What are we missing without BEIT HAMIKDASH – meditations and prayers for Tisha B’Av

B”H

By Kabbalist Rav Yitzchak Schwarts

We are less than 2 days away from  Tisha B’av—the day of the destruction of both Temples

[and a number of other catastrophic events]….The question that keeps coming up every year is,

‘How can we mourn over something that we never have known or experienced?’

The intensity of grief that we experience over anything or over anyone that we have lost, is directly proportional to the degree that we knew, felt, loved and were connected to that person . Therefore the challenge in the grieving process over the loss of our Holy Temples,  is to explore what it was that we had, and that we lack, now  that they are gone.

We need to understand that the the grieving that we do, serves a crucial purpose. As opposed to just grieving over the loss in order to heal ourselves and to give proper respect to that which is lost to us—-as is normally the case in grieving,  here our purpose in grieving is to BRING BACK TO LIFE THE OBJECT OF OUR GRIEF!

With this approach, we can understand and fulfill what our Sages say, ”Those who mourn for the destruction [of Jerusalem…], merit to see her [Jerusalem’s] happiness”……..The true mourning process is itself right now, the catalyst, for the ultimate joy of it’s being rebuilt.

Know that one of the main purposes that the Creator created the universe for, was so that He should have a ‘Dira B’Tachtonim’–literally a dwelling place in this lower World—-which incudes a dwelling place inside of each one of us, as well as a physical home on earth ”…in the place of His choosing…”—namely Jerusalem…….

Know that this same city of Jerusalem, even when it is not in a state of it’s  full expression, as it will be when the Holy Temple will be rebuilt and functioning, nevertheless , even now , it is the city that Hashem’s prescence is felt , more than any other city on earth…….

As a direct result of this indwelling, Jerusalem is, was and aloways will be the central focus of our people [and of the entire world]…..Know that we pray for Jerusalem’s wellbeing in all of our fixed prayers and in our blessing after meals….We place our yearning for Jerusalem above our highest joys—in impassioned declarations at the pinnacle of our wedding ceremonies, as well as on the walls of our homes [in the form of a corner of one of the walls  being left unpainted]………

We are in love with Jerusalem………We face it’s direction when we pray…..We yearn to be at the Kotel/Western Wall—the Holy remnant of the outer wall of the Temple complex….Many of us make our political choices on the basis of the candidate’s level of consideration for the wefare of Jerusalem…….So Jerusalem is not only the ‘so-called Home for Hashem,–but for us as well…………………

Know that when Jerusalem is fully actualized, through having the Holy temple built up and functioning in it’s midst, at a time when our people have come back home and at a time when our Righteous Mashiach is alive and well and  fully functioning—-at that time, our people’s historical marriage with Hashem will be completely consumated and realized—–whereas in any and every historical setting where we lack this reality, we find ourselves steeped in Exile—and to the extent of our being in exile, to that extent, we are separated from our groom, our husband—our G-d—-along with all of the pain and heartache that a wife and husband feel upon being apart…….

Know that our national return to our married partner, to our Holy Home of Jerusalem, with it’s Temple intact—-is actually a return to ourselves—-to our fully expressed status of being ”A Nation of Priests”, ”A Light unto the Nations”, a nation of scholars and Prophets—a nation that returns to being it’s fully glorious self.

A prayer for our return home;

Our Merciful father

We grieve for all that we have lost

We grieve, but with a grieving

that is full of trust and hope—

a trust that our grieving will be

transformed into pure joy—

a joy that comes when our prayers our answered and

our dreams are fulfilled

But most important, Hashem

We yearn for your Prescence

here on earth

in the Place that

You have chosen to Dwell

from time immemorial

Bring us all home Dear Lord,

Bring us all back home to Jerusalem

to the place that we have

never stopped loving and longing for

in every prayer

in every major event

of our lives

Return us to the Jerusalem

that shines in her full glory

to the Jerusalem of today

that is being transformed

into the ultimate Jerusalem

of tomorrow

with her Prophets

and her Scholars

and her Priests

and her Mashiach

and her Holy Temple

all shining forth

with the brightest

of Divine Light

a light that lights up

all the darknesses

of the entire world

Bring us home

our G-d and G-d of our fathers

Bring us back

to the home of our youth

bring us to a home where we know

that all that really counts is

to be with You

in all ways always

Bring us Home

to ourselves

to our fully expressed

fully blossomed

glorious selves

Open up the wellsprings of Jerusalem

inside of our hearts and souls

for all this

and more than we can express

we ask you, Dear G-d

to bring us home!!

Know that Jerusalem , even in it’s present not-yet-fully-realized-state [all the more so , in it’s realized state with the HolyTemple] is the ultimate unifier….It’s very name indicates this–‘Yerushalayim’  which comprises the 2 words , ‘Yire Shalem ‘ meaning complete seeing, or the ability to hold in one’s perspective anything and it’s opposite, and everything in-between, at the same time……The more classic etymology of the name is the City of Peace—a city representing the ideal of peace, at the same time that historically, it is one of the bloodiest, most war ravaged spots on the globe—-a classic illustration of Jerusalem’s harmony of opposites….Similarly, it brings together many peoples of the globe as well as many outlooks of life….Most important, it is the unifier of spirituality, infinity, eternity and Divinity—of all of these, together with their opposites—physicality, finiteness, temporality as well as the mundane………..

As is known Kabbalistically, that  which unifies disparate elements, is that which signifies beauty—-thus our Sages state that out of the 10 measures of beauty that have been given to the world, 9 of them were given to Jerusalem……..

Know that Jerusalem’s [and especially the Holy Temple’s] power to harmonize and unite —-qualifies Jerusalem  to serve as the focal point of global rectification and perfection—-The Holy Temple generates and reverberates  physical and spiritual sustenance to the entire world, and alternatively, the physical and the spiritual realms are reflected in the corresponding state or level of the Holy Temple…..Thus, the 1st Temple–the Temple built by King Solomon, radiated one of the highest spiritual auras in history—with incredible levels of Proohecy and open miracles–which reflected the state or level of the Jews and the entire world at that time…..The level dropped a number of notches in the 2nd temple, and will reach it’s highest peak in the3rd Temple, never to fall again……

Know that this great concentration of harmony, will qualify Jerusalem to serve as the Universal focus of all of mankind —as is explicitly elaborated upon in all of the writings of the Prophets…….This Universal harmony, will bring along with it, world peace, world joy and world spiritual elevation—-where one and all will seek Hashem , to know His ways with all of their might…….

And ultimately this world consciousness will usher in a new and very different era or world order, where no longer will people be driven to perfect themselves and all which is deficient, but rather , they will be driven to seek out Divine Unification..ie…the ability to see with ever-increasing clarity —that there is nothing else in reality, but Hashem!!

a prayer for accessing  the unification consciousness of Jerusalem

Master of the Universe

We come before You

with a broken heart

and a scattered sense of self

Please heal us

Please reunify us

Please return us

to our city of complete – seeing Yerushalayim,

so that we can be whole again,

so that we can harmonize together

all that is disconnected so that

we can attach ourselves and all that is temporal in our lives,

all that is mediocre and stuck and petty in our lives to

all that is infinite all that is supernatural all that is eternal

and all that is Divine

Return us to all this through the unifying power of Jerusalem—

the upper , heavenly Jerusalem

together with the lower earthly Jerusalem

Reveal to us the total beauty that Jerusalem contains

the essence of beauty

The beauty of The song of the Levites

Then song that melted and transformed

the hearts of all who heard it

The beauty of the Divine Service and

the wisdom and the Prophecy

that could be tangibly felt and

tasted nowhere else like in Jerusalem

Dear Creator of the Universe and

of all mankind,

Return to us the ability to live the daily

miracles of Jerusalem

and the tangible revelation of

Your Holy Presence

Usher us into the time that

all of Your Prophets spoke about

where all people will

look to Jerusalem for their

physical and spiritual wellbeing

for it’s supernal light to banish all of their

various forms of darkness

for it’s healing to heal their bodies and souls

for it’s concentration of Divine Prescence

to serve as the focal point

of everyone’s motivation and occupation

—an occupation that will no longer

be concerned with so much with survival and money,

but rather with knowing You

and knowing that there is

nothing else besides You

May it be your will

that the words of our mouths

and the meditations of our hearts

find favor in Your eyes

our G-d, our Rock and our Redeemer

Amen