02 Aug PARASHAT DEVARIM: APPRECIATING WHAT WE LOST

The Arizal (Rav Yishak

Luria of Safed,

1534-1572) taught that all

the troubles we experience

are due to the destruction

of the Bet Ha’mikdash and our exile. That

catastrophic event is the source of all our

problems. The Mikdash served as a

protective force that shielded us from

harm, and thus its loss is the cause of all our

problems. This itself would be sufficient

reason for us to cry over and mourn the

Temple’s destruction. All the suffering and

anguish which Jews are experiencing are a

direct result of this tragedy, and we

continue to feel its effects each and every

day. But there is also another reason for us

to cry and mourn. The Midrash relates that

when the Romans came to destroy the

Temple, they wanted to first loot the

building. Before entering, they decided to

send in a Jewish traitor named Yosef

Meshita to take something from the Bet

Ha’mikdash, promising him that he could

keep whatever he took. Yosef went inside

the Temple and emerged carrying the

beautiful Menorah. The Romans were

impressed, but they said that such an

elaborate article is not suitable for a private

individual. They told him to go choose

something else. “Is it not enough that I

angered my Creator once,” Yosef said,

“that you ask me to go again?” The

Romans pressured him to go, but he

refused. They threatened to kill him, but he

still refused, adamant in his insistence not

to anger G-d. Finally, the Romans tortured

him to death. Yosef Meshita, as mentioned,

had been a traitor, who turned his back on

his nation and joined the Romans. What

suddenly changed? Why was he now wary

about angering the Almighty? The

commentators explain that he experienced

the sanctity of the Bet Ha’mikdash. Once

he just walked into the building and sensed

G-d’s presence, he was changed, he was

inspired, and he could no longer bring

himself to betray his Maker. The Mikdash

was a place of unmistakable spiritual

power. Just being at the site filled one with

awe and drew him closer to G-d. It was the

Almighty’s residence, and His residence

among us brings blessing. This is another

reason why we cry on Tisha B’Ab,

lamenting the loss of this spiritual life

source. The Vilna Gaon commented that

he longed to meet even a simple person

who lived at the time of the Mikdash. The

simpletons in that age were on a higher

level than the Vilna Gaon. They had access

to the spiritual power of the Temple, which

has since been taken away from us,

denying us this precious opportunity for

elevation and closeness to G-d. But the

most important reason why we must

mourn the Temple’s destruction is because

of the “pain,” as it were, that G-d Himself

experiences. The Gemara teaches in

Masechet Berachot that several times each

night, G-d “roars like a lion” and expresses

His anguish over the Temple’s destruction.

We are not the only ones in exile; G-d in in

exile, as well, and in a sense, His exile is

worse than ours. Even in exile, we have

homes to live in, whereas G-d does not

have His home, so-to-speak. We might say

that He’s been “homeless” for nearly two

millennia. The story is told of a man who

came to pray at the Kotel. A certain Sadik

saw him praying, and asked him what he

was praying for. He explained that he was

praying because he needed a new house

and did not have the money for it. “Before

praying for your home,” the Sadik told

him, “pray that G-d should have a home.”

The great Sadikim truly empathize with the

anguish of the Shechina which has no

home. They pray Tikun Hasot each night,

weeping bitterly over G-d’s exile. They do

not worry about their own troubles because

they are too pained by G-d’s troubles, as it

were. We, of course, are not on this level,

and there is certainly nothing wrong with

praying for our needs and praying for

Mashiah so our problems will be solved.

But it cannot end there. We must not think

only about ourselves. We must pray for the

redemption for G-d’s sake, with the

realization that G-d’s honor is

compromised as long as the Temple is in

ruins and we are in exile. This exile is not

only about us and our troubles; it is also,

and primarily, about G-d and His

“troubles.” We long and pray for the day

when the Temple will be restored, when

this long period of “homelessness” will

end, and all inhabitants of the earth will

recognize and give praise to the one, true

G-d of the universe.