When is the mitzvah of building the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) in effect? |
In Parshat Trumah we find the
commandment to build the Sanctuary (Shmot 25:8) “They shall make for Me a Sanctuary
that I may dwell among them.” Sefer HaChinuch (95) points out that
this mitzvah is in force when the majority of Israelites (Jewry) are settled in
their homeland. It is not a mitzvah that is imposed on any individual but
rather on the entire community. When the Beit HaMikdash will be rebuilt speedily
in our days a positive mitzvah will be fulfilled. The Kuzari (5:27) writes: "Yerushalayim
can only be rebuilt when Israel yearns for it to such an extent that they
embrace her stones and dust." Tehillim (102:14) states: "You
shall arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, the set time
has come. For your servants take pleasure in her stones and embrace the dust
thereof." We pray three times a day for the
rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash but how many people have kavana (intent) when
they say those words and really want it to happen? The first step in rebuilding the
Beit HaMikdash will be the return of the majority of the Jewish people to the
Land of Israel. Last Sunday, Nefesh B’Nefesh held a
mega event in New York which attracted over 1500 people who are considering
making aliya (resettling in Israel). This year’s fair had the largest turnout
ever. This gives us an indication that aliya is on the rise and on the radar
screen of American Jewry. I have been living in Israel for 12 ½
years and Israelis still ask me why I would leave New York to move to Israel.
My answer is that Israel is the place that the Jews have yearned to return to
for 2000 years and it was an opportunity that we could not pass up. In order to hold on to Israel we
need more Jews to come on aliya which will eventually bring us closer to fulfilling
the mitzvah of rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash. |