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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The 14th Berakha: Jerusalem.

Today is the 13th day of Shebat , 5771


tishkon betokh Yerushalayim irekha...
In this blessing we ask God Almighty
1. To restore His presence in Yerushalayim.
2. To reestablish the Kingdom of David in Yerushalayim.
3. To rebuild Yerushalayim, soon in our days.
2. Like Washington D.C for America, Jerusalem was -and B'H 'is'- the political capital of the Jewish Nation. It consisted of the area of the King's palace (the White house), the residing place of the Bet Din haGadol (the Supreme Court of Justice) and the Sanhedrin (the Senate). When we mention the 'destruction of Jerusalem' we imply the destruction of the Jewish Nation, through the eradication of its national infrastructure of political and legal governance.
1. But Yerushalayim -Jerusalem- is not merely a city. Yerushalayim is, above all, the city of the Bet haMikdash, the Holy Temple, where the presence of God (shekhina) used to reside. The Bet haMikdash makes Yerushalayim the holiest city on this planet. When you visit the Western Wall -a reminiscence of the Bet haMikdash- you can experience a tiny echo of the incomparable feeling of being in the Presence of God. A feeling that inspires thousands of Jews to pray, rejoice, and cry.
3. The Bet haMikdash is the 'soul' of Yerushalayim. This is why we still pray to God to rebuild Yerushalayim, although today Yerushalayim is already the capital of the State of Israel, and to many -me included- the most beautiful city in the world! And if this amazing Yerushalayim that we have today, is Yerushalayim without its soul, can you imagine Yerushalayim 'with its soul'?!
We long and pray for the full connection with the Almighty that a rebuilt Yerushalayim
will allow.



Must see: From Jerusalem to the world, by Aish
http://www.aish.com/v/is/49498552.html




Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024