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To dedicate this lesson

David – Connection between Past and Future Glory

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Various Rabbis

Tamuz 19 5775
(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 2:45)


Gemara: When Shlomo built the Beit Hamikdash, they wanted to bring the ark into the Holy of Holies, but the gates stuck to each other. Shlomo recited 24 songs of praise and was not answered. He then began to say, "Gates, raise your heads …" (Tehillim 24) and was not answered. When he said: "Hashem, the Lord, do not turn aside the face of your anointed one. Remember the righteousness of Your servant David" (Divrei Hayamim II:6:42), he was immediately answered.

[In previous pieces, Rav Kook explained that the Beit Hamikdash relates to an emotional connection to Hashem and the ark, which holds the Tablets/Torah, relates to the intellectual connection. We skip over the explanation of the initial failure to get the gates opened and discuss his explanation of the success.]

Ein Ayah: The internal connection between the emotion of a pure heart, which is connected to prayer and service of Hashem, and intellect, which stems from Hashem’s Torah can be found in the connection between the standing of Israel in every generation and its standing in the ideal and eternal future era.
Emotion is found in the love that good people have for their nation, and it grows when the nation is full of good, holy traits. Therefore, the strong love that should connect every Jew to the Assemblage of Israel should be strong enough to raise him to a high level of piety. Tikunei Zohar explains the Zohar (Mishpatim 114:2) as saying that one is pious if he makes the connection between the Divine Presence and the Nation of Israel.
This feeling is elevated into the status of proper intellect if one sees how the love of the nation at the present time will turn into the loftiest eternal light, which makes us fit to be a unique nation forever. In order to connect this sanctity of present and future, one needs the secrets of Torah and avoda (service of Hashem).
In this regard, there is importance to the spiritual attainments accomplished in these times in a hidden manner, in which it appears that many individuals reach nice levels by being inspired by the Torah of Israel. Every uttering that Hashem made was broken up into 70 languages. However, this is only part of the story. One cannot reach the proper level of understanding of Hashem without appreciating the level of Israel as the nation that Hashem chose to be an eternal nation. One who sees it otherwise has a weak recognition that is no more than a preparatory recognition of the truth. Remembering the level of Israel in every generation spawns positive thought about the future avoda in theBeit Hamikdash, and it helps the intellectual light of the Torah embrace all times and situations. These are the circumstances under which the ark with the light of the Torah can enter the Holy of Holies, after the gates open to allow it.
David represents the power of the Kingdom of Israel throughout eternity. Even when he sinned, the promise that the kingdom would remain in his family was intact. This remains an eternal foundation, whose full light will shine in the End of Days. The different forces will then join under one flag and with one language. David strove to be a vehicle for the highest level of world connection to Hashem in the future. However, this relates not only the future by itself but also that which it will draw from the past. This makes David’s kingdom in the past/present relevant in this regard, connecting David’s own reign with the future kingdom that will bear his name. That is why Shlomo asked not to turn aside the face of His anointed one. The task of the emotion that loves the success of our nation, which is an outgrowth of the fulfillment of the Torah, is a preparation for the lofty eternal goal of preparing for future glory. When Shlomo connected the two [by mentioning his father], it was fit for the ark to enter the Holy of Holies



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