The Chofetz Chaim teaches us: “Before Mashiach comes, Hashem will stretch a rope from one end of the world to the other and shake it vigorously… These turbulent times are testing our faith… We must hold on tightly until the end.” This “rope” is our personal connection to Hashem.
In every difficult situation, Hashem is always right there with us. Though His Presence may seem hidden, the truth is that Hashem is never far away: In T’hilim 91:15, David HaMelech states, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.” If at any moment, we don’t feel Him or see Him, it’s only because we have blocked Him out. As the Kotzker Rebbe famously said: “Where is G-d to be found? In the place where He is given entry.”
When we make even the slightest effort to come closer to Hashem, what results is a small opening in our heart. From that tiny impression, Hashem makes an opening the size of a gate so that the light of t’shuvah can flow in from Above.
This means a seemingly insignificant movement on our end can, in fact, result in great spiritual leaps and bounds. In Sh’mos (25:8), it states, “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” Our Sages point out that “I will dwell among them” can also be translated as “in them.” Each Jew is meant to be a Sanctuary for Hashem’s Presence in the world. In fact, the Jew – and, by extension, his or her home, shul, and community – is the real Beis HaMikdash on which the physical building was modeled.
Our Sages teach us that there are two ideas about how the Third Beis HaMikdash will be constructed. One states that the Beis HaMikdash will be built by man. The other is that the Beis HaMikdash has already been constructed by Hashem and exists in the heavenly realms, waiting for the time when it will be able to descend to the world. However, this is not a contradiction. Whenever regular Jews turn to Hashem with their t’shuvah, t’filah, and mitzvos, they are simultaneously building their own portion of the Beis HaMikdash here on earth.
And if a critical number of Jews are making such an effort, then they can initiate the flow of Divine Assistance that will ultimately “cause” Hashem to complete the structure of the earthly Beis HaMikdash by uniting it with its Heavenly form.
[Material was previously published on ShiratMiriam.com.]
List of People Who Need
a R’fuah Sh’leimah
(a complete recovery)
Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.
Boris Baruch ben Frecha Frida
Alter Shmuel ben Chavah Leah
Chaim Avraham ben Shifrah Zisel
Yehudah Yudel ben Miriam Gittel
Chaim Yitzchak ben Feiga Hinda
Yitzchak Chaim ben Altoon Aura
Yosef Yitzchak ben Gittel
Eliezer ben Roma
Yosef Ezriel ben Chayah Michal
Aharon ben Feiga
Menachem Mendel ben Gitta Perel
Moshe ben Rachel
Yitzchak Nissim ben Luna
David ben Zina Priyev
Yosef ben Zackie
Yehoshua ben Miriam
Asher ben Rima
Tinok ben Chanah
Yechiel Nasan ben Sarah
Chaim Shmuel ben Leah
Shlomo Chaim ben Liza
Miriam bas Orah
Esther Pesel bas Beila Chayah
Minna Rivkah bas Chanah Frahdl
Tovah Yocheved bas Esther Bukas
Ruchamah Perel Malkah Leah bas Chanah Serel
Esther Hadassah bas Devorah
Leah bas Malkah
Avigayil bas Sarah
Ronit bas Olga
Perel bas Nechamah
Tehilah Hadassah bas Elanah
To add names of individuals who need a r’fuah sh’leimah to next week’s T’hilim column, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and complete the Google form.
