09 Aug Understanding What We Are Missing

The well known posuk in Tehillim says, “Im eshkacheich… tishkach yemini.” We need to understand what this posuk is telling us.  The nature of a person is that “hergel,” that which is the norm on a day-to-day basis, dulls our thinking and we stop to analyze and ask questions. What does the posuk mean when it says if we forget Yerushalayim we forget the right side?

Chazal teach us that there is a limit when it comes to mourning a loved one. The Rambam in Perek Yud Gimmel in Hilchos Aveilus, halacha yud alef says one should not be “miskasheh-” overexert oneself for a departed beloved one as the posuk teaches us, “Don’t cry for the departed and don’t overdo it when it comes to mourning.” Therefore, one should mourn like the minhag of the world, and if one overdoes it he is considered a fool. The first three days of mourning are for crying. Seven days are to eulogize. The period of thirty days demands no haircuts etc. In contrast, when it comes to the mourning of the Bais Hamikdosh the posuk teaches us the opposite; that one who forgets the Bais Hamikdosh is tantamount to forgetting his right side.

The right side of a person represents his main strength. The navi tells us that our tongue should stick to the roof of one’s mouth if we don’t mention Yerushalayim even at the height of our simcha. On a regular basis a person does not think about his right hand. It is connected to him, and the person does not exert any special thought about his right hand because it is a part of him. Obviously, a person makes sure that nothing bad happens to his hand, as he makes sure that nothing happens to the rest of the body. The same rule needs to apply to the Bais Hamikdosh, which really is part and parcel of us and one should always be connected to the fact that the Bais Hamikdosh is destroyed.

There is a famous saying that we don’t appreciate a limb until the limb gets hurt or broken. Living without the use of the limb for a short while gives an appreciation to the person when the person gets the full use of the limb again. In a similar vein, the fact that we are lacking the Bais Hamikdash should give us an appreciation of what we are missing.

What are we missing? The world was created for the Yidden to reveal k’vod shomayim. The essence of the Shechina is supposed to rest in the body of every Jew as the posuk says, “Veshochanti besocham.” When the Jews sinned, they lost the capability of having the Shechina rest in every Jew, so Hashem built the Mishkan and later on the Bais Hamikdash for us to have the Shechina rest among us. We lost the capability of having Hashem rest among us upon sinning once again. The kvod shomayim is diminished. We need to feel as if our strength is totally diminished and our right side is missing. We can’t properly carry out kvod shomayim in this way, without the Bais Hamikdash.

This is what the posuk means when it states that we are forgetting our right side when we don’t remember the Bais Hamikdash.

Let us hope to see the fulfillment of the words of Chazal that say that whoever who properly mourns Yerushalayim will merit to see its rebuilding. Amein.