The Beis Hamikdash of Our Times

לזכר נשמות לאה שושנה בת אהרן ריעדער מורינו ר׳ צבי הערש בן ר׳ ניסן חיים מורינו ר׳ ישעי בן ר׳ משה ר׳ יעקב בן ר׳ שמואל יוסף מ׳ חוה רבקה בת ר׳ שמעון ריעדער

Based on Nefesh Shimshon by Rav Shimshon Pincus, zt”l

Shabbos is the Beis Hamikdash of our times.

In the past, there was a place to find Hashem: the Beis Hamikdash. A menorah burned there continuously and the loaves of bread on the Shulchan were always fresh.

These mitzvos represented how real Hashem’s presence was.

If you enter a house and it’s dark and empty, you understand no one lives there. But if you enter a home and find it filled with light and there’s fresh bread, you know someone lives there.

In the days of the Mikdash, a Jew could just walk into the Mikdash and feel Hashem’s love for him. He would know that Hashem is our Father in heaven, that He’s involved in our lives, and that He cares for us. He’d understand that Hashem is a Living G-d, not just a vague concept. The source of all of this awareness was the Beis Hamikdash.

Today, our Beis Hamikdash is Shabbos Kodesh.

On Shabbos, we can find Hashem more than any other day, and that’s why we were given it.

On Shabbos, there are no aveiros. Hashem relates to us with the name Yishai, the father of Dovid.

Yishai was one of the four tzaddikim who never did an aveirah.

Maybe on Shabbos we don’t feel like we’re in the Beis Hamikdash, and maybe we’ve already spent myriad Shabbosim not feeling Hashem’s presence. But that’s because the darkness of the world is so very pervasive.

It’s in every crevice of this world, making it hard to find Hashem.

But on Shabbos, that blanket of darkness grows thinner.

We still need to input effort to peel the layer of darkness away, but if we are looking for Hashem, we will find Him on Shabbos.

There is no question: if you want to bring Hashem into your life, Shabbos is when you will find Him.

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Let’s Reflect:

Shabbos is the time to push our way through the darkness of our world and strive to find Hashem. How can we know how to do this? How do we know if we’ve ever truly felt Hashem’s presence? Close your eyes. Ground yourself. Connect to the moment. Try to feel Hashem, with every fiber of your being. Were you successful? On this Shabbos evening, you should have siyata D’Shmaya when you seek Him out.

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