Tisha B’Av is the saddest day of the year. It is when we mourn the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and yearn and pray for its restoration. This mourning and longing extend beyond a single day; rather, we are expected to mourn throughout the year, and our regular tefillot – including Shemoneh Esrei, Birkat Hamazon, Hallel, and Lecha Dodi – consistently reference the rebuilding of Yerushalayim, with particular emphasis on the Beit HaMikdash.
Although we formally acknowledge the importance of the Beit HaMikdash, comprehending its true significance is another matter. We struggle to grasp the magnitude of the churban because none of us ever experienced or witnessed the Beit HaMikdash firsthand. Our mourning resembles that of a young child at his mother’s shiva, unaware of the true nature of his loss and unable to appreciate the gravity of the situation.
To pray meaningfully for the return of the Beit HaMikdash and the restoration of the Temple service, we must first understand the significance of the Mikdash and the purpose of the avodah performed there.
Three parshiyot in Sefer Shemot present distinct aspects of the original Beit HaMikdash – the Mishkan. These dimensions are rooted in the experiences of the Avot and further developed by the Rishonim. Each of these dimensions deserves careful attention.
Divine presence and relationship
Hashem first presents the objective of constructing the Mishkan to Moshe Rabbeinu in Parashat Terumah at Har Sinai, immediately after revealing His Presence to the Jewish people. The Ramban explains that this juxtaposition indicates the Mishkan serves as a continuation of the Sinaitic revelation.
Like Har Sinai, the Mishkan and Beit HaMikdash served as sites where Hashem’s shechina, a term related to Mishkan, resided among the Jewish people. This indwelling symbolized Hashem’s Presence in the world and His unique relationship with us. The Torah thus refers to the Mishkan as the “Mishkan Ha-eidut (testimony),” signifying that it testified to Hashem’s personal relationship with us (see, for example, Shemot 38:21 and Bamidbar 1:50 and 53).
Parashat Terumah opens its account of the Mishkan with the vessel that most clearly expresses this testimony: the Aron Hakodesh. Situated at the Mishkan’s innermost and holiest point, the Aron contained the luchot that Hashem gave Moshe at Sinai as a tangible testimony to His covenant with the Jewish people. Both the luchot and the Aron are called eidut and brit because they attest to the covenant.
Hashem’s relationship with us is further reflected by the keruvim, which stood atop the kaporet above the Aron. The keruvim were fashioned in the form of a man and a woman embracing to symbolize Hashem’s loving relationship with us. Parashat Terumah adds that Hashem’s shechina rested atop the Aron and that His words to Moshe emanated from in between the keruvim.
Hashem thus maintained the covenant He began at Sinai through the Aron Ha-eidut, which housed the luchot He gave Moshe as a testimony to His covenant with us as a people (See Ramban to Shemot 25:1).
The Mishkan enabled Hashem’s continued Presence among the Jewish people as they journeyed through the desert and settled in Eretz Yisrael. Ultimately, the Mishkan transformed into the Beit HaMikdash, and Hashem’s Presence became eternally associated with Har HaMoriya. The Mishkan was the vehicle by which Hashem’s Presence traveled from Mount Sinai, where He appeared to the Jewish people, to Har HaMoriya, His eternal resting place.
Ya’akov Avinu
Hashem first revealed His Presence to Ya’akov Avinu on Har HaMoriya through the dream he experienced while sleeping there, as described in Parashat Vayeitzei (see Rashi, Bereishit 28:11, who explains, citing Chazal, that Ya’akov slept at Har HaMoriya). His dream consisted of a ladder with heavenly angels ascending and descending, with Hashem perched at the top (Bereishit 28:12–13). When Ya’akov awoke, he recognized Hashem’s Presence there and the place’s significance as Hashem’s “house” and the gateway to heaven (ibid., 28:16–17).
Kedusha
Hashem’s Presence in the Mikdash rendered it a holy place. Consequently, we were required to show respect to the Mikdash, and only those who were tahor (pure) were permitted to enter (Vayikra 15:31).
In the wilderness, the shechina also generated kedusha throughout the Jewish encampment. This required a level of purity not only in the Mikdash but also in the homes of the Levi’im and the general population. Therefore, individuals contaminated by bodily emissions were required to leave the camp of the Levi’im, and those with tzara’at had to leave even the encampment of the shevatim (Bamidbar 5:2–3 as explained by Pesachim 67).
With the construction of the Beit HaMikdash in Eretz Yisrael, the kedusha radiated throughout the Land. The Mishnah (Keilim 1:6) describes ten levels of kedusha that extend from the Kodesh HaKodashim outward to the rest of the country. Since Hashem is the source of kedusha, His Presence in Eretz Yisrael generates sanctity throughout the Land.
Shechina in exile
This also explains Yechezkel’s ma’aseh hamerkava (heavenly chariot) prophecy, in which he depicts the shechina departing the Mikdash into exile (Yechezkel 1). The Mikdash needed to be destroyed; Hashem’s Presence left beforehand to make that possible (Yechezkel 10:18–22 and Rosh Hashanah 31a).
Chazal teach that after the churban of the Beit HaMikdash, the shechina went into exile together with the Jewish people and itself requires redemption (Megillah 29a). Although Hashem’s choice of Har HaMoriya, and His eternal Presence there can never be undone (Rambam, Hilchot Beit Habechirah 6:16), the full revelation of that Presence will return only with the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.
Our avodah
After Parashat Terumah details the building of the Mishkan as a recreation of how the shechina appeared on Har Sinai, Parashat Tetzaveh adds a second dimension: the avodah done in the Mishkan. No avodah was done on Har Sinai. In fact, the Torah emphasizes that the kohanim were prohibited from even entering (Shemot 24:2). Parashat Tetzaveh establishes that the kohanim are meant to perform avodah in our Mishkan. In addition to describing the clothing of the kohanim and the inauguration service, Parashat Tetzaveh opens and closes with the consistent avodot the kohanim performed in the Mishkan: the ner tamid (Shemot 27:20–21), korban tamid (Shemot 28:38–42), and ketoret (Shemot 30:1–10; regarding the centrality of these three avodot, see also Divrei Hayamim II 2:3).
Because the shechina resides in the Mishkan and Beit HaMikdash, these locations also serve as places where we serve Hashem. And, like with our relationship with Hashem, the avodah must be consistent and uninterrupted. The kohanim regularly offer the tamid and ketoret, ensure the showbreads remain on the shulchan at all times, and light the menorah to maintain a continuous stream of light.
This distinction also explains the different name Tetzaveh uses for the Sanctuary. While Parashat Terumah refers to it as the Mishkan, Tetzaveh calls the Sanctuary an Ohel Mo’ed – a tent of meeting. Whereas Terumah describes the creation of a Mishkan for the shechina to reside, Tetzaveh depicts a sanctuary where we can encounter Hashem through our avodah.
Parashat Tzav adds that the kohanim maintain a constant fire on the mizbei’ach. Indeed, the mizbei’ach is the center of our avodah. Korbanot are offered there throughout the day and consumed on it throughout the night.
But the central korban, which opens and closes the day, is the korban tamid. The end of Parashat Tetzaveh describes this korban (Shemot 29:38–42) and connects Hashem’s continued appearance and communication with the Jewish people to the korban and the mizbei’ach. In contrast to Parashat Terumah, which describes Hashem’s words as emanating from the Aron, Parashat Tetzaveh associates His words with the mizbei’ach, upon which the korban tamid and other korbanot are offered.
Indeed, Terumah and Tetzaveh focus on different vessels. Parashat Terumah mentions the Aron as the first vessel and makes no mention of either of the mizbechot. Parashat Tetzaveh, on the other hand, makes no mention of the Aron, but mentions both of the mizbechot and the consistent avodah done on each.
The Rambam describes the Beit HaMikdash, as presented in Parashat Tetzaveh, as a place established for avodah. In Sefer HaMitzvot, he defines its purpose through the two avodot that bookend the parasha: the ner tamid and the korban tamid (Sefer Hamitzvot LaRambam, Aseh 20; see also Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzvah 95).
In his Mishneh Torah, the Rambam includes the laws pertaining to building the Mikdash in Sefer Avodah, and he focuses specifically on the korbanot and the mizbei’ach. The Rambam begins his presentation of the laws of the Beit HaMikdash by describing the mitzvah as building a Mikdash ready for “the sacrificing of korbanot” (Hilchot Beit Habechirah 1:1). When he lists the vessels, he mentions the mizbei’ach first and, though he then lists the other vessels, he makes no mention of the Aron.
The Rambam (ibid., 2:2) continues his discussion of the mizbei’ach in the second perek, where he describes how the Mikdash was built around the specific site where the mizbei’ach needed to stand – the place David HaMelech purchased after seeing the heavenly angel there, and where the first korbanot were offered by Adam, Kayin, Hevel, Noach, and, most importantly, Avraham Avinu.
Avraham Avinu
The Beit HaMikdash was constructed at the site where Avraham demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice Yitzchak, as the Mikdash is intended to serve as the location for offerings modeled on Avraham’s devotion.
Avraham made this point when, after sacrificing the ram in place of Yitzchak, he named the place “Hashem Yireh” (Bereishit 22:14). Rashi explains that his intention was that Hashem would choose this place for His shechina and to have korbanot offered here.”
Shlomo HaMelech
Although the Beit HaMikdash primarily serves as the site of sacrificial service and other forms of avodah, it also functions as the spiritual center of worship worldwide. It is the focal point toward which we direct our avodah she-balev – our prayers (Berachot 30a).
Shlomo HaMelech made this point in his prayer before the mizbei’ach on the day he inaugurated the Beit HaMikdash. He requested that Hashem hear and answer the prayers of the Jewish people when they direct them toward the Beit HaMikdash (Melachim I 8:22–53). Since the Mikdash is the site of our Divine service, our avodah she-balev can also be directed to Hashem through it.
Sadly, after the churban, we can no longer perform the avodah in the Beit HaMikdash, and the gateway it provided for our prayers is now limited. Instead of praying through the Mikdash, we now pray for it to be rebuilt.
Atonement
Hashem completes His commandment to build the Mishkan in a third parasha – Parashat Ki Tisa. After Terumah describes the vessels and Tetzaveh the avodah, Ki Tisa adds the machatzit hashekel, the coin each Jew donated towards the Mishkan, both in that first year for its construction and in future years for its korbanot (Shemot 30:11–16).
The parasha explains that the contribution achieves kaparah – atonement for sins. Rashi explains that the korbanot bought with the donations achieve the kaparah. Korbanot offered in the Mikdash atone for those who donate toward them.
The Eigel
Chazal teach us that the entire Mishkan atoned for the chet ha-eigel (sin of the golden calf). Both the avodah (Shemot Rabbah 38:7) and the donations, specifically the gold that the Jews had previously donated towards the eigel, atoned for the creation and service of the eigel.
Rashi understood this kaparah to be the central purpose of the Mishkan. Though the Torah records Hashem’s instruction to build the Mishkan before recounting the story of the chet ha-eigel, Rashi maintains that the command was actually given only afterward, as a response to the sin, so that the Mishkan could serve as the vehicle through which atonement for the chet ha-eigel would be achieved.
Sefer Vayikra
Even if it is not the primary purpose of the Mishkan, all agree that it served as a source of kaparah for the eigel. It also facilitated atonement for future sins through the korbanot offered there. Alongside the fixed communal offerings brought each day, on Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and on Yom Tov, individuals could bring personal korbanot to atone for their own transgressions. Parashat Pinchas details the communal offerings, while Parashat Vayikra and Parashat Tzav describe the personal ones.
Parashat Acharei Mot presents the highest expression of this process: the avodah of Yom Kippur. Our fasting and prayer on Yom Kippur are meant to center around the service performed by the kohen gadol in the Beit HaMikdash, through which the fullest measure of kaparah is attained. Our observance today preserves only a shadow of that ideal. In the absence of the Beit HaMikdash, we lack both the avodah of the kohen gadol that made Yom Kippur complete and the ability to bring personal korbanot for atonement.
Our tefillot
Each of these three dimensions – the return of Hashem’s shechina, the reinstatement of the avodah, and the opportunity for atonement – runs through our tefillot.
Without these aspects of our lives, the Kuzari (2:29–30) compares us to a body without a brain or a heart, like scattered, dry bones, with only a small remnant of life within them. May a deeper appreciation of what we are missing enhance our tefillot and enable us to witness the return of the Beit HaMikdash, speedily in our days.
Rabbi Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA. His new book, Essentials of Judaism, is available at rabbireuventaragin.com.