R. M. Levi
Based on classes by Rebbetzin M. Levi (daughter of Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus)
Let us try to understand what the Temple is. What significance did it have, and how tragic is its absence for us today?
The Temple is the meeting place of the Almighty and the Jewish people
What does this mean? After all, He is everywhere, at all times! Yet we do not sense His presence everywhere and at all times. And the absence of this awareness leads to destruction, leads to sin. To our great regret, we all sometimes stumble—in our speech, in observing the laws of Shabbat, in respecting our parents, in having the proper intentions while reciting a blessing…
Do we want to sin? Do we want to do something that goes against the Almighty’s will? Of course not. We all want to do what pleases Him. And we know what pleases Him. We know that we must not speak ill of others; we know what our blessings and prayers should be like. We know how to behave properly. And we do not want to sin. So why do we sin? Because we do not sense the Almighty’s presence.
A small example.
When my son was about three years old, he was a wonderful, obedient little boy, but he had one weakness. He loved to go over to the little sink in the hallway, turn the faucet on full blast, and gaze in delight at the waterfall splashing in every direction—a sight like no other… For some reason, his mother did not share his enthusiasm at all and tried every method she knew to explain to him that he must not do this. Eventually, the child understood that it was best not to argue with Mom and generally left the faucet alone.
At some point, I noticed an interesting struggle unfolding between us. The child was no fool. If Mom was nearby, either in plain sight or in the next room, he did not turn on the faucet at all. It was best not to tangle with Mom. If Mom was at the other end of the house (the house is not all that big, but still), sometimes he turned on the faucet, and sometimes he did not. The trouble began when Mom left the house. Almost every time, my older daughter would call me: “Oh, Mom, Moishe turned on the faucet…”
It is very simple. When Mom isn’t home, you can do what she doesn’t allow.
When Mom is home, the child is either afraid of being punished or does not want to upset her. But when Mom is away, she does not see, she does not know—it seems that anything is allowed.
We sin, doing something against the Almighty’s will, because “He isn’t home.” We all know that He is everywhere, but we do not feel it; we do not feel that He sees and hears everything we do. During prayer, we may feel as though we are talking to a wall, and we may close the siddur without ever having felt that He hears every word we say. A sense of connection with the Creator, a sense that He is here, nearby, that He sees us—this is what we lack.
In the Temple, it was impossible not to feel the Almighty’s presence
The Sages say that everyone who came to Jerusalem repented immediately. What happened? Suddenly, all the barriers fell away, and a Jew felt that the Creator was right here. How could he have sinned? How could he have done something that went against His will? He was horrified at himself and repented on the spot. No one spent the night in Jerusalem without repenting. How can one sin when the Almighty is nearby?
We must understand that through the Temple, we were granted the greatest gift of all—atonement for our sins.