In the Jewish calendar, we now in the period of the three weeks; a period when we mourn the destruction of the temples of Jerusalem. You could ask, Why is it that 2000 years after the second Temple was destroyed we are still mourning? Why do we still commemorate this period of destruction, when we can see with our own eyes, the beginning of the return to Zion and the incredible life and vitality of modern Jerusalem?
What was the meaning of the presence of the temple of Jerusalem? The Scripture requests “Make me a sanctuary that I will dwell within you.” ( Exodus 25,8)
The temple of Jerusalem was a visible, real experience of the presence of God right in the heart of the city. Since each person is considered as a whole world, everything that is outside is also represented within ourselves. So our real question needs to be, why is our own inner temple not a sanctuary for the light of God? Why don’t we see the light of God as a living reality in our own inner selves and in our world?
By considering this lack and the reasons for it, we can turn our mourning into the building blocks for it to happen, as the Sages taught, ” One who mourns for Jerusalem, merits to see her joy.”
Dedicated to my mother, Chaya bat Sara, for a Refuah Shlemah