes, we need to study all aspects of the Torah affecting our daily lives, but we also need to cast the building blocks for a better reality, rather than simply perpetuate our current, imperfect existence. It is insufficient to simply yearn and pray, we need to learn and lay the foundation for our future.
We also do it by fostering peace. We begin by making peace within ourselves - that our תוכו (internal thoughts) matches כברו (our outward behavior). We continue by fostering peace and שלום בית in our families, with our spouses and children, in our communities and in our nation by being more מוחל and מוותר, by looking for that which binds rather than divides, refraining from machloket and lashon harah, performing random acts of kindness, respecting diverse viewpoints, recognizing and celebrating the colorful mosaic that comprises the Twelve Tribes of Am Yisrael.
As with Bayit Rishon, the Mikdash can only be built when there is peace within Am Yisrael. When we are at peace amongst ourselves, it then radiates out to the rest of the world.
Tisha Be’Av does not mark the finale of our involvement in the Mikdash for the year, but the beginning. From the ashes, despair and mourning of Tisha Be’Av, we get back up, rebuild, step by step, with simcha and anticipation, so that ב"ה by next Tisha Be’Av we will all be zocheh to our own individual Mikdash and to the national Bayit Shlishi בבי"א.
