The Deep Message in the Shabbat Zemer 'Tzur Mishelo'

 

We say in the Zemirot of Shabbat, in the Zemer 'Tzur Mishelo': "May the Temple be rebuilt, and the City of Zion once again be filled".

Ha-Rav Meshulam David Ha-Levi Soloveitchik, who served as Rosh Yeshivat Brisk in Yerushalayim, explained that this sentence means that the destruction of Yerushalayim is not only the destruction of the city and the Beit Ha-Mikdash, but also the expulsion of the Jews from the city.  This is seen in the prayer "Nachem" recited on Tisha Be-Av in the Shemoneh Esrei: "She [Yerushalayim] is in mourning because she is without her children, her homes have been destroyed".  We therefore request in this Shabbat song "May the Temple be rebuilt", i.e. may the Temple, city and its walls be rebuilt, "and the city of Zion once again be filled", i.e. may her children return and the city of Zion once again be filled by the return of Jews to our Land.

His brother, Ha-Rav Meir Ha-Levi Soloveitchik, who served as Rosh Yeshiva in another Yeshivat Brisk in Yerushalayim, explains this request in a similar manner, based on the verses in Yechezkel (36:33-38): "On the day that I will have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and I will resettle the cities, and the ruins shall be built up…  I will multiply them, the men, like the flocks appointed for the holy offerings, like the flocks of Yerushalayim on its festivals, so will these cities now laid waste be filled with flocks of men".  The Prophet clearly explains to us that two things will happen at the time of the Geula: the building of what was destroyed and the filling of the cities with the Jewish People.  We therefore say in the Zemer: "May the Temple be rebuilt" and "the City of Zion once again be filled" (Zemirot Shabbat – Brisk, p. 51).

 

 

What is the Connection Between a Wedding and Yerushalayim?

 

Why is a wedding so joyous?  Why do the Sages say that "One who brings joy to the bride and groom is as one who rebuilt the ruins of Yerushalayim" (Berachot 6b)?

The Nesivot Shalom, the late Slonimer Rebbe ztz"l, shares an idea:

Joy is rooted in the "world of building" and through it both physical and spiritual building are successful.  Sadness is connected with the "world of destruction".

Joy has a powerful influence on the Chatan and Kalla at the opening of their marriage when they are building their home.  The intense joy of their wedding brings them into the world of building, to build a house of holiness and purity.

This is called building one of the ruins of Yerushalayim. for Yerushalayim was called "the joy of the earth" (Tehillim 48).  The Medrash (Shemot Rabba, end of Shemot) tells us that no sadness entered Yerushalayim.  There was a special place right outside Yerushalayim called the "Dome of Calculations" where people would go to make calculations — so that they should not come to sadness in Yerushalayim, "the joy of the earth," and harm its lofty level.

 

Why Can a Husband or Wife Can Force a Spouse to Move to Yerushalayim?

 Ha-Rav Shlomo Aviner, Nasi of Ateret Yerushalayim, once explained:

The Mishnah states: "A man or woman can force a spouse to move to Yerushalayim", such is the ruling when one spouse wants to live in Yerushalayim.  He or she has the upper hand, i.e. if the husband does not want to move there and they divorce, he must pay the Ketubah, and if the wife does not want to move there and they divorce, she is not paid the Ketubah (Ketubot 110b).  Yerushalayim is superior to all else, not in the sense of aloofness and arrogance, but in the sense of being the spiritual pinnacle of Eretz Yisrael.

But we can ask: We’ve heard over and over again about the Mitzvah of settling the Land, but where in the Torah is there a Mitzvah of settling Yerushalayim?  Answer: True, there is no special Mitzvah of settling Yerushalayim per se, but since it is the spiritual pinnacle of the entire land, the Mitzvah of settling the Land is all the more so fulfilled here.  David Ha-Melech states, “Hashem loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Yaakov” (Tehillim 87:2).  Obviously, this is referring to all of Yerushalayim, including the new neighborhoods of West Jerusalem.  Yet it is clear that the main thing is the Old City, Yerushalayim between the walls.

Perhaps this is the source of what I heard that one of the great sages of our generation, Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Ahron Soloveitchik, was once asked: if a philanthropist wanted to donate a hundred million dollars to Torah institutions and he left the decision to you, where would you recommend?  He responded: To build Yerushalayim within the walls (from Ha-Rav Yaakov Marcus).

Changing the Prayer Nachem on Tisha Be-Av

 

One of the additions in our prayers on Tisha Be-Av is the inclusion of Nachem into the Shemoneh Esrei into the prayer which requests the rebuilding of Yerushalayim. The addition includes, "Hashem, our God, console the mourners of Zion and the mourners of Yerushalayim, and the city that is mournful, ruined, scorned and desolate...And she sits with her head covered like a barren woman without children..." Nachem is recited by Sefardim during all of Tisha Be-Av, and by Ashkenazim only during Minchah (Shulhan Aruch and Rama, Orach Chaim 557:1). After the incredible conquest of Yerushalayim and the Temple Mount by Tzahal during the Six-Day War, many people asked whether it was appropriate to recite the prayer Nachem in its current form which refers to Yerushalayim as "the city that is mournful, ruined, scorned and desolate"?  This issue revolves around the questions of whether Nachem is discussing the status of the Temple or the entire city of Yerushalayim. And if it refers to the entire city of Yerushalayim, is it the physical status or the spiritual as well?

While a few Rabbis wanted to change and update the traditional wording of Nachem, claiming that the wording no longer applies, the majority of authorities strongly disagree with altering the text of Nachem and argue that the sentiment expressed in this prayer is still applicable.

In Sefer Nefesh Ha-Rav (p. 79), Rav Ha-Herschel Schachter relates that when it was publicized after the Six-Day War that one rabbi wrote that it was proper to change the wording of Nachem, Ha-Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik told his students that there was no need to alter the prayer because as long as the Beit Ha-Mikdash is not built on the Temple Mount, the entire city of Yerushalayim is in a state of mourning and destruction.

Ha-Rav Ovadiah Yosef, former Chief Sefardic Rabbi of Israel, also argues against making any changes to Nachem (Shut Yehaveh Daat 1:43 and also in Yalkut Yosef 558:2). Rav Ovadiah first mentioned that the prayer Nachem, which we received as a tradition over many generations, was established by the greatest authorities, the Men of the Great Assembly during the Second Temple Period. And who is capable in this generation to courageously step forward and "fix" the accepted version!? He explains that if one looks at the holy city of Yerushalayim, in many ways it is still "mournful, ruined, scorned and desolate." The Temple Mount is still in the hands of non-Jews, who are enemies of Israel, the Old City of Yerushalayim is filled with places of idol worship, whose religions have sanctioned murdering Jews for generations, surrounding the Temple Mount are Muslim graves, Jews are halakhicly forbidden to enter the Temple Mount because we are ritually impure and the Arabs actually bring corpses up to our holiest place before they are buried. Rav Ovadiah also writes that there are still shuls which were destroyed by the Jordanians in the Old City (today, most, if not all, have been rebuilt). In the city of Yerushalayim itself (largely in the New City of Yerushalayim), there are many people who are not committed to Torah and Mitzvot, children who do not receive a Torah education, licentiousness, desecration of Shabbat and violations of Kashrut. Thus, he concludes, there is absolutely no reason to change Nachem, especially since the Yerushalayim Talmud (Yoma 1:1) states, "Any generation in which the Temple is not rebuilt it is as if it has been destroyed."

Immediately after the Six-Day War, Ha-Rav Shlomo Aviner, Nasi Yeshiva of Ateret Yerushalayim, asked Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah Ha-Kohain Kook, Rosh Yeshiva of Mercaz Ha-Rav and one who saw the liberation of Yerushalayim and the Temple Mount as a giant step in the unfolding redemption, whether Nachem should be changed. Rav Tzvi Yehudah answered, "Yerushalayim is still scorned and desolate, since the essence of Yerushalayim is the Beit Ha-Mikdash" (Sefer Le-Mikdasheikh Tuv p. 11 #1).

And when Rav Aviner is asked: Hasn't the time come to change the wording of "Nachem" which describes Yerushalayim the destroyed, shamed and desolate city?  He replies: Please come and visit our Yeshiva "Ateret Yerushalayim" which is located in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, in the so-called "Muslim Quarter," and you will be convinced on the spot to leave it as is.

 

 

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Why is it Forbidden to get Married During the Three Weeks?

 

Question: The Gemara in Berachot (6b) says: "One who brings joy to the bride and groom is as if he rebuilts the ruins of Yerushalayim".  If so, why it is forbidden to get married during the Three Weeks, since we would be rebuilding Yerushalayim?

Answer: Ha-Rav Avigdor Nevenzal, Rav of the Old City, wrote me: "The Gemara in Shabbat (105b) says that anyone who gets angry is as if he worships Avodah Zarah.  Nevertheless, we do not stone one who gets angry", meaning that it is "as if".

Ha-Rav Shlomo Aviner, Nasi Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim, told me: "See the Gemara in Baba Batra (60b) that after the destruction of the Temple, it would have been proper not to get married, but this was rejected because then the seed of Avraham would have died out.  It is therefore at least appropriate not to get married during the Three Weeks".

Ha-Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein answered based on the explanation of the Chatam Sofer (Derush to 7^th of Av 5499) on the verse: "Hashem builds Yerushalayim, He will gather the outcasts of Israel" (Tehilim 147:2).  He asks: Why does it say that Hashem "builds" Yerushalayim in the present tense instead of in the future tense as in "will gather"?

The Chatam Sofer answers that our Sages say that the Third Temple will descend in fire from Heaven already built (there is a dispute whether will we will build the Temple or it will descend from Heaven – M.T.), and it is built each and every year, by the crying and mourning of the Jewish People over its destruction.  It therefore says that Hashem "builds" Yerushalayim in the present tense, since He is constantly building it.

This is similar to the words of the Shelah (Ta'anit Ot #33) that there is therefore no mourning on Shabbat, since the mourning builds Yerushalayim, and the building of the Beit Ha-Mikdash does not supercede Shabbat.

Based on this, it is clear why there are no weddings during this time, since the mourning during the Three Weeks builds Yerushalayim even more than weddings do (brought in "Vavei Ha-Amudim Ve-Chishukeihem" of Rav Zilberstein, Gilyon #46, p. 115).

 

Tearing One's Garment upon Seeing the Temple Mount after the Six-Day War

 

The Halachah rules that one must tear his garment when seeing the place of the Temple in ruins (Moed Katan 26a and Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim #561).  In the Beit Yosef when discussing the obligation to rip one’s garment upon seeing the cities of Yehudah and Jerusalem in ruins, Rav Yosef Karo explained that we hold that "in ruins" means "under non-Jewish control."  The Magen Avraham (#1) and Mishnah Berurah (#2) accepted this view.  This means that even if there is a Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel but it is under non-Jewish control, it is still considered "in ruins", and one must tear his garment upon seeing it. Our Rabbi, Rav Tzvi Yehudah Ha-Cohain Kook, explained that the same applies for seeing the place of the Temple in ruins, and just as "in ruins" means "under non-Jewish control" for the cities of Yehudah and Jerusalem, so too does "in ruins" mean "under non-Jewish control" for the Temple Mount.  Therefore after the famous call of "Har Ha-Bayit Be-Yadenu - the Temple Mount is in our hands" during the Six-Day War, he ruled that there is no longer an obligation to tear one’s garment when seeing the Temple Mount, even though the Temple is still destroyed.  Our Rabbi explained that it is possible to claim that since there is no Temple, one must tear his garment.  One must understand, however, what prevents us from fulfilling the Divine Commandment of "Make for me a Temple" (Shemot 25:8).  Our inability to build the Temple is not due to "exile."  The Temple Mount is in our hands and we are in control. But we are prevented from building the Temple because of halachic and political reasons.  These are our reasons, not those of the non-Jews (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah – Yom Ha-Atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim, talk for Yom Yerushalayim p. 90 and Tal Chermon - Moadim, p. 218).  Our Rabbi wrote, additionally, that we should also be concerned about ripping our garments when we are not obligated and thus violating "Bal Tashchit" (wanton destruction of items) when the whole prohibition for tearing when seeing the Temple in a destroyed state is a Rabbinic prohibition.

In the book, "Mekor Chaim" (2:95 #1), Ha-Rav Chaim David Halevy - Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo for 25 years - wrote that he agrees with our Rabbi's opinion.  He explained that when a close relative dies, we tear our garments when the "dead is before us." After the mourning, we observe an annual Yahrtzeit.  Similarly, when our "dead was before us" – the Temple Mount was under non-Jewish control – we had the obligation to tear our garments. Now that we have control, the dead is no longer before us, and we observe an annual Yahrtzeit: Tisha Be-Av.  Despite his agreement, Rav Halevy concluded that in order to exempt us from this obligation, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel must make this decision.

It is related what our Rabbi, Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, did on the day when the Temple Mount was liberated: "On the day of the liberation of Jerusalem, our Rabbi and "The Nazir," Rav David Cohain, were together at the Kotel, and the next day our Rabbi went to him to bring him his book "Le-Netivot Yisrael" volume 1 which was published on that very 28th of Iyar 5727.  Our Rabbi said that while standing facing the Kotel, he did not tear his garment upon his seeing the place of the Temple since "it is only considered in a destroyed state when the non-Jews rule over it" (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 561 and Mishnah Berurah #2), and this fundamental principle which was stated regarding the cities of Yehudah also applies to the spot of the Temple.  "The Nazir" responded in agreement and added: "Is it not also true that his honor saw that our Master the Rav was there in his Shabbat clothing and he did not tear?" (He had seen a vision of Maran Rav Kook).  All were astounded and all eyes turned to our Rabbi, who nodded his head approvingly: "Yes, certainly" ("Rabbenu" - On the Life of Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah p. 211).

[Note: In one book, a Rabbi wrote that our Rabbi, Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah Ha-Cohain Kook, would agree today that one should tear his garment upon seeing the spot of the Temple, after the horrible desecration of Hashem's Name which have occurred there.  When asked about this, Ha-Rav Shlomo Aviner Shlit"a, Nasi Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim, responded: "Baruch Hashem, the Temple Mount is still in our hands, and with Hashem's help it will remain so," i.e. our Rabbi's ruling still stands that we are exempt from tearing our garments upon seeing the spot of the Temple – M.T.]