{"id":381,"date":"2024-03-03T03:26:21","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T03:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/?p=381"},"modified":"2024-03-03T03:26:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T03:26:22","slug":"deserving-the-beis-hamikdash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/03\/deserving-the-beis-hamikdash\/","title":{"rendered":"Deserving the Beis Hamikdash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As we conclude the month of Av, the month of our highest awareness of the Beit Hamikdash, we read in our parsha of the importance of a center place of formal worship.  See 12:5-18, but here is one verse I would like to highlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d9\u05d3<\/strong>  \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b4\u05dd-\u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8-\u05d9\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05d7\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4, \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b7\u05d3 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05b8\u05d8\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8\u2013\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dd, \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05dc\u05b6\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b9\u05dc\u05b9\u05ea\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8; \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dd \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d4, \u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b8\u05e0\u05b9\u05db\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b0\u05e6\u05b7\u05d5\u05b6\u05bc\u05da\u05b8\u05bc.<\/td>14<\/strong> but in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Torah does not tell us exactly where this place of worship will be, but tells us it will be in the land of one of the tribes.  Flip through Tanach or just look at Rashi here, and you will see that ultimately G-d chooses the tribe of Binyomin to host the Beit Hamikdash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would like to share two questions with you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, why the mystery? The Beit Hamikdash will be in the place that Hashem will choose.  Why does the Torah not just share the exact location the Beit Hamikdash will be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, why does Binyomin merit the Beit Hamikdash in his territory?  Was this an arbitrary decision?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Torah Temimah in Parshat Vayishlach answers this second question (Bereishit 32 footnote 9) based on an episode in Parshat Vayishlach.  Binyomin deserved the honor of the Beit Hamikdash in his territory because he did not bow down to Esav.  At that famous encounter between a fear filled Yaakov and an angry Esav, the entire family bowed down to Esav.  Binyomin, who did not bow, was rewarded with the Beit Hamikdash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture the scene: Esav coming with an army to confront Yaakov, and his blood is still boiling in anger after Yaakov tricked him almost fifteen years earlier.  The entire family bows in trepidation to pacify Esav, and Binyomin\u2019s stance could would surely endanger the entire family.  Imagining the uproar of Esav if he would notice this act of defiance and disrespect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorry for pulling your chain, but that previous paragraph is 100% incorrect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Binyomin never bowed to Esav for the same reason I never bowed to Esav.  He never met him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Binyomin was born after Yaakov\u2019s encounter with Esav.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How could the Torah Temimah possibly credit Binyomin for this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the Beit Hamikdash did not reside in the land of Binyomin because of his accomplishment; it would be built there because of what Binyomin represented.  Chazal say that Binyomin was one of the four people who lived without sinning.  Some of that was circumstantial; Binyomin did not undergo the same challenges as his brothers.  Born after the confrontation with Esav, too young to sell Yosef, Binyomin did not participate in the bumpy road of his brothers that we read about in Sefer Bereishit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what the Beit Hamikdash needed.  The Beit Hamikdash represented a place of purity, unadulteratedly clean, totally removed from any sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to our first question- why does the Torah leave the location ambiguous?  The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim suggests that the location was not revealed to avoid strife at the division of the land of Israel.  If no one knew where the Beit Hamikdash would reside, the tribes could not fight for that piece of land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps a similar theme underlies this suggestion.  The Jewish nation would fight over the priesthood and kingship, but the Beit Hamikdash must begin in a pure clean way, free of machloket, because of what it represented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We transition this Shabbos from a month focused on mourning the Beit Hamikdash to a month of self-reflection.  When a person does teshuva, he or she has the potential to return to this type of purity.  It is not just Binyomin, but something that we can all tap into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us use the beginning of this month to tap into that initial purity, to sift through our busy lives and everything external to us, and to appreciate the inner purity within each of us as we approach the yamim noraim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(See this discussion for more sources on the topic of why the Beit Hamikdash was in the land of Binyomin https:\/\/judaism.stackexchange.com\/questions\/87282\/binyomin-didnt-bow-to-eisav)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we conclude the month of Av, the month of our highest awareness of the Beit Hamikdash, we read in our parsha of the importance of a center place of formal worship.  See 12:5-18, but here is one verse I would like to highlight. \u05d9\u05d3  \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b4\u05dd-\u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8-\u05d9\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05d7\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4, \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b7\u05d3 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05b8\u05d8\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8\u2013\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dd, \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05dc\u05b6\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b9\u05dc\u05b9\u05ea\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8; \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dd \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d4, \u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,10,64,40],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}