Yom Yerushalayim Samuel and Amalek

 Todayis Yom Yerushalayim where we celebrate the unification of Jerusalem and themiracles of the Six Day War. Following the War of Independence in 1948 when theArab countries surrounding Israel rejected the partition plan and sought toannihilate the 600,000 Jewish residents of the new State, the Jewish people wona resounding victory, but Jordan took possession of the Old City of Jerusalem.Those who had been living in the Old City, lost their homes. Synagogues andYeshivot were destroyed and the area around the Wall was stripped of Jews whohad been living there for decades and centuries. We could no longer worship atthe Kotel.      19years later the voice of Motta Gur, commander of the paratrooper’s brigade,rings in our ears and we can all hear his historical announcement: “Har Ha-bayitbe-yadeinu!” “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” ... It is this we celebratewith Hallel and praise for Hashem’s miracles.      Weread each day in the Amida:   תִּשְׁכּוֹן בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלַֽיִם עִֽירְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁרדִּבַּֽרְתָּ, וְכִסֵּא דָוִד עַבְדְּךָ מְהֵרָה בְּתוֹכָהּ תָּכִין, וּבְנֵהאוֹתָהּ בִּנְיַן עוֹלָם בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵֽינוּ  Dwellwithin Jerusalem Your city, as You spoke about, & the throne of David, Yourservant, speedily prepare it within it, & build it an eternal structurespeedily in our days.  Wemention the throne of David. Some compare the throne below with the throneabove and just as we long for the throne below to be re-established, we realizethat in some ways, the throne above is not whole.      Weread each Friday morning, Friday afternoon, evening and Shabbat:   נָכ֣וֹן כִּסְאֲךָ֣ מֵאָ֑ז מֵעוֹלָ֣ם אָֽתָּה׃  Yourthrone stands firm from of old; from eternity You have existed. Again thethrone!      WhenAmalek attacks Benai Yisrael after leaving Egypt, Moshe sends Joshua to fightthem. It is there we are commanded never to forget what Amalek does and Mosesbuilds an alter and says   וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־יָד֙ עַל־כֵּ֣ס כַּהּ מִלְחָמָ֥ה לַהֹ’בַּֽעֲמָלֵ֑ק מִדֹּ֖ר דֹּֽר׃  Hesaid, “It means, ‘Hand upon the throne of Hashem, Hashem will be at war withAmalek throughout the ages.”     Rashiasks: And what is the force of כס —why does it not say as usual (throne orchair) כסא? And the Divine Name, also, is divided intohalf (Kah is only the half of the Tetragrammaton)! The Holy One, blessed be He,swears that His Name will not be perfect nor His throne perfect until the nameof Amalek be entirely blotted out.      AndI would venture to put forward based on this that Amalek and the establishmentand rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple are diametrically opposed.      AlthoughJerusalem is mentioned in Tanach in some way between 700 and 800 times, it isnot mentioned at all in the Torah itself.   Wedo have a verse in Devarim which states:   כִּ֠י אִֽם־אֶל־הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר הֹ  butlook only to the site that Hashem will choose amidst all your tribes asHashem’s habitation, to establish the divine name there.      Thereyou are to go, Rabbeynu Bachya writes: The place in question is Mount Moriah;it is well known among the Goyim. They know of its spiritual advantages throughtradition. There is no need to mention this location by name. The people allhad a tradition that this was where their ancestor Yitzchak had lain bound on thealtar. Maimonides writes in his Moreh Nevuchim (3,45) that there were threereasons why the location of the future Temple was not spelled out at thispoint.      1)If the nations of the world had known that in that location prayers areanswered positively by G’d and sacrifices are welcome to Him, every nationwould have made a supreme effort to take possession of that site. This wouldhave resulted in untold slaughter among the nations and ongoing strife amongthem.      2)If the Canaanites who dwelled in the land at the time Moses spoke these wordshad heard of them and they had realized that the Israelites would dispossessthem and take over that site they would have utterly destroyed it before theJewish people had a chance to conquer it.      3)Even the tribes of the Israelites would have argued among themselves in whoseterritory this site, would be located at the time the land was distributedamong the tribes. Such a division among the people would have been even worsethan the rebellion of Korach when the people were not prepared to recognize thepreferred hereditary status of the Priests.      Forall these reasons Moses preferred not to spell out the exact location of wherethe Temple would be built in the future. If even the Jews did not know thelocation, it is clear that the Gentiles did not know it either. Althougheveryone knew of the significance of Mount Moriah in the past, they had no ideaof what this meant in terms of its future religious significance, in terms ofthe place G’d would choose.     Weknow that even King David did not know that Har HoMoriah was the mount to buildthe Temple on. He originally selected the tallest mountain in Yehuda and onlyafter learning in detail with Samuel the prophet, did they ascertain that thechoice from the sacrifice was the shoulder and thus chose the second highestspot.      If Ihave not lost you yet, a couple of more facts and then, let’s try to put thepieces together.   RabbiAri Kahn writes: The Shulchan Aruch, section 580, reports that on the 28th dayof the month of Iyar a fast day is observed, marking the anniversary of thedeath of Shmuel HaNavi (Samuel the Prophet). In antiquity this day was widelycelebrated.     TheRadbaz teaches that the tomb of Shmuel HaNavi was a site of pilgrimage. Peoplewould take their young sons and travel to the burial place of Shmuel to cut thechild's hair for the first time. When it became dangerous to travel toJerusalem, the custom evolved to travel to meron on the 18th of Iyar and thuswe have the custom to go on Lab LaOmer to the Kever of Rashbi (as cutting hairon Lag makes no sense to Sephardim who don’t cut until the 34th).  Stillwe see that the 28th day of Iyar was, in antiquity, a day of pilgrimage as wellas the yearly remembrance of Shmuel HaNavi. On that day, of all the days in thecalendar, Jerusalem was the destination. We might even venture to say that thepower of the prayers uttered all those years ago on this day by the pilgrims atthe end of their arduous journey contributed to Jerusalem's liberation on thevery same date, causing it to once again become the day when people venture upto Jerusalem.      Butsomething else occurred on the 28th of Iyar. According to Seder HaOlam. Thebattle with Amalek took place on the 28th of Iyar.      RabbiKahn explains: This association allows us a deeper appreciation of the date andits significance. The battle with Amalek is the archetypical struggle betweenholiness and depravity. This struggle defines the essence of the 28th of Iyar.It is its nature, its character, its 'personality'. The victory ofholiness over depravity was achieved when the prayers of Moshe and the nationwere answered. When the Beit Hamikdash was eventually constructed on the holymountain, symbolizing the possibility of human connection with God andholiness.     Onthe 28th of Iyar, Amalek tries to destroy the throne. It is up to us to rebuildit. Samuel is born on the 28th. He anoints Saul whose task is to destroyAmalek. Saul fails.      Samuelthen anoints David. Together they discern that the place of the Temple toestablish the throne on earth corresponding to the throne above is Jerusalem.     Thus,Samuel in anointing the Davidic dynasty through Mashiach and in establishingthe “place” as Jerusalem is forever associated with the City. Perhaps in hismerit (as he is noted as in a way equal to Moses and Aaron) miraculous victoryand celebration came on the 28th of Iyar in our lifetimes.  ButI cannot help but think. Did we in 1967 make the same mistake as Saul? HarHaBayit BeYadeynu. And the Mashicach was riding in on his white donkey as RabbiAbittan would explain. In Jerusalem a banner was unfurled. As they unrolled itwe read. Yisral – Israel, a bit more Boteach – puts its faith and trust andthen the final word which should have said Hashem read Sahal – the army. Wehanded the keys to Har HaBayit (and Maarat HaMachpelah) back and Mashiachturned around.     Stillthough today is a day of tremendous celebration and joy. The geulah begins stepby step. We are experiencing it. But we must remember the geulah does not comeon its own. The Mikdash does not fall from the sky on its own. Mashiach doesnot ride in on his own. It is up to each of us to contribute a spiritual brick.To learn, to teach, to watch, to do and to fulfil that which we are asked toand volunteered to do.   Inthe Omer we are at the day of Chesed shel Malchut, the Kindness of Kingdom. Thefirst step towards reestablishing Hashem’s Kingdom on Earth. And as we arriveat Shavuot at the end of the week, the date of Matan Torah and the birth ofKing David, let us pray together and see fulfilled BimHerah Beyameynu the wordswe utter each morning:   תִּשְׁכּוֹן בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלַֽיִם עִֽירְךָ  Dwellwithin Jerusalem Your city, as You spoke about, & the throne of David, Yourservant, speedily prepare it within it, & build it an eternal structurespeedily in our days.     Amen     ShabbatShalom,     DavidBibi