The Jerusalem of the Heart
„The Temple... must be built in spirit each day within each individual of Israel, in order to draw one's soul, in the fullness of its life, into the innermost being of the nation in its complete state.”From Shemonah Kevatzim I, 144
We are in days of mourning over the destruction of the Temple. A destruction that, as we mentioned, has a real connection also to our own lives. Rav Kook writes that when the Temple was destroyed, the soul too became deficient. In the absence of a spiritual center, something deep in our connection to the nation and to God became dormant.
Therefore he invites each of us to begin the building from within: to hold onto memories, to imagine the beauty and the holiness, and to pray out of longing. When the heart longs, when a person builds for himself a picture of wholeness and aspires to it, the strength too returns, the will too awakens, the hope too becomes real. And as the sages said: 'Whoever mourns over Jerusalem merits to see its joy.' Only one who feels the lack can truly rejoice when the wholeness arrives.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.