Of course, the primary attraction of the Temple was not its beauty but rather its unique place as a house of worship, sacrifice, and the Divine Presence. Normative Judaism meant living with the Divine Presence. Miracles occurred there daily and could be witnessed by anyone. God was with the Jewish people.
During the three annual pilgrimages of Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos, Jews poured into Jerusalem from Israel and throughout the world. At these times they renewed old acquaintances and exchanged news. In Jerusalem, with the Templeas their backdrop, they unified as one single people with a common and strengthened spiritual purpose.
The scene in the Temple courtyard on Yom Kippur was something to behold. The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies on this solemn day and perform the prescribed service, which included the uttering of God’s complete name. The entire nation waited anxiously, all the while imploring God for forgiveness.
Try to envision the sight on the eve of Pesach, with tents covering the mountain slopes as each group prepared to offer and then roast the Pesach sacrifice, in the general company of thousands of other Jews.
No less meaningful was the uplifting feeling one would receive from the collective celebration of Sukkos. Everywhere one turned, the festive atmosphere surrounded him. People carried the four species by day and enjoyed the acrobatic performances of the Simchas Beis Hasho’aivah at night, all the while surrounded by numerous others sitting in their sukkahs.
It is the loss of this unparalleled sense of spiritual connection, even more so than the destruction of the beautiful, majestic Temple structure, that has had such a grievous effect on us.
May God hear our prayers at this time of acute mourning and permit us to witness the building of the third and final Temple, speedily in our days.
