The Kohanim possessed the codes which bring the light and blessing of Hashem to all humanity and to every created thing on Earth. Without the Beit HaMikdash, however, all of humanity is like an orphan.
The Torah portion of Pekudei and the past several Torah portions extensively describe the Mishkan and its functions, along with the priestly service of the Kohanim. Such extraordinary attention to detail leads us to wonder why the Mishkan and subsequently the Temple in Jerusalem are so important to the Jewish People and to the world?
Needless to say, life with the Beit HaMikdash will be totally different than life today. What is the Beit HaMikdash? Why do we mourn for its loss? Why are we supposed to yearn for its rebuilding?
Firstly, the Beit HaMikdash is the heart of the Israelite Nation, supplying holy, life-giving energy to all of our national body. In effect, for nearly two-thousand years, as explained in the writings of Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, the Maharal, the Gaon of Vilna, and Rabbi Kook, the Jews scattered around the world in foreign countries have been existing like the “Dry Bones” of Ezekiel’s famous prophecy, living individual lives without the vitalizing heart of our National Essence.
Wherever we wandered we existed in foreign lands as minorities without a Jewish Homeland of our own. Since the Beit HaMikdash and Sanhedrin work together, and will be rebuilt side-by-side in the healthy, revitalized, national Israelite body in Eretz Yisrael, in effect, the Jewish People have miraculously hobbled through the long generations of national destruction and exile without a heart and a head.
In his universally recognized classic of Jewish Faith, “HaKuzari,” Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi describes the exiled Jews as a devitalized, decapitated nation. Here and there, great Torah scholars maintained a connection to the heart and the head of old, keeping the rest of the scattered Jews from expiring completely amongst the Gentiles, but, by-and-large, the Jewish Nation was in a shattered, comatose condition without any power of its own, passively awaiting salvation, surviving only because of our eternal spiritual connection to our glorious past, the invisible eternally burning flame of Divine attachment which kept us alive.
Without the Beit HaMikdash, we are a mere shadow of the Jewish People in its prime. As our Sages teach in reference to Yosef, a vessel which isn’t filled with the life-giving waters of Torah, will be filled with snakes and scorpions instead. Once upon a time, when the Beit HaMikdash was the center of Israeli Life, the Jewish People looked to Jerusalem for identity and meaning, for spiritual and material blessing, for individual guidance and national direction, and for a true life of a connection to Hashem. Three times a year, the Israelites would ascend to Jerusalem to reconnect and recharge with the holy energies of the Festivals which emanating from the courtyards of the Jerusalem Temple, reminding the Nation that Torah is to be the center of our lives.
Today, without the Beit HaMikdash, what do we have? What has taken its place in the center of national life? Instead of the energizing scent of the Ketoret, which made people smile throughout the whole day, and without the uplifting purification of the daily offerings by the Kohanim, we have a life centered around the pursuit of materialism and pleasure. While new yeshivot, heders, Talmudei Torah, and ulpanot for religious girls are being built all over the country in tandem with the country’s great material advance, this spiritual awakening is merely establishing the spiritual foundation of the Torah revolution to come.
With the restoration of the Beit HaMikdash, all of the seemingly secular aspects of Israeli society will be revealed to contain a holy source. Israeli society will be uplifted to spiritual heights surpassing the radiance of its ancient past.
Instead of the Knesset, we will have a king chosen by Hashem.
Instead of secular judges, we will have the Talmidei Chochamim of the Sanhedrin,
Instead of celebs on TV, the service of the Kohanim in the courtyard of Hashem will take center stage.
Instead of a focus on material pleasure, we will focus on spiritual pursuits and world-changing endeavors that really matter, such as becoming a “light to the nations,” leading all peoples to the true knowledge and service of G-d.
The Temple Codes
The Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, is the holiest place on Earth, the place where the Divine Presence intersects with the world in the most manifest fashion. The Sages of the inner Torah, such as Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai, the Arizal, and the Ramchal teach that the Beit HaMikdash contains the spiritual blueprint for the entire universe. Because of its supreme holiness, everything which takes place there has a tremendous effect on the most exalted spiritual worlds.
The perfection and rectification of existence, known as Tikun Olam, can only come about through the channel of the Beit HaMikdash in Jerusalem. It is through the service of the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash, and most specifically, through the sacrifices and offerings brought on the altar, that this exalted influence on the highest heavenly spheres, and subsequently in our world below, is created. This influence works to release Heavenly blessing to the world and to all of existence.
In effect, the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash hold the keys to the appearance of G-d’s Presence in the world. The Kohanim possess the codes which bring the light and blessing of Hashem to all humanity and to every created thing on Earth.
Without the work of the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash mankind exists in a chaotic state without rectification and atonement for its sins. Our Sages teach that since the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the world has been cast in darkness. Of course, we can see via the light of the sun, and things seem to us a perfectly natural, but the light we have today is miniscule in comparison to what will be when the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, may it be soon. This Divine light will not only make sunlight brighter, it will enhance the light of intelligence, heal the sick, and death will be no more.
If only we and the rest of mankind knew the supreme value of the Beit HaMikdash, all of the people from all over the globe would race to Jerusalem to have a share in the building.
A few down-to-earth examples will help us understand this transcendent, heavenly concept. For instance, everyone understands that when a pianist hits the keys on the keyboard of a piano with his or her fingers, the music which results doesn’t emanate from the keys. Inside the piano, there is a complex world of audio engineering which a listener doesn’t see but which is really the source of the sound.
Very basically, when you press a key on the piano it causes a small hammer inside the piano to hit a string or strings. When the hammer hits a string, it vibrates and makes a sound that is tuned to a specific note. The vibration of the string is then passed on to the soundboard located just under the strings, causing the board to vibrate and resonate. This board gives each piano its own unique sound and also helps to amplify the sound. In addition to the hammer, there is also a damper. The damper is covered with a felt pad and keeps the strings from vibrating when they are not being played. Other factors, such as pedals, play a part in the making of the music.
All of this complicated system is necessary for a pianist to make music. How much infinitely more complicated is the mechanism which Hashem has created in the universe to bring His music to the world! All of the constellations, planets, and galaxies are enlisted to bring life and blessing down to Earth. These gigantic celestial spheres are the keys and string of the piano. In addition, Kabbalists teach that exalted spiritual channels known as Sefirot work in unison to channel Hashem’s blessings to the worlds which He created in His unfathomable and recondite wisdom.
Here is a simpler example of how our deeds in this world affect the most exalted spiritual worlds above. If you want to take a shower at the beach it won’t help if you just stand under the shower head and wait for the water to spray forth – you have to tug at the string.
Similarly, in a simple bathtub shower, the water won’t be released from the shower head unless the knob of the faucet is activated from below. In a likewise manner, our Sages teach that it is man’s activity in this world, such as the performance of mitzvot, Torah study, or acts of kindness which stimulate heavenly components in the upper realms of existence, components which act to release Divine Blessing back to our world. Every individual on Earth in his observance of the precepts of the Torah is an active player in this invisible and very esoteric process.
Most specifically, it is the work of the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash which triggers the upper worlds to function as they should in activating the Divine blessing from Above. This is true in a national sense for the Jewish People, and in a universal sense for the atonement, benefit, and advancement of the entire world. It is the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash in Jerusalem who possess the codes needed to draw down Hashem’s blessings in the most maximum and beneficial manner.
Thus, without the Beit HaMikdash, all of humanity is like an orphan. The mechanism can be crudely compared to a person who stands in front of a cash machine on the street which is filled with money. The person can scream at the machine as loudly as he can but this won’t cause money to appear in the slot. The person can bang at the machine with his fists and kick it again and again, but the machine won’t respond. Only if the person knows the proper code will bills of money appear after the proper buttons have been pressed in the proper order.
Thus it behooves us to take a deeper look into the inner meaning of the offering of sacrifices in the Beit HaMikdash to understand why they are the prime focus of the Kohanim. Because of the esoteric nature of the sacrifices it is difficult for us to comprehend their exalted workings. However the Zohar gives us a glimpse into this secret wisdom. Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai teaches that the Hebrew word for a sacrifice offering, “Korbon” has the meaning of bringing closer and connecting. While the usual understanding is taken to mean that the person who brings the offering is brought closer to Hashem through the act, or in the case of a communal offering where the entire Jewish community is brought closer to Hashem via the atonement involved in the offering,
Rebbe Shimon reveals that in the upper spiritual worlds when a sacrifice is brought in the Beit HaMikdash, the Divine Sefirot are brought closer together and connect in a holy unison. This union unites the Hebrew letters of G-d’s secret Name in a perfected fashion, as if crowning the King, whereby G-d’s mercy and blessing emanates forth to all of existence.
We learn from this that the actions and mitzvot which we perform on Earth in the material world don’t end here. Rather they influence the most exalted reaches of Heaven and activate the spiritual codes of existence, bringing Hashem’s blessing to the world. In contrast, our failure to live our lives according to the Torah can result in Hashem’s “turning his back away from us” so to speak, or, Heaven forbid, our rebellious behavior can trigger the mechanism to respond in a “wrathful” fashion in response to our misdeeds.
The deeds of the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash which they perform on behalf of the Jewish People rise up to rectify the most inner spiritual foundations of life, perfecting the Divine Channels, the Sefirot, which bring forth the Divine Emanations which sustain mankind and all of Creation. Therefore, the slightest flaw in a Kohen’s intentions, or an improper thought at the improper time can disqualify a sacrifice and cause the system to shut down. Tilt!
In their commentary to the Book of Vayikra, the Kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Kohen, of blessed memory, known as “HaHalban,” and Rabbi Reuven Sasson illustrates how this process occurs. The Korbon offering in the Beit HaMikdash unites all of the elements in our material world – the innate; the vegetable world; living creatures; and man.
An example of the innate world is water which is used in the Temple libations. Grain offerings and wine are a part of the vegetable world. Animals are sacrificed on the Temple altar. The category of man is represented by the people who bring the offerings. In addition, the Levites are present, performing a variety of tasks such as singing and accompanying the Temple service with music. And the Kohanim are in charge of the precise and detailed work and codes which open the pathways to Divine Approval.
Thus the work performed in the Beit HaMikdash includes all of the elements of this world. All forms of creation come together in harmony in the service of Hashem. Since the root of everything which exists in our material world is found in the upper spiritual worlds, the work of the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash unite Heaven and Earth. In bringing the Korbonot, the Kohanim concentrate on this exalted Yichud (union), concentrated their thoughts on the tikunim (rectifications) that their work brought forth in the world of the Sefirot and Partzufim. In this manner, Heaven and Earth were united and the healing influx of Divine Light was channeled to the world.
The “Halban” teaches that from the supreme unification of the material world and the highest spiritual worlds which is enacted in the Beit HaMikdash, we can learn the absolute necessity of uniting all segments of the Jewish People, with all of our differing backgrounds and beliefs, into a unified whole in order to unify the spiritual channels above and thus bring atonement, perfection, and joy to all Creation.
May we merit to see the rebuilding of the Temple and the holy service of the Kohanim renewed in our time soon.
