Shabbat Chazon

Shabbat Chazon is in the midst of the Three Weeks, when we lament the Holy Temple's destruction and our subsequent exile.

Yet on this Shabbat, the Shabbat before the ninth of Av, Tisha B'Av, during the most serious time we celebrate Shabbat Chazon, literally "the Shabbat of vision". It is the day on which every Jew is afforded a spiritual glimpse, a vision, of the Third and Eternal Holy Temple, an edifice that will be infinitely superior to the two Holy Temples that preceded it.

This "vision" cannot be seen by our physical eyes, but it is perceived by our Jewish soul. The haftorah that we read on Shabbat Chazon warns of all the dire consequences to befall the Jewish people, but even as we listen, we simultaneously feel hope for and anticipation of the Messianic era.

We experience a combination of despair and joy of mourning and of faith.

The Torah provides us with a complete framework of laws that enables us to feel these two conflicting emotions. On the one hand, we engage in many practices "as a remembrance of the destruction." On the other hand, we are expected to await Moshiach's coming joyfully every day.

G-d wants us to feel the pain of the exile but we must never make peace with it, surrendering to our present condition. But G-d forbid that we should despair! Our joy is genuine in anticipation of the imminent Redemption. The Rebbe has told us that Moshiach is so close that we can sense his very presence. Is that not a reason to rejoice?
--
Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbos Chazon - Vision - Coat.

"Here" said the father as he handed his son a package. "I made it just for you." The son opened the parcel to find a beautifully tailored coat. Its size, color and design were perfect. The son was overjoyed with the gift and he wore it proudly. It always reminded him of how much his father cared for him.

Then, one day, the son ruined the coat; it could not be mended. With eyes full of tears, and a sorrowful heart, he turned to his father.

The loving father forgave him. Soon, he presented his son with a new coat which was just as beautiful as the first. The son was very grateful and careful. He did not want to ruin this coat like the first.

But time passed, and the second coat became soiled as well. The son was very troubled when he saw that it could no longer be worn. "How many times will my father forgive me?" he wondered.

"I do have a third coat for you" the father told him after he saw what happened. "But this time, I will wait. I will not give it to you until you are ready for it. In the meantime, although you may not wear the coat, I will show it to you occasionally so that you can see what I have waiting for you."

This story is a parable.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev told this parable about Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat before Tishah B'Av. Chazon means vision. He said that every Jew is shown a vision of the third and final Temple -- a vision that, to paraphrase the Talmud, "though we do not see ourselves, our souls see." G-d, our Father, allows His son, us, the Jewish people, to catch a glimpse of the third coat, the Third Beit HaMikdash.

Like the father, G-d is waiting to see that we are ready to receive this gift. We are preparing ourselves and the world around us, and we do not want to wait any longer for Mashiach to come and to rebuild the Third Beit HaMikdash. We must try very hard to show G-d that we are ready.

R'Chodesh Av. Passing of Aharon Hakohen

Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the Hebrew month of Av, is the passing of Aaron, brother of Moses and High Priest of the Jewish people for forty years.

When a tzaddik, a righteous person, passes from this world, all his or her spiritual achievements continue to have an effect in the realm of the living. They become a powerful source of blessing for all those "who follow in his way."

This means that if we study what Aaron stood for and emulate him to the best of our ability, we will benefit from Divine blessing in his merit. And a blessing from G‑d is always a good thing...

What was Aaron's teaching?

As is expressed in the first chapter of Ethics of the Fathers: "Be amongst the disciples of Aaron—loving peace, pursuing peace, loving ordinary folk and bringing them near to Torah."

The Sages tell us that Aaron devoted himself to carrying out the command "love your fellow" to the highest degree. The Midrash relates how he attracted people to the teachings of the Torah. He never got angry if people failed to meet the expectations of Jewish law. He would meet a person who was somewhat lacking in his observance of Judaism and greet him with a smile and a warm reception. On leaving, the man would think to himself: "If Aaron the High Priest greets me so warmly he must think I am a very worthy person. I must improve myself!"

In this way, simply through pleasantness and warmth, Aaron encouraged the Jews of his generation to feel close to the ideals of the Torah.Aaron worked to bring peace between people in general, and especially between husband and wife.

The Sages tell us it is through love of one's fellow that the Temple will be restored. By striving to be disciples of the chain of Sages reaching back to Aaron and Moses in the past, we will bring the Redemption.

Feathers in the wind....

The Three Weeks between the Seventeenth of Tamuz and the Ninth of Av are Three Weeks of introspection over the destruction of the Holy Temples and yearning for the third Holy Temple, it is appropriate to increase in acts of kindness, including making sure that what we say and how we say it, is filled with love.

Lashon Hara - literally, evil talk. Gossip, rumor, hearsay. Talking behind someone's back. Revealing secrets. Betraying a confidence. However we describe it, lashon hara can be one of the most destructive, harmful things we can do. Not only if the words are true, but especially if the words are true.

There's a famous story about a villager who loved to gossip. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself. It got to the point where people stopped talking to him. Even innocent remarks were turned into something scandalous.

Finally, he approached the rabbi of the town, "Rabbi," the man said, "I know it's wrong, I know it's harmful, but I just can't stop. Help me," he begged.

"Go home", said the Rabbi "and bring back a pillow stuffed with feathers".

The man did as told. The Rabbi then handed a large knife to the man and instructed him to slit open the pillow.

The man obeyed and before he knew it, feathers were flying everywhere, swirling around him, carried in all directions by the wind.

"Now," the rabbi commanded sternly, "bring back the feathers. Restuff the pillow."

The man looked around, mouth open. When he heard the rabbi's order and saw the severity on the rabbi's face, he started to cry.

"I can't," he sobbed. "There are so many feathers. They have gone so far. Who knows where they are, where they went?"

"Exactly so," said the rabbi gently. "Exactly so. Gossip, slander, rumor - even if true, especially if true, lashon hara scatters to the wind going we know not where, touching we know not who. How much easier to keep our own knife - our tongue - sheathed and not have to restuff the pillow."

Beit Hamikdash - THE GATE OF NIKANOR

When a man, by the name of Nikanor, heard about the magnificent restoration of the second Holy Temple he wanted with all his heart to join in the great work and make his own contribution to G-d's House.

He decided that he would have two huge copper gates constructed to lead from the courtyard to the Holy Temple itself. And so Nikanor traveled to Egypt, the center of copper work, to commission and oversee the job.

The gates were of gigantic dimensions and the work was slow and painstaking. Nikanor could hardly wait to see his beautiful gates become a part of the Holy Temple. At long last the gates were loaded aboard a ship and on their way to the Land of Israel. Suddenly, a terrible storm blew up. Enormous waves crashed against the sides of the ship until it was filled with water and about to sink.

The panicked captain ran to Nikanor, pleading, "You must agree to throw at least one of your gates overboard. We need to lighten the ship's load and they are the heaviest part of our cargo. If we are to have a chance to survive, they must go."

Nikanor wouldn't hear of it. He clung to the doors with all of his strength. Soon, however, even he could see that his protests were futile. Nikanor watched in horror as they cast one of the enormous doors overboard. But the waves continued and the ship began to take water once again.

There was no choice. The sailors were about to throw the second gate overboard when Nikanor cried out in anguish, "If you throw this overboard, you will have to throw me, too! I will not be parted from it!" But the sailors seized the one remaining door and with all their might they cast it into the sea. And the sea quieted.

Nikanor scanned the sea and there, floating out on the smooth waters, was the gate, sparkling like gold in the sunlight. By some miracle it had not sunk into the deep, but was floating its way to the Holy Land. Nikanor couldn't contain his great happiness. The gate arrived the same time the ship docked. A few days later the other door also made its way to the shores of Akko to join its mate.

The two doors were transported with great celebration, to Jerusalem where they were installed in a place of honor, in the eastern wall opposite the Holy of Holies. The gateway which they occupied was given the name "The Gate of Nikanor."

PARSHAT - Matot - 3 weeks

Parshat Matot tells of the war our people waged against Midian, while Parshat Masei recounts the journeys of the Jewish people from their exile in Egypt until they reached the banks of the Jordan preparing to enter Israel.

Midian stands for the spiritual counterpart of friction and strife, a person who is focused on himself. He is selfishly obsessed to the extent that he loses all proportion of the situation in which he is found.

Before entering Israel, there has to be a war with Midian. Israel is a place where G-d's presence is openly revealed. And when a person is focused on his own self, there is no way in which he can appreciate G-d. He certainly cannot sense the G-dliness which resides within other people and which exists in every element of the world around him. Before the Jews can enter Israel, the holy land, where G-dliness is to be the focus of their lives, they must rid themselves first of this type of self-concern.

How appropriate that this is read now in the Three Weeks which focus on the mourning for the destruction of the Temple. The goal of this period of mourning is not merely to shed tears over the past, but to focus on the future, to realize the spiritual faults that led to the exile, and to correct them so that the Redemption will come.

Our Sages teach that the Temple was destroyed because of unfounded hatred, the kind of bickering and strife that is associated with Midian. It follows that by ridding ourselves of this friction and conflict through self-sacrificing love, we can eradicate the cause of the exile.

The emphasis on love and unity during these three weeks should not focus merely on undoing the wrongs of the past. On the contrary, we should be future-oriented.
The Era of the Redemption will be characterized by peace and love and by expressing these emotions at the present time, we anticipate and precipitate that future era.

Shabbat Shalom!

PARSHAT - Masei

Masei means journeys, it delineates the various travels of the Jews in the desert.

When the Jews left Egypt, they were beginning one long journey. Their departure from Egypt and their travels in the desert were all so that eventually the Jews would enter the Land of Israel. It would seem, then, that each of the forty-two stops they made along the way between Egypt and Israel was not really that significant. The stops presented an opportunity for the Jewish camp, comprised of millions of people, to take care of their various needs.

Yet, each and every stop the Jews made in the desert is mentioned separately, and each one is considered its own journey. Didn't the Jews reach their freedom immediately upon leaving the borders of Egypt?

In every generation, in each individual's life, there must be an Exodus from Egypt, a departure from one's own boundaries and limitations. However, simply "leaving" Egypt is not enough. We must know that even after working on ourselves and spiritually leaving Egypt, we are not done. No matter what spiritual level we have attained, we can still go further, getting stronger and stronger as we go along.

Even when one has already attained a high level, one must never be content with what one has already achieved. Our whole purpose is to move in an upward spiritual direction -- never to stagnate and remain in the same place.

On the other hand, one must never despair of all there is left to achieve. One must remember that it is possible, through work, to leave "Egypt" immediately, with only one journey. We must never think that our toil is in vain; with one move we can elevate ourselves and reach the "good and wide land" -- the Land of Israel.

Mizbeach

Beit Hamikdash - THE ALTER - Mizbeach

The Beit Hamikdash was the center of the universe in all that regards man's service of G-d. Here was the altar on which were brought the daily and seasonal offerings in which every individual was a partner. Here the farmer brought his first fruits that ripened in his orchard, and the shepherd brought the first-born of his flocks.

If a person had a sin to atone for, a personal salvation to be thankful for, a vow to fulfill, or the simple desire to contribute something of his heart and fortune to the Almighty, he came to the Beit Hamikdash.

The Beit Hamikdash was also the center of the universe in all that regards the revelation of G-dliness in our world.
Ten regularly occurring daily miracles attested to its divinity, and three times a year the entire nation made a pilgrimage to Mount Moriah, where the Temple was, to "see and be seen by the face of the L-rd."

The altar was the heart of the Temple's definition as "a house for G-d in which to offer the korbonot, the sacrifices."

It is universally accepted that the place on which King David and Shlomo built the Altar, is the same location where Abraham built the Altar on which he prepared Isaac for sacrifice. And the same place that Noah built an altar when he left the Ark. It was also the place of the Altar on which Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices. Similarly, Adam, the first man, offered a sacrifice there and was created at that very spot.

The Altar was made of small stones, lime, pitch, and glazing. The stones were perfectly smooth, with no nicks or scratches that could be detected with the thumbnail. These stones were never touched by metal, because metal is believed to shorten the life of man, and the Altar represents the lengthening of life.

Today, when prayer has taken the place of the offerings, the Beit Hamikdash remains the "gate of heaven" toward which we thrice daily direct our lips and hearts.

Beit Hamikdash - THE ARON (spaceless space)

At the heart of the Beit Hamikdash was the "Holy of Holies," the chamber that housed the "ark of testament" containing the divine communication to man; a place so suffused with the holiness of G-d that it was "spaceless space" - not physical, not metaphysical, but neither and both in one, reflecting G-d's simultaneous transcendence of, and immanence within, the physical reality.

The Holy of Holies measured twenty cubits (that's approx. 30 feet) by twenty cubits.
In its center stood the ark, also of a specified size, "two cubits and a half should be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height". Nevertheless, the ark did not occupy any of the space of the chamber that housed it, so that the distance from each of the ark's outer walls to the interior walls of the Holy of Holies was ten cubits.
(So it measured 10 cubits from each side of the Ark to the wall of the room, yet it was only 20 cubits from one end of the room to the other!!)
In the words of the Talmud "The area of the Ark was not part of the measurement." This was more than mere transcendence of the physical: the ark did possess physical area, indeed, its spatial dimensions were prescribed by law and integral to its status as a holy object, yet at the same time, it did not occupy any of the area of the Holy of Holies. Thus it demonstrated the truth that G-d simultaneously transcends and pervades the parameters of His creation.

The Beit Hamikdash

The Beit Hamikdash

The study of the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple's structure is of eternal significance. "And you shall make Me a Sanctuary". We are commanded to construct a House for G-d, a Temple, for sacrifices to be offered within. Until Moshiach comes we can only fulfill that directive by studying about it.

The following three elements are essential when building the Temple:
a.The Sanctuary.
b. The Holy of Holies and
c. An Entrance Hall, preceding the Sanctuary.

And the following are the utensils that are required for the Sanctuary:
1. An alter for the sacrifices.
2. A ramp to ascend to the Altar. (No steps were used)
3. A wash basin with a pedestal where the priests would sanctify their hands and feet for the Temple service.
4. The altar for the incense offering.
5. The Menorah, and
6. The Table, for the showbread.

The Alter for the incenses, the Menorah and the Table were placed within the Temple right before the Holy of Holies.

Within the Temple, we must build chambers for the various necessities of the Sanctuary.
When we build the Temple we must use stones. We must not split the stones used for the building on the Temple Mount. Rather, we must split and chisel them outside and afterwards bring them in.

Everyone is obligated to build and to assist both personally and financially, both men and women. Nevertheless, school children are not to be interrupted from their Torah studies.