וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ בְּרַחֲמִים תָּשׁוּב. וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ. וּבְנֵה אותָהּ בְּקָרוב בְּיָמֵינוּ בִּנְיַן עולָם. וְכִסֵּא דָוִד מְהֵרָה לְתוכָהּ תָּכִין. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', בּונֵה יְרוּשָׁלָיִם
With most of our prayers, we are lacking something, but we have a clear picture in our mind’s eye what we are requesting, and in this way we connect with Hashem over our deficiencies. However, when we pray for Yerushalayim to be rebuilt, we don’t know how it was, or how it will be – we only understand the concept, that a rebuilt Yerushalayim is where we are meant to be, physically and spiritually.
This tefila is a perfect proof that all our prayers join together. This prayer and it’s variants have been said for nearly two thousand years by our ancestors. Their prayers cannot be said to go to waste – the Ge’ula is monumentally massive, one prayer will not bring it; it will be the sum-total of all the thousands of years of prayers. It is not just the prayers that join – we may not understand what Yerushalayim is or was, but along the way, there were people who did – our tefillos merge with these.
וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ - And Yerushalayim Your city
The first letter, the vav, means “and” – it connects what precedes to what follows. There are several explanations of what this is connected to.
The first is that it is related to תְּקַע בְּשׁופָר גָּדול – where we ask Hashem to bring an end to the Exile so all the people can return to Israel, and we are now asking for the place to which we return, ירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ, to be rebuilt.
The second explanation is that ירוּשָׁלַיִם is a plural word. This is because there are two Jerusalems. There is the ירוּשָׁלַיִם של מעלה – the Heavenly Jerusalem, in addition to the ירוּשָׁלַיִם של מטה – the Jerusalem on Earth. When we are worthy of it, the two Yerushalayim co-exist together, which is what occurs in times of peace and harmony. So we daven וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם – we want Hashem to reside in both, the של מעלה and the של מטה.
There third explanation, by R’ Yisroel Reisman, that וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם continues from עַל הַצַּדִּיקִים. The Yerushalayim of today, of bars, restaurants, and shopping, is not the Yerushalayim we daven for. We want the Yerushalayim of tzaddikim back.
בְּרַחֲמִים תָּשׁוּב – Return with mercy
Mashiach can come at different times, under different circumstances. We ask Hashem that whenever the time of Mashiach arrives, it should always be through רַחֲמִים, mercy, and not anger, even if we don’t deserve it.
We are asking that the Exile end through רַחֲמִים and not דין.
וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ – And reside within it.
The Vilna Gaon explains that we can ask for וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ without necessarily having וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ. Even if we may not be worthy of having Mashiach and the rebuilt Jerusalem today, it does not stop Hashem from being felt there. Obviously, we would prefer וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ, but וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ does not have to be the result of וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ. So we are asking that if we cannot have our prayer answered fully, that they be answered somewhat anyway.
We ask Hashem to rebuild Yerushalayim, not for us to be safe, but so we can be close to Him.
כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ – as You told us
We affirm that Hashem told us He would rebuild Yerushalayim, and we depend on this. It is not possible that Hashem would not keep His word.
We are saying that we have perfect faith in what Hashem told us.
וּבְנֵה אותָהּ בְּקָרוב בְּיָמֵינוּ – and build it soon within our days
We ask Hashem that Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash be rebuilt בְּיָמֵינוּ. The beis has a double meaning – it can mean with, and within (inside). So we are asking that Yerushalayim be rebuilt not just within our days, but בְּיָמֵינוּ – with our actual days. The mitzvos and merits we earn each day will be the building blocks of the Ge’ula. We should take heed that each day has a new power and potential to do so.
We are asking that our days be fit to use to help rebuild Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash.
בִּנְיַן עולָם – an eternal building
This too has a double meaning – it is a בִּנְיַן that is לעולם, a building that is forever, but it is also a בִּנְיַן for the עולָם – the Beis HaMikdash is a building that rebuilds the world.
וְכִסֵּא דָוִד מְהֵרָה לְתוכָהּ תָּכִין – and the throne of David speedily return within it
Apart from returning the Kingdom of David to Israel and Jerusalem, we asking for the “throne” to return to the Beis HaMikdash. Only one person is allowed to sit in the Beis HaMikdash, the king. We want a full restoration of how things were meant to be; Yerushalayim, the monarchy, the Beis HaMikdash, and the fusion of them all – the king sitting in the Beis HaMikdash in Yerushalayim.
We can also look at this as a metaphor. In a time where people daven to Hashem, Hashem is close to us, His כסא הכבוד is closer to us, it is in this world. In a time where people are distant from Hashem, Hashem is distant from us, and the כסא הכבוד is missing form this world.
We ask Hashem that the כִסֵּא, the throne, both His own and that of David, return to this world.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', בּונֵה יְרוּשָׁלָיִם – Blessed are You Hashem, who builds Jerusalem
The bracha of וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם ends in the present tense. This is because every day, we get closer to the Ge’ula, not just in time, but in merit as well. The more mitzvos we do, the closer get to Mashiach.
No comments:
Post a Comment