Stones and souls

I was sitting underground in Jerusalem, watching a film about the origins of this holy city, when my phone buzzed. Can you write the D’var Torah for this week’s SA Jewish Report? I said yes and returned my attention to Jerusalem. 

A few hours later, I found myself standing at the Kotel. My fingers touched its ancient stones. My head rested against the wall that somehow still stands, the Jerusalem sun beating onto my back. Surrounded by thousands of years of Jewish history, I felt like this week’s double portion of Matot-Masei was a reflection of the present. It’s the middle of the Three Weeks and here I am in Israel, walking the paths our ancestors took every time they went up to Jerusalem. 

Parshat Matot-Masei recounts the journeys of the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land. While the Torah tells the story of our ancestors, it also tells our story. The journeys and experiences of the Jewish people become a mirror for our own lives. 

Matot-Masei takes place just before the Jews leave the desert’s shelter and cross the Jordan into Eretz Canaan. Their task was to build homes, communities, and a society where the physical and the spiritual were woven together. A place where ordinary moments could become holy, and everyday actions could bring heaven a little closer to earth. The peak of that took place in the Mishkan, and later the Beit Hamikdash, where Hashem’s Shechina, His Divine Presence, rested. 

Standing at the Kotel during the Three Weeks, it’s impossible not to feel that absence. Almost 2 000 years have passed since the Temple was destroyed, yet Jews across the globe still turn towards Jerusalem in prayer. The Midrash teaches that although the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, the Shechinah never departed from this place. There is something profoundly comforting about standing before these stones knowing that Hashem’s presence never truly left. 

When Hashem commands, “V’asu Li Mikdash v’Shachanti b’tocham (Build for Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them)”, the Torah doesn’t say, “I will dwell in it.” It says, “among them”. The ultimate sanctuary was never only a building of stone. Every Jew has the ability to become a place where the Shechinah can rest. Regardless of our level of observance, knowledge, or background, every Jewish soul carries within it a spark of holiness that remains pure. Just as the Divine Presence never abandoned the place where the Temple once stood, it never abandons us either. 

As I write these words from Israel, during the Three Weeks, surrounded by reminders of both destruction and hope, I am reminded that the journeys of Matot-Masei are still unfolding. Each mitzvah, each act of kindness, and every Jewish home filled with Torah helps prepare the world for its ultimate destination. Like the Jews in this week’s parsha, we too are almost ready to enter the Holy Land with Moshiach. As a nation, we have travelled a long and painful road, but now we stand ready to enter. To do so, we must first welcome Hashem into our own spiritual mishkans, into our own lives and homes. 

May we merit the day when the journey is complete, the Beit Hamikdash is rebuilt, and Hashem’s presence is once again revealed before all humanity, speedily in our days. 

• Rebbetzin Temmi Hadar, Pine Street Shul