""And you shall love HaShem, your G-d, with all your heart"(Deuteronomy 6:4) Av 10, 5783/July 28, 2023 This week's Torah reading, Va'etchanan, is traditionally read on the Shabbat immediately following Tish'a b'Av. It begins with Moshe sharing with Israel his many pleas that he pled before HaShem upon receiving HaShem's verdict that he wouldn't be entering the land of Canaan, to which he was leading his people. This took place, of course, right after the incident in which Moshe struck twice the rock but did not speak to it as G-d had commanded. (Numbers 20) Moshe recalls his prayers and HaShem's refusal to answer them in the affirmative, but he does not make reference to the incident itself. "Pray let me cross over and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon." (Deuteronomy 3:25) Our sages teach us that the "good mountain" Moshe hoped to behold was none other than Mount Zion, Jerusalem, and that the "Lebanon'' that he wished to see was none other than the Holy Temple, which would be roofed with the cedars of Lebanon. It is exceedingly important to stop for a moment and absorb this. Once a year we receive this stark reminder that Moshe, the greatest of our prophets, who spoke "mouth to mouth" (Numbers 12:8) with HaShem, and whom G-d called His "faithful servant" did not merit entering the land of Israel. And yet here we are today, more than 3,000 years later, living and thriving in the land of Israel. Who are we, compared to Moshe? yet here we are, blessed by HaShem, as no other generation has been blessed for nearly 2,000 years! What an inconceivable privilege! What an awesome responsibility! The fact that this reminder of our great fortune comes every year right after observing the fast of Tish'a b'Av, makes it all the more poignant and all the more penetrating. For the destruction of the Holy Temple was a distant but direct result of the sin of the spies, who shunned G-d's gift of the land of Israel and caused rancor to tear apart the children of Israel. One thousand years later it was irreparable division within Israel, morphing into baseless hatred that precipitated the destruction of the second Holy Temple by the Romans. How fortunate we are today, and how zealous we must be to never let such baseless hatred flare up again. Moshe goes on to warn Israel against growing sloth after they have settled the land across the Jordan, abandoning HaShem and slipping into idolatry. But he does foretell an ultimate return to HaShem, who will accept His children with love and forgiveness. This is a theme that Moshe will repeat and expand upon throughout the remainder of his final address to Israel. Moshe then goes on to retell to Israel the story of their sacred tryst with HaShem at Mount Sinai, including a recounting of the Ten Commandments. Toward the end of our parasha, Moshe declares the following: "Hear, O Israel: HaShem is our G-d; HaShem is one!" (ibid 6:4) This declaration of HaShem's Oneness and exclusivity would become Israel's national credo. Its importance in expressing and formulating the very core of Israel's faith and way of life cannot be overstated. For implied in HaShem's Oneness is our ever urgent need for unity, as a people and as humanity. For we are all children of the one man and one woman that the One G-d, HaShem, created in His image. While we are all unique and all reflect a unique facet of HaShem, and are exhorted by HaShem to pursue our uniqueness in serving Him, we are all in need of one another in order to fully and properly reflect HaShem's image here on earth. Just as Moshe's repeated pleas with HaShem recalled at Va'etchanan's opening are a timely reminder for humility, especially after emerging from the nightmare which is the focus of Tish' b'Av, so too the need for recognizing HaShem's Oneness and our need to emulate His Oneness in our own behavior towards one another, is reinforced with Va'etchanan's inclusion of the Shema - "Hear, O Israel: HaShem is our G-d; HaShem is one!" Following Moshe's powerful statement of HaShem's Oneness, we continue: "And you shall love HaShem, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your means. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart. And you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes. And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates." (ibid 6:5-9) These five verses, beginning with "Hear O Israel'' and concluding with "and upon your gates" are said aloud by Jews no less than three times a day, just as prescribed in the verses above: in the morning when we rise up, in the evening and when we lie down. We inscribe them upon our doorposts and gates in the form of mezuzot, and we bind them upon our hands and between our eyes in the form of tefillin. Each recital, each act of fixing our mezuzot and passing by them, each act of binding ourselves with tefillin is an expression of "And you shall love HaShem, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your means." Each of these acts are, just like Moshe's pleas, and just like the Shema itself, reminders of the unparalleled importance of the single most powerful glue that binds us all to one another - our love for the One G-d. With all our hearts and with all our soul, and with all our means! May we honor and reflect HaShem's Oneness by recognizing His presence in each and every one of us. . |
Tish'a b'Av: Build a House for HaShem! "Be strong and have courage! Build a House for HaShem!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, the prophet Samuel charges King David with the task of building the Holy Temple! |
Tish'a b'Av: The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First! "The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, Zerubavel from the house of David and Kohen Gadol (High Priest) Yehoshua consult with the prophet Haggai who instructs them to waste no time in rebuilding the Holy Temple! |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Yitzchak Reuven talks about Tish'a b'Av and our responsibility to HaShem, about Moshe' pleas for a day in Jerusalem, and the Tish'a b'Av prayer "renew our days as of old!" Tish'a b'Av is upon us, the day of the destruction of the Holy Temple, a day of fasting and mourning for nearly 2,000 years. But we who have been born into a world with an independent Jewish state of Israel, a reunited Jerusalem and sovereignty on the Temple Mount can no longer afford to simply mourn. Our job is to take HaShem's blessings and build for Him a house! |
Help To Build The Holy Temple In Our Time! Donate Generously To Help The Sacred Work Of The Temple Institute! Every contribution helps to rebuild the Holy Temple in our Time! |
Haftara For Shabbat Parashat Va'etchanan (Shabbat Nachamu) On the seven Sabbaths which precede Rosh HaShana, beginning with Shabbat Va'etchanan, (following the 9th of Av), the haftarot read in synagogues are called haftarot of consolation. Isaiah 40:1-26: "Console, console My people," says your G-d. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her, for she has become full from her host, for her iniquity has been appeased, for she has taken from the hand of HaShem double for all her sins. A voice calls, "In the desert, clear the way of HaShem, straighten out in the wilderness, a highway for our G-d..." |
Mount Zion, "Foxes Prowl Over It!" "For Mount Zion, which has become desolate; foxes prowl over it." (Lamentations 5:18)A fox was spotted yesterday (Tish'a b'Av) night, standing in front of the southern ends of the western wall of the Temple Mount, perched upon the ruins of the second Temple. The sighting of the fox at the foot of the Temple Mount was prophesied 2,600 years ago in the book of Lamentations, attributed to Jeremiah |
2180 Jews Ascend The Temple Mount Today, Tish'a B'av! A total of 2,180 Jews braved the height of Israel's three week long heat wave with temperatures reaching nearly 100° Fahrenheit (36° Celsius), while observing a 25 hour fast, in order to observe Tish'a b'Av in the very place of the Holy Temple! |
The Ninth Of Av:: A Magnificent Tragedy It took the entire might of the Roman Empire seven years to defeat the Jews. An inspiring episode, indeed! By Daniel Pinner. Part 1: Seeds of disaster Five disasters happened on the 9th of Av, says the Mishnah (Ta’anit 4:6):
-It was the day, a year and four months after the Exodus, that G-d decreed that the generation which left Egypt would not enter the Land of Israel, but would die in the desert as a consequence of the sin of the spies (Numbers 13:1-14:45). |
Over 1,700 Jews Ascend Temple Mount On Tisha B'av Over 1,700 Jews, including ministers and MKs, ascend Temple Mount on Tisha B'av morning. Hundreds of police officers from the Jerusalem District, together with reinforcements from both Israel Police and Border Police, are working to secure the various events and the worshipers arriving at the Western Wall and Jerusalem's Old City to mark the fast day of Tisha B'av. |
Thousands Of Jews Visit Temple Mount Over 3 Weeks Thousands more expected to visit holiest site in Judaism on Tisha B'Av, the anniversary of the Temples' destruction. Thousands of Jews visited the Temple Mount over the Three Weeks, the period of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temples and the ancient city of Jerusalem. |
Tish'a b'Av: The Fast Of The 9th Of Av
Tish'a b'Av, the Fast of the 9th of Av, has begun in Israel. It will conclude Thursday evening, after sundown. The fast brings to a conclusion the three week period of intensifying customs of mourning which began with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz. The three week period, known as Bein Hametzarim, (Between the Straits), commemorates the destruction of the first and second Holy Temple, both of which were destroyed by Israel's enemies on the 9th of Av. |
2,000 Year Old Half-Shekel Coin From Revolt Against Romans Discovered In Judean Desert Cave A rare half-shekel silver coin from Year One of the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans, was discovered in the Judean Desert On the coin “Holy Jerusalem” appears in ancient Hebrew. The coin was found in the Judean Desert Survey led by the Israel Antiquities Authority together with the Ministry of Heritage and the Staff Officer of the Civil Administration Archaeology Unit in Judea and Samaria, with the aim of retrieving these ancient finds before the antiquity looters. |
“If The Nations Of The World Knew" Today is the 7th day of Av. In just two days, on the 9th of Av, (Tish'a b'Av), Jews around the world will be fasting on the anniversary of the destruction of the first and second Holy Temple. The 9th of Av concludes the three week period known as Bein Hametzarim, (Between the Straits), during which our hearts and souls have been focused on the tragic loss of the Holy Temple. |
This Week: Parashat Va'etchanan: Shema Yisrael! "Hear, O Israel: HaShem is our G-d; HaShem is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4) In this week's Torah reading, Moshe, after revisiting the Sinai revelation and the Ten Commandments, shares with Israel what will become for all time Israel's most important declaration of faith in the One G-d. Following the declaration of HaShem's oneness, Moshe continues... |
Mikdash Monday - The Churban (Destruction) And Rebuilding Of The Holy Temple (Part 3) “Thus says Hashem; Let your hands be strong, you that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, who spoke on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, saying that the temple might be built.” (Zechariya 8:9) |
This Week: Parashat Va'etchanan: Moshe Yearns For Jerusalem & The Holy Temple! Moshe opens this week's Torah reading, Va'etchanan, (Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11) recalling his plea to HaShem: "I entreated HaShem at that time, saying, 'O HaShem G-d, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for who is like G-d in heaven or on earth who can do as Your deeds and Your might? Pray let me cross over and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon.'" (Deuteronomy 3:23-25) |
Kohen Mashuach Milchama - The Kohen Anointed For War (Part 3) We have learned that one of the “sacred utensils" that the Kohen Mashuach Milchama - the kohen anointed for war - would carry into battle was the Ark of the Covenant. Curiously, it is never mentioned outright in any of Israel's desert wars. |
Biblical Red Heifer Could Bring Million Visitors To Samaria The Ancient Shiloh heritage site will soon host a Red Heifer research center. Hundreds of visitors flocked to Shiloh in Samaria’s Binyamin region on Thursday to welcome a biblically pure red heifer. The 22-month-old cow, which was brought to Israel from the United States, found a new home at the Ancient Shiloh heritage site, where the biblical Tabernacle once stood. |
Shavua Tov from the Temple Mount! Shavua tov - a good week - albeit a difficult week, as we are quickly approaching the 9th of Av, the day of the destruction of our Holy Temples, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans. Jews are ascending in purity and in large numbers to embrace the Temple Mount, the place of the Holy Temple which we pray for and strive to rebuild soon, in our days, in our lifetime! |
Red Heifers Arrive In Israel! On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality. |
Red Heifer Update The five red heifers that were flown into Israel last summer are currently enjoying a quiet, pastoral life in an undisclosed location in Israel. They are being periodically checked to determine whether they still meet the very strict standards required to be eligible candidates for the red heifer ceremony. These requirements include no blemishes and no non-red hairs. While red heifers are fairly common throughout the world, a red heifer that meets these halachic requirements would be a tremendous breakthrough. |
Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
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