Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:16 “Lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image.” Fact is we do not see too often people bowing down to physical idols in most of the world. We do know that we are making pleasures of the world and the negative thoughts of our minds an idol. Fact is we have exiled the Shechina (Holy Spirit) from our hearts and mind.
Fact is Hashem is homeless, living in a broken vessel (You and Me) – and we hold the material to the rebuilding of His Home within us with more splendor and beauty beyond the earthly dwelling place of the Holy Temple.
How many of us are experiencing bitterness, oppression, blame, shame, harshness, deep emotional pain, poverty, and many other challenges to a better life? Where are those negative forces coming from?
Hashem destroyed His Physical Home (The Holy Temple) and went into exile awaiting us to develop the ability to find Him in this world. Finding Him within our neshama (soul). The Temple when it stood did not help us find Him, in essence, it hindered us…and therefore it was not appreciated by us when we had it standing among us and in it held the presence of the Almighty Creator of the Universe. And because the physical served to somehow strengthen our awareness of our self-concern rather than living more and more with an awareness of Hashem’s love and omnipotence and presence.
However, Hashem had a backup plan when he created us he created his home, his Temple within us. And now we have to become aware of his presence to become healed as an individual, nation, people, and world. Prophecy ended when the High Priests davened that the taiva (ark) for avoda zara (idolatry, strange or foreign worship) to be taken out of the world. Truthfully, our utter disinterest in idol worship is not a credit to our advanced, developed intelligence, or our purer faith in G-d. The Men of the Great Assembly determined that the inclination or urge to serve avoda zarah (idols foreign worship or strange worship) was too strong for mankind to withstand. Our Sages do tell us that avoda zara and the gift of prophecy were two sides of the same flow of force. “If used with self-interest, it was avoda zara (idol worship or strange and foreign worship). If a person used it in true devekus (referring to closeness to G-D), it brought on prophecies.”
The template holds true for us in our daily service of Hashem. If we are focusing on our will to implement what is pleasurable according to our natural inclinations, as pleasurable and healthy as they may seem, there is something important that is missing. It is imperative that we bring gratitude into the picture, remembering that the Source is Hashem alone, not our own hand. Likewise, when we experience suffering, it’s not blame, shame, or oppressors, but Hashem’s judgment upon us to balance our spiritual account to better our health both spiritually and physically. Our ability to recognize His Hand can often help us from deviating too far before making a correction and doing teshuva (repentance-return) so we can free.
The key to remember is that it is up to us to bring mercy into the formula – compassion on the Shechina that we put in exile inside our mind and hearts. We need to align ourselves with Hashem’s compassionate attribute and sweetens the flow of judgments within us and around us. Remember how much we judge one another, we will receive that same amount of judgment upon ourselves.
The more we are able to comprehend that Eloheim (G-d-Hashem Yod Hey Vav Hey) is concealed in absolutely everything, and the more our will to bring emunah (faith), Ahava (love) for Hashem, and compassion on the Shechina that is in exile into our mind and heart and use our real free will to return to Him. The forces within every pattern, thought, and emotion that is pulling us towards our natural biases, the more aware of Hashem’s compassion we will experience and have the drive to bring into this world, to all nations, and to our community. We soon become able to see the look and feel of what is going on inside for where it is coming from – from our natural biased will be under the dominion of the soton (the evil inclination or the evil one) who deceives us with its visions of pleasure or we can see from devekus and insights from Torah (the Bible) and chochma (wisdom).
The demise of idolatry (drive towards a false G-d) in the world correlates to the end of prophecy (the drive to HaShem). This is no coincidence. An ability to relate to HaShem on an elevated level prods man to search for closeness to HaShem, but there is no guarantee that his effort will bear fruit. A slight distortion can corrupt his service, resulting in an avodah (service) that is ‘zarah’, foreign to the precise requirements of the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple). Then how do we navigate towards true worship of our Creator? Through Torah (The word of G-d- the Bible) through mitzvot (Good deeds). Our Temple within functions as G-d intended, and not as we intend. G-d can built within us his Temple so he may dwell within us, and we then become purified rededicated for a place where Shechina can dwell fully out of exile.
The Gemara of the Talmud informs us that in the future, G-d “will slaughter the Yetzer HaRa (the evil inclination or the evil one soton) in the presence of both of the righteous and the wicked.” So no one can question his authority. May we understand what it means to delight in Hashem, and may Hashem delight in us, and may we be forgiven for disappointing Him for all these years and may our effort to bring Him into our hearts make it possible for us to have the third Temple, and be a home, a nation, a people and a world for Hashem to dwell. May we focus our concentration to recognize Hashem fully.
And, may in so focusing, show Hashem that we want Him in our hearts so much that we yearn deeply for a close relationship, we want more and more awareness because we will want to do His will. And may want to re-examine in the light of expanded chochma from Hashem to help us release the Shechina in exile, in the broken vessel of our limited constricted natural vessel.
And may that Infinite Light be a blessing, a merit, a refuah shelama (getting well or healing), a cancellation of gezeiras (decrees or judgements), and a satisfaction of judgment for ourselves, our families, for klal Yisrael and all of mankind. And may we soon see the restoration of His Revealed Compassion and love in the world, and the world to come the Olam Haba. Pour upon us G-d your oil of wisdom, your oil of compassion, your oil of love, your oil of obedience, your oil of chesed (kindness) and your oil of shamayim (heavens) of ketoret (holy spices of incense) so that we may be accepted as a sweet offering, and pleasing odour unto You!
Moshiach Now
