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The Western Wall – it is moss and sadness
The Wall – it is lead and blood.
There are people with a heart of stone
And there are stones with a heart of man.
These words were actually inspired by Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaCohen Kook, who wrote tens of years earlier, "There are two types of stones: some are lifeless, and some stones are hearts."
The Western Wall looks simply like a big and menacing block of rocks. One must look with penetrating eyes to sense what it really expresses: the longing of dozens of generations, the prayers of our forefathers and foremothers, the tears of the oppressed, and the joy of all those who commemorated their happy occasions there over the course of centuries.
Strong is the Western Wall, stable and durable. All those who tried to destroy it have passed from the world, while it remains loyally on its watch - a deep and tangible expression of the eternity of Israel, a memorial to the destroyed Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) and a symbol of our faith in the building of the Third Temple.
Not every eye can see this. Not every person merits the ability to direct his human eye to the same line of vision as the Divine eye. There are those who see only old stones on the Western Wall - because his heart is no more than stone. But there are those who see what is behind the stones; they have a warm Jewish heart beating inside. They hear the voice of Him who "stands behind our wall" (Song of Songs 2,9).
Whoever listened carefully and heard IDF Paratroopers crying before the Western Wall that they had just liberated; whoever looked deeply and saw the tears of the combat soldiers on the Wall's ancient boulders – merited to see the meeting of the hearts: the heart of the nation and the heart of the individual within the stones. He is the one who can point and say, "Here He is, standing behind our wall, looking from the windows, peering from the lattices" (2,9).
"I Will Make Your Sanctuaries Desolate"
Whose is the Beit HaMikdash? Is it G-d's, or does it belong to the Nation of Israel?
When the Torah tells us of the destruction awaiting us if we sin, it says, "I will make the Land desolate, even of your enemies (Lev. 26,32). But an even more acute aspect of the tragedy is that the heart of hearts of the Land will also be destroyed: the Beit HaMikdash. For the same chapter states: "I will lay your cities waste and make your holy places desolate, and I will not partake of your pleasant fragrances." Note how the Torah attributes the Sanctuaries and the sacrifices not to G-d, as it usually does, but to Israel: "Your holy places... your pleasant fragrances."
The classical commentator Ibn Ezra notes that the verse means to emphasize that when the Divine Presence leaves, the sanctuaries are no longer G-d's, but Israel's.
But actually, something else might be inferred. The Gemara in Tractate Megilah indeed states that the words "I will make desolate your holy places" mean that even when they are in a state of destruction, their sanctity remains.
In addition, the Sages famously teach that the Divine Presence never abandoned the Western Wall, even in its destruction.
So which is it? Is the punitive destruction the end of the line, or does the remaining sanctity give us room for optimism?
We see, in the beginning of this week's Torah portion, the contrast between what belongs to the Master of the Universe and what belongs to us: "If you walk in the paths of My laws and keep My commandments..." – i.e., with the knowledge that they are G-d's commandments and are not man-made – then, "I will give your rains at their right times."
The rain is Israel's, but the Torah and its mitzvot are the word of G-d, and certainly not merely man-made folklore.
The same is true for the Holy Temple. Moshe Rabbeinu commands that Israel must do as follows: "They shall build for Me a sanctuary" - and the Sages explain "for Me" as meaning, "in My name." The same is true for the sacrificial offerings: "My offering... My bread... My fires..." etc.
The sin that causes destruction is when we relate to the Beit HaMikdash and to the offerings as a "lucky charm" that comes to preserve the nation's existence and provide welfare to individuals. But this is pagan worship! Instead of humans fulfilling G-d's will, this approach seeks to have the gods do man's will. For this the Torah says: "If these sanctuaries are only yours, and if your sacrifices are only for you, then they must be destroyed!"
But precisely then, in their desolation, when you can't use them for reaching out to G-d, you will discover that the Divine sanctity hovering over them never stopped! They are sanctified even in their state of destruction.
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
