הר הבית הוא העולם הבא? | הרב מיכי יוספי

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says that when a person wakes from their sleep, they must remember the world to come. There is thought, speech, and action when we wake in the morning, and thought , speech, and action before we go to sleep. Among the Hasidim, it was said that the last action is preparing to wash one’s hands by the bed, for those who merit it. The last speech is the recitation of the Shema, and the last thought—each person chooses the unification of God’s name. In the morning, it is reversed: first comes thought, as Rabbi Nachman says, now of the world to come, then reciting "Modeh Ani," followed by washing one’s hands. Why do I mention this? Because the world to come is not just the world of souls, but also the building of the Holy Temple. Today, may we merit the day when all of the people of Israel will be so joyous and moved by this place, which unites, gathers, and collects all the outcasts of Israel. By the way, the outcasts of Israel are not just those who are in a very distant place, but also those who sometimes feel they don’t belong, that they are among the cast-aside. And a day will come when there will be such grace and such excitement to ascend the mountain of the House of the Lord. So, at least this is how I take Rabbi Nachman’s words: immediately upon waking in the morning, one should remember the world that is to come, the world to come , which will contain all the grace, blessing, and beauty of the world that is found in the Holy Temple. And elsewhere in the same text, in the same teaching from Likutey Moharan, Lesson 54, towards the end, he speaks about midnight, which is the longing for the return of the Shechinah to its place . He brings the verse: "I remember my song in the night; I commune with my own heart, and my spirit searches"—a verse most of us know, having said it many times, but Rabbi Nachman sheds a new light upon it. Night is a time of quiet; night is sometimes also, in the language of the Kabbalists, a time of concealment and spiritual darkness, but it is also a time of quiet when there are no urgent occupations, especially for those who merit waking before dawn or finding those quiet hours, everyone, and remembering their personal melody. Every Jew has their own inner melody, and it is a melody that gets forgotten, sometimes by the news, sometimes by events, sometimes by traumas, sometimes by all sorts of occurrences from years ago; the special melody is forgotten. Rabbi Nachman says: How good it is for everyone to choose a time at night when they have a little quiet and privacy to remember the melody. "I remember my song in the night, I commune with my own heart"—to speak to the heart; the heart waits for us to speak to it, to remind it of how good it is, of how much divinity is in the heart . Sometimes people speak of the divine soul; Rabbi Nachman says: "The rock of my heart"— "Rock" is a name for the Master of the World, and the divinity is in the heart. "I commune with my own heart"—this is to remember the grace, the beauty, and the majesty that is within my heart; this is the aspect of the point of the Temple. "And my spirit searches"—to search for the good spirit from within the bad; they are usually mixed together, and when one merits dedicating time to this , then they search for the good spirit. So may we merit, even in the morning, to be reminded of the "Alma De'atei"(world to come), and at some stage, to have privacy and quiet—the aspect of night— so we can fulfill: "I will call to remembrance my song in the night; I will commune with my own heart, and my spirit shall make diligent search," and to find that good spirit and radiate it onto everyone around us. >> And tomorrow evening is the Yahrzeit of the Rebbe’s father, so somehow, mentioning the Temple Mount reminds us to also mention the Belzer Rebbe. Rabbi Yosef Elboim told me that once he passed by...he told me two stories about the Belzer Rebbe. One of them was when he passed by on a Sabbath where one says "Gut Shabbos" to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe asked him: "Do you already have a lamb for the Passover sacrifice?" So he says: "A lamb?" But I am concerned about the leftovers... And then the Rebbe just...that is one story he told me about the Rebbe. And the second story he reminded me of regarding the Rebbe is that once he was interviewed on some subject regarding the Temple Mount, And Knesset Member Eichler went in to the Rebbe and, as if he said that it brings bad publicity, that it is something not as they would want. So the Rebbe said to Rabbi Eichler: " Tell Rabbi Elboim that I told him to do what he is doing, but without publicity , and that way he will succeed more." Then Rabbi Eichler said that he was in shock; he was sure that the Rebbe would say things against Rabbi Elboim. And all the Rebbe had to say was that in those times, he should do it without publicity; they also prostrated themselves. >> How is that? >> That he saw this attitude of the Rebbe ...anyway, we mentioned the Belz Hakafot melody, and in honor of the Yahrzeit of the Rebbe's father, perhaps we will even merit to sing it.