Tefillah - 122 Perfection In Torah

The Shechinah Can Dwell Inside You

ותשכון בתוכה כאשר דברת  We are asking Hashem that his Shechinah should dwell in us.

There is a well-known statement of Chazal that there is Shechinah which dwells in each person. Just as there was Shechinah in the Beis HaMikdash - so can there be Shechinah in each person.

On a deeper note, the more Shechinah a person has revealed inside himself, the more he can identify with the Shechinah that was in the Beis HaMikdash. And, chas v’shalom, the converse is true as well – if one doesn’t have Shechinah in himself, he doesn’t merit to see the Shechinah in Yerushalayim either.

Thus, when we daven to see the return of the Shechinah to Yerushalayim, we are really davening that the Shechinah should dwell in ourselves, and from that, we will be able to reveal the Shechinah in Yerushalayim.

Levels of Existence

There are many levels to how a person lives – levels within levels.

The lowest level of existence is when a person is far from a life of holiness, in which the reality of Hashem is totally hidden from his perception; Hashem is a “hidden G-d” (Keil Mistater) to him.

Higher than this is when a person merits to be part of the world of Torah and holiness, he has some recognition of Hashem’s existence. But it’s still a faraway view, because he isn’t yet connected to the reality of Hashem. He knows about Hashem’s existence, but he feels that Hashem is far away from him.

A higher level of existence is when a person purifies himself internally, and he comes to feel that Hashem is really very close by him. As it is written, “For the matter is very close to you.”

An even more elevated kind of existence is when a person not only feels that Hashem is close by, but he feels how Hashem surrounds him and is beside him.  

Higher than this level is when a person feels that Hashem resides in himself. This is a level of revelation of Shechinah in a person.

Revealing Shechinah Within

There are two kinds of revelation of Shechinah – through the mind, and through the heart. It is written, “And you must know today and you shall let it settle upon your heart.” We have an avodah to “know” Hashem, which is through our mind. This is not just another kind of knowledge, but it a kind of thought we must constantly reflect about, or else it is just intellectual knowledge that has no effect on us; this is the situation of most people. It is a knowledge we need to connect to; to connect our minds to it.

But there is yet a higher level to reach. When a person merits to internalize his knowledge about Hashem’s existence, when it settles on his heart, there is revelation of the Shechinah in his heart. The Nefesh HaChaim writes that one’s heart is a personal Kodesh Kodashim. The heart can become a Beis HaMikdash that contains the Shechinah, and this is man’s purpose on this world. Our Rabbis wrote of a concept of becoming a “merkavah (chariot) to hold the Shechinah”. The heart can become a container that holds the Shechinah, and upon reaching this, a person is constantly attached with Hashem in d’veykus.

This the ultimate pleasure of the soul and the yearning of the soul – to attach itself to Hashem and enjoy the pleasure of the rays of the Shechinah.

Two Revelations To Yearn For: Shechinah and Torah

Dovid HaMelech and Shlomo HaMelech argued about where our chochmah (wisdom) is.

Dovid HaMelech held it is in our mind. Shlomo HaMelech held it is in the heart; “My heart has seen much wisdom.”

“Hashem, the Torah, and Yisrael are one” – the more a person connects with Hashem, the more he reaches Torah. Without real dveykus with Hashem, a person will not really understand the Torah, because Hashem and the Torah are “one.” Our level of d’veykus with Hashem is mainly built through exertion in Torah. When we exert ourselves in Torah lishmah (for Hashem’s sake and not our personal interests), that is how we connect with Hashem, and from d’veykus with Hashem, that is how we much we understand afterwards in Torah.

We ask Hashem for understanding in Torah. In Shemoneh Esrei, in the blessing of Attah Choinen, we ask Hashem for chochmah binah and daas; and in Ahavah Rabbah, we ask Hashem to be granted binah into our hearts. That is how we daven for Torah. But that is only one part of what we must do, for “tefillah does half the job”. The other half of what we need to do is exertion in learning; one must “kill himself in the tents of Torah”. After the exertion [when it is lishmah], one is opened up to a new gate of understanding, as the Chazon Ish writes - that a person who learns Torah lishmah can merit that his intellect has endless joy. The level of connection that a person has with Hashem will in turn affect how much he will understand the Torah.

In order to have d’veykus with Hashem, we need to seek revelation of Shechinah on the world, and we express this in our tefillos [as we daven here in Shemoneh Esrei], for this is the purpose of Creation - to recognize Hashem. Therefore, yearning for d’veykus with Hashem is really for a greater purpose: to yearn that the purpose of Creation be fulfilled, that Hashem’s Name be revealed to all.

Besides for this yearning we need to have, there is another yearning for holiness which we need to have. “Hashem looked in the Torah and created the world” – thus, the world cannot survive without Torah learning. As the Nefesh HaChaim says, without even one second of Torah, the world would go kaput. So we must yearn for the revelation of Torah. Without the revelation of Torah, there cannot be revelation of Shechinah.

So we must yearn for two things: the revelation of Hashem’s Name, which is the revelation of Shechinah, and the revelation of Torah upon the world. Without revelation of Shechinah, there is no revelation of Torah. If there is no revelation of Shechinah, even if there it appears to us that there is a revelation of Torah, this is not the “Torah of truth”.

Every day, Hashem renews Creation. The Nefesh HaChaim explains that Hashem literally creates the universe anew each day, just as He created it in the beginning. Hashem looks into the Torah each day to create it, just as He created the world from the Torah in the beginning. In order for there to be a world, there must be a revelation of Shechinah, and we also need to yearn for the revelation of Torah.

Of course, we must exert ourselves to learn Torah in order to understand, and this is the way to reveal the Torah from revealing the Shechinah. But the understanding of Torah can only happen when there is revelation of Shechinah in the world.

These words are really simple and clear. But because we live in a world in which the truth is very concealed from us (the word olam, world, is from the word he’elam, “concealed), this concept is very forgotten, even though it is so fundamental to Judaism. Not only are nuances of halacha forgotten from us - in spite of being so clear and simple - but even fundamentals of our very faith are usually hidden from us. Many concepts which should really be so simple to us are often hidden from us. Often, the fundamentals of faith which we were taught as children are forgotten from even those who are sitting and learning Torah all day for many years. This fact - that all understanding of Torah only comes to a person when he reveals Shechinah - is really a clear and undisputed fundamental.

Har Sinai and Yerushalayim\Har HaMoriah

There are two roots which revealed Torah on the world – Har Sinai, and Hor HaMoriah. Torah was given at Har Sinai, and the Torah comes forth from Zion, from Har HaMoriah.

Hashem revealed the Shechinah by Har Sinai. From that revelation came the Torah; Rav Saadya Gaon said that the entire Torah is contained in the Ten Commandments. But it all began with the revelation of the Shechinah. Hashem opened up all seven layers of Heaven and revealed to us Ain Od Milvado, that there is nothing besides for Him. Har Sinai was where we accepted the Torah.

There was also Torah revealed in Zion, in Yerushalayim, in the Beis HaMikdash. “The word of Hashem comes from Jerusalem.” This is a revelation of Torah that comes from revelation of Shechinah that was in the Beis HaMikdash. So there are two sources of revelation of Torah – two sources of our understanding and revelation of the Torah.

Approaching Shavuos: What To Yearn For

We are approaching the days to prepare for the day in which we received the Torah. Those who seek Torah are exerting themselves to acquire the 48 qualities needed. But we must know to where we are heading.

We must know that the purpose of Creation is to reveal Hashem on the world. We are approaching the day in which Torah is revealed to the world, but we must be aware, that this is not a separate goal, chas v’shalom. There is no such thing as revealing Torah on the world without revealing Hashem on the world. A person might chas v’shalom wish for more Torah to come to the world, but he does not have an aspiration to reveal Hashem on the world.

The real way to view life – and this is not a novel concept at all, for it is based on the words of our Sages – is that our whole direction in life has to be towards revealing Hashem on the world. It is just that the way we do that is through learning the Torah with exertion. The only way to reveal Hashem on this world is through exertion in Torah, but, a person has to be aware that his exertion in Torah is meant to reveal Hashem. One has to have this mentality towards his learning.

Why We Daven For The Rebuilding of Yerushalayim

In whatever we do – in deed, word, or thought – we must know the goal. We must know why we do what we do. “Sof maaseh b’machshavah techilah” (“The end of actions is first with thought”).

Thus, when we daven in Shemoneh Esrei for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim, what are we davening for and why do we want this? We must make sure this is not just a lip service and that we are merely saying the words. We must pray for this earnestly, from our heart, and to really yearn for Yerushalayim.

But why, indeed, must we yearn for Yerushalayim? Is it because we just want to come out of this exile that we are in, or because we want korbonos and get atoned for our sins....?

We all have kinds of motivations why we want Yerushalayim, and we should become aware of our inner motivations. These can be truthful aspirations, but, we need to be become aware of why we want it, and after clarifying this, we then we need to know why indeed the Sages enacted that we should pray for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim.

There is always more than one reason for anything, but there is always a root reason with many branching reasons. We need the root and not to get caught up in the branches. The root reason of why we need to daven for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim is to reveal the Shechinah.

When daven for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim three times every day in Shemoneh Esrei (and in Bircas HaMazon); what are we yearning for as we say these words? Do we want more revelation of Hashem on the world?

If a person does not yearn for this, his tefillos are not stemming from the root of why we need to daven for this.

The Two Yearnings We Need To Have

We must daven for it from a yearning that there be revelation of Shechinah on the world, and also, we must yearn that there be more revelation of Torah on the world.

[Sadly, many people are “either or”]. There are people who yearn for more Torah revealed on the world, but they don’t aspire for revelation of Hashem on the world. There are also people who yearn for the revelation of Hashem on the world, but they don’t yearn for the revelation of Torah to come to the world. Either of these views is a viewpoint of alma d’piruda (disparity)! The true perspective to have is that we need to connect both of these views together. We need to yearn for the revelation of Hashem on this world, which is the purpose of Creation, and we also need to yearn that His wisdom be revealed on the world [which is via the revelation of Torah].

So we need to yearn that His reality be revealed, and in addition, that His wisdom be revealed. The revelation of the reality of Hashem is the revelation of Shechinah, and the revelation of Hashem’s wisdom is through the revelation of Torah, Hashem’s wisdom. On a deeper note, the reality of Hashem can be revealed from the Torah, and we must yearn that the reality of Hashem be revealed through His wisdom, the Torah.

When we direct our soul to have both of these yearnings together – the revelation of the reality of Hashem, as well as the revelation of His wisdom – this is the depth of our prayer to ask for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim, that the Shechinah be returned.

In Conclusion

ותשכון בתוכה, כאשר דברת  “And dwell in it, as You spoke.” Why do we add on the words כאשר דברת “As you spoke”? It is because we must also yearn that the dvar (word) of Hashem, the Torah, should be revealed in Yerushalayim.

This is what lays behind our yearning for Yerushalayim and the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash – to yearn for the revelation of Hashem on this world, together with the revelation of Torah to come to the world. When this happens, it will be revealed how “Hashem, the Torah, and Yisrael are one.”