Friday, April 20, 2012

The Temple Institute: The Eighth Day

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

The Temple Institute?

So that through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

"And it was on the eighth day"
(Leviticus 9:1)
Nisan 28, 5772/April 19, 2012
13th day of the Omer
Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day

G-d created the world in six days, and on the seventh day He rested. On this basic tenet of creation our world exists. Yet this past week's Torah reading opens, "And it was on the eighth day" (Leviticus 9:1) Where did this eighth day come from? What is it doing here? Of course, on the literal level, Torah is referring to the day following the seven day inauguration of the Tabernacle in the desert. The first seven days were a dry run, a full dress rehearsal minus the presence of G-d's Indwelling, the Shechinah.
The Shechinah did not assume its place within the Tabernacle until the first of the month of Nisan, the day after the seven day rehearsal.

On a deeper level, the eighth day referred to by Torah is not simply the day following the first seven. It is, in fact, and by virtue of what took place on that day, on what was made manifest that day, a brand new day in creation. The day that G-d's presence made itself manifest in our world was a day like no other day before. It was an entirely new reality. The first seven days weren't built for this. So G-d, in a manner of speaking, had to necessarily create a new day in order to accommodate this new reality in the world. This is the eighth day that parashat Shmini is referring to.

In an unrelated matter, the Zohar states that every time the Shechinah, the manifest essence G-d's presence enters our world, the first moments are fraught with turbulence and potential danger. This is an unavoidable metaphysical reality. The Shechinah is so powerful a force that we need to accommodate our world to its nearness. Just as when we exit a darkened house into the bright light of day we need to squint until our pupils can adjust to the intense brightness of the sun, so too do we need to adjust our selves and our actions to the return of G-d's manifest presence in our world. This is why G-d warned the people against advancing on Mount Sinai in anticipation of the revelation that was to come. And this is why G-d prescribed precise actions to take place within the Tabernacle, and indeed, the reason for the seven days of rehearsal: so that the kohanim (priests) would conduct themselves properly in the presence of the Shechinah and thereby avoid harm. Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, in their excitement and fervor, sidestepped these rules, and paid the price.

Today we are likewise living in a reality that is utterly unlike the reality that preceded it. This new reality is the state of Israel. After the long night of exile, sixty four years ago the world woke up to the dawn of a new day, a day unlike any other day that came before it. On this day, as on the eighth day in the desert, the Shechinah began its long journey back to our world. And just as that day was fraught with danger, so too, our new day of the state of Israel is also fraught with danger. It is taking time for all of Israel and for all of the nations to accept the reality of this new day, to make the necessary changes in their modes of behavior and manners of perception in order to fully appreciate and welcome the beauty of this new day. Hence the prolonged turbulence which describes our recent past and current events.

Just as the new reality within the dedicated Tabernacle required a new day in the world, the eighth day, so too, the new reality of the state of Israel and the return of the Shechinah from its long exile, requires new days that can reflect the new reality. In the six weeks that fall between Passover and Shavuoth, (the holidays which mark our physical escape from Egypt and our spiritual liberation in Torah), are four new days that never occurred before in the history of creation. These are Yom HaShoah, (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaZikaron, (Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers), Yom HaAtzma'ut, (Independence Day), and Yom Yerushalayim, (Jerusalem Day). Two of these days, Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron, are days that reflect the danger and tragedy that accompany, inexplicably or not, the return of G-d's Indwelling, the powerful healing light of the Shechinah, to our world. The other two days, Yom HaAtzma'ut and Yom Yerushalayim, rejoice in the ever increasing light of redemption that mark our times. These four days could not have possibly existed prior to the birth of the modern state of Israel. Likewise, the modern state of Israel, and the state of the nations in light of the state of Israel, all could not exist today without these four new days in creation.

Here in the land of Israel, we are reading this Shabbat the double Torah reading of Tazria-Metzora. These portions pick up precisely where Shmini leaves off, firmly grounded in the new reality. Tazria-Metzora describes all sorts of spiritual realities in the life of the nation of Israel and the individuals that make up the nation, that couldn't possibly have existed before the new reality of the eighth day. These spiritual realities which are so poorly translated as "purity" and "impurity" and "leprosy" are nearly impossible for modern man to grasp. Hence the dismal failure in translating these ideas. But fully understand them or not, these are the very new realities that we need to begin striving toward as we accommodate ourselves to the new day in the world in which we are living. So many challenges lay before Israel today. Not necessarily the challenges that we read about in the morning papers, but the spiritual challenges that our return to the land demand. Hidden from the journalist's pen and unreported by the politician's leaks, far from the glare of the cameras, this spiritual journey is taking place, day after blessed day. The situation is fragile and still fraught with danger, and will be until the Shechinah has reassumed its rightful place within the rebuilt Holy Temple. May that new day come soon!

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven locate a glitch in the matrix! For the next few weeks Jewish communities in the Land of Israel and their counterparts in the diaspora will be temporarily out of synch in the reading of the weekly Torah portions. This is caused by the observance of the "extra" last day of Passover outside the Land of Israel. Is this just an insignificant fluke of the calendar, an idiosyncratic halachic issue, or could there be a deeper meaning? Could it actually be a message from Heaven and a wake-up call to diaspora Jewry to come home? Tune into a rousing call for our people to come home already, get over the exile and recognize the miracles G-d is doing for His people in the Land of Israel!

What exactly was the sin of Nadav and Avihu, two upstanding sons of the High Priest Aharon, who brought a "strange fire" on the very day of the Tabernacle's dedication? How can we avoid making the same mistake today?

At Last! The 3rd Annual Temple Mount Awareness Day Happening: Part 1 Now On Youtube! Part 1 of 7: Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute speak with Moshe Feiglin, head of the Likud's Manhigut Yehudit, (Jewish Leadership), Faction. Moshe discusses Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, the movement to bring more Jews to the Mount, and the ongoing efforts to ensure freedom of worship for Jews on the Mount. Moshe also discusses the practicalities of the building of the Holy Temple, a move he believes will bring peace, not war, to the world. Click here to view.

Planning a trip to Israel? Make sure to include the Temple Institute's Jerusalem Exhibition in your itinerary. Click here to see a short video introduction!

This week's all-new Bat Melech teaching by Rena Richman, is entitled, "The Well of Miriam, Part IV: The prophet Miriam: Sanctified and dedicated to her people. In this all-new series, Rena explores the life and work of this great leader of Israel. The fourth and final part." Click here to view.

This week's all-new Return of Prophecy teaching by Rabbi Avraham Sutton, is entitled, "Chapter 21: Light in the World: Time and space are but measures of G-d's light in our world. Our sole purpose is to increase that light." Click here to view.

Counting The Omer: Some Classics From The Vault! We just can't say enough about the counting of the Omer, its source in the service of the Holy Temple, and its transformative effect on us today. Without further ado, here are three of our classic video treatments of Sefirat Ha'Omer - the Counting of the Omer:

Up For The Count! Every day counts, if we count every day! The seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot provide for us ideal time for introspection and spiritual progress. Reflect upon your own soul and burnish your Divine image.

Hanging In The Balance: The great illumination of 'instant' freedom that we experience on the Seder night so often seems to pass us by. Slaves yesterday, free men today, we simply haven't the vessels to be able to absorb the great chesed - loving kindness - and enlightenment that G-d had blessed us with. For this we have Sefirat HaOmer – the counting of the days of the Omer, that prepares us gradually for the great re-illumination of G-d's light - receiving Torah on Mount Sinai.

Sefirat Ha'omer - Count For Yourselves! Forty-nine days that can change your world: The forty-nine days between Passover and Shavuot, (between leaving Egypt and receiving Torah at Sinai), are days laden with awesome spiritual potential. The opportunity for growth is ours for the taking. We must count our days and make our days count! The Temple Institute celebrates the 49 days.

Click here to learn more about the barley offering and Sefirat HaOmer - the counting of the Omer.

View a brief slide show depicting the barley harvest and the Omer offering during the time of the Holy Temple.

The various impurities discussed in Tazria-Metzora are G-d's way of helping us to refine and fine tune our thoughts and our actions. These spiritual "ailments" afford us a constant update on the state of our beings. Click here to view Rabbi Richman's teaching on parashat Tazria-Metzora (Leviticus 12:1-15:33).