Rabbi Yohanan said: The Holy One Blessed be He said: I shall
not enter the Jerusalem on high, before I enter Jerusalem below.
(Talmud, Ta’anit p. 5)
Those standing in prayer outside Israel should direct their
faces towards the Land of Israel...
Those standing up in prayer in the Land of Israel direct their faces towards
Jerusalem....
Those standing in prayer in Jerusalem direct their faces toward the Temple-Mount...
Those standing in prayer on the Temple-Mount direct their faces towards
the [enclave of the] Holy of Holies....
Which Holy of Holies is meant?
R. Hiyyah the Great said: Towards the Supernal Holy-of-Holies.
R. Simeon son of Halafta said: Towards the Mundane Holy of Holies.
R. Pinchas said: There is no dispute between them, for the Mundane Holy
of Holies stands directly opposite the Supernal Holy of Holies.
(Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot Ch.
IV)
- - -
Seven things preceded the creation of the world, by 2000
years:
The Torah, the Throne of Glory, The Garden of Eden, Gehinnam, Repentance,
the Supernal Holy Temple and the Name of Messiah.
The Torah was written with black fire engraved on white fire, placed on
the knees of the Holy-One Blessed be He, while the Holy-One Blessed be
He is seated on the Holy Throne – the Garden of Eden being on His
right side and Gehhinam – on His left. The Holy Temple is set up
ready in front of Him; the name of Messiah engraved upon a precious stone
above the altar. A Heavenly Voice echoes and proclaims: Repent, O Humans!
(Midrash Tehillim to Ps. 3, 3 - ed. Buber)
- - -
The Sublime Jerusalem
“This is none other than the House of God”
[Gen. 28:17]
Our Sages said: The day that Moses’ death approached, the Holy-One
Blessed be He elevated him to the high heavens, and showed him his reward
and the future destiny. The Attribute of Mercy stood up before Moses our
master – peace be upon him – and said to him: I am giving
you good tidings; you will rejoice, when hearing it. Direct your face
and gaze towards the Throne of Mercy. So he directed his gaze towards
the Throne of Mercy, and he beheld the Holy-One Blessed be He building
the Temple with beautiful stones and jewels; between one precious stone
and another, there shone the ray of the Divine Presence, which was more
beautiful than the jewels. Messiah son of David was standing inside it;
his brother Aaron was standing, dressed in his priestly robe. Then Aaron
spoke to Moses: at this time, please do not touch me, for on account of
the Divine Presence I feel a dread on your behalf – for no man may
enter this place, without first experiencing the taste of death, and delivering
his soul to the angel of death.
When he heard the words of Aaron, he fell upon his face before the Holy-One
Blessed be He, and said to Him: Master of the World ! Give me permission
to speak to your Messiah before I die. Then the Holy-One Blessed be He
said to Michael: Go, and teach him my Great Name, so that he be not consumed
by the intensity of the Divine Presence. When the Messiah son of David
and Moses’ brother Aaron beheld him, they understood that the Lord
had taught him His Great Name. The Messiah and Aaron then stood up in
his honor and said to him: Blessed be he who enters in the Name of the
Lord ! (Ps. 118:26)
Moses then asked the Messiah son of David: the Holy-One Blessed be He
has promised me that He is to build the Holy Temple on Earth – as
a Temple for the Jewish People; but behold! I see Him building the Temple
with His Own Hand in heaven?! Then the Messiah answered Moses : Moses!
Your father Jacob beheld the Temple to be subsequently built on earth,
and also beheld that Temple which the Holy-One Blessed be He constantly
builds with His Hand in heaven. Jacob comprehended thoroughly that the
Temple that the Holy-One Blessed be He builds with His own Hand in heaven,
formed out of precious stones and jewels, and with the Radiance of the
Divine Presence – it is that Temple which will stay permanently
and eternally for Israel, until the End of all Generations. Likewise God
spoke to him, that night when he slept on the stone, and beheld Jerusalem
standing erect on earth, and also Jerusalem standing erect in the heaven,
and the Holy-One Blessed be He revealed Himself standing before Jacob;
He spoke to Jacob: My son Jacob, on this occasion I have stood up and
will do so constantly, until your children stand up before Me, as the
verse states: “And behold! The Lord was standing over him”
(Gn.28:13); likewise, regarding the Jewish People, it states: “They
stood at the foot of the Mount” (Ex. 19:17). It further says: “You
are all standing this day...” Deut. 29:9).
Now, when Jacob saw one Jerusalem on earth, and another one in heaven,
he said: ‘The one which is on earth is incomparable to the Sublime
Jerusalem, as the verse states: This is not the Temple which
is to remain standing for my Children for all the generations. An eternal
Temple is [only] that Temple, that House of God, which He builds with
His own Hands!’.
[The Messiah summed it up to Moses:] As sure as you behold the Holy-One
Blessed be He constantly building the Holy Temple in heaven with His Hands,
so likewise He will surely build it on earth, as stated: “The Sanctuary,
O Lord, which Your Hands have established”. (Ex. 15:17)
When Moses our Teacher – Peace be upon him – heard these words
from the Messiah’s mouth, he was extremely joyous. He then turned
round toward the Holy-One Blessed be He, and said to him: Master of the
Universe! When will this Supernal Jerusalem, built on high, descend earthwards?
The Holy-One Blessed be He answered him: That appointed moment of time,
I have not disclosed to any created being, neither to the former ones,
nor to the latter ones. Should I then disclose such a secret to
you?! Moses said to Him: Master of the Universe: Give me
just an allusion – from historical events. The Holy-One Blessed
be He said to him: I will firstly winnow and scatter the Jews with a pitchfork,
via the gates of the Land (cf. Jer. 15:7); then they will be scattered
in the four corners of the Earth, amongst all the nations. There will
be fulfilled in their regard, the verse stating: “Even if your exiles
be at the far end of the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather
you, and from there He will bring you back” (Deut. 30:4).
Furthermore, I will reach out my Hand a second time, and I shall gather
up all those who will have followed Johanan son of Kare’ah to the
land of Patros, as well as those who will be exiled in Babylon [Shin’ear],
in Chamat, in Elom and in Ethiopia [Kush] – as the verse states:
“Now on that day, the Lord will once again reach out His Hand, to
acquire the remnant of His People, who will have survived – whether
from Assyria, from Egypt, from Patros or from Ethiopia [Kush], from Elam,
from Shin’ar, from Hamat, or from the isles of the Sea”. (Is.
11:11)
At that moment, Moses descended from Heaven – in joy. The angel
of death came down following him. Moses did not deliver his spirit and
soul to the angel before the Holy-One Blessed be He had shown him His
Face. Then he handed over his soul to the Holy-One Blessed be He readily
and willingly.
Excerpt taken from Hebrew edition of: Midreshei Geula,
edited by Yehuda Even-Shmuel (Kaufmann)