We are now in the midst of the sad calendar period known as the Three Weeks. In Hebrew, it is referred to Bein HaMetzorim, the time “between the narrow straights.” This refers to the tragic bookends of these days, starting with Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, the 17th of Tammuz, and ending with the saddest day of the year, Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, when both our Temples were destroyed.
Starting with Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, we experienced a cessation of the Korban Tamid, the daily offering, and other korbanos as well. As we approach Tisha B’Av, beginning on Rosh Chodesh Av we enter a period known as the Nine Days, when we desist from eating meat and drinking wine (except on the intervening Shabbos) to mourn over the fact that we no longer have the meat of the korbanos and the wine of the nesachim, the libations. The korbanos, as their name denotes, was one of our ways to be karov, close, to Hashem.
As the walls of Yerushalayim were breeched on Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, and our security was lost, we felt the protection of the Shechinah, the Divine Presence of Hashem, slowly slipping away as well. Therefore, as we recall these events and live through this time period, part of our avodah, our effort to better ourselves, is to make an effort to get closer to Hashem and to bring ourselves nearer to the Shechinah.
But how do we go about doing this?
Of course, one way is to increase the study of Torah lishma, for its own sake. As the Mishna tells us in Pirkei Avos (3:7), “Even one person who learns Torah alone, the Shechinah devolves upon him.” Another way to get close to the Shechinah is by visiting the sick. As Rashi teaches us in Parshas Vayechi, “The Shechinah always resides by the head of a choleh, an ill person. As the pasuk proclaims, ‘Hashem yishkevenu al eres devai’ – Hashem ‘rests’ by a sickbed.” It’s interesting that Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus, zt”l, zy”a, said that one of the places where there is the highest concentration of Shechinah in this world is in a hospital, for at every bed and in every room, there is a high concentration of Shechinah.
But the most direct way to connect with the Shechinah is through sincere prayer. The chassidim have a saying: “When we learn, Hashem is talking to us through the Holy writings of the Written and Oral law, both given at Sinai. When we daven, on the other hand, we are talking to Hashem.”
In what is perhaps the most famous Biblical dream, Yaakov Avinu sees the vision of a sulam, a ladder, based on the ground and reaching many miles high, all the way up to the Heavens. The dream further portrays angels going up and then coming down this towering ladder. Rashi immediately asks why it says that the angels were first going up and only then coming down. After all, the angels are based in Heaven. Shouldn’t they have to come down first and only afterwards go up, and not vice versa?
The Zohar answers with its interpretation of this powerful dream. As we know, a ladder is a bridge that helps us to connect from one place to another. If we have an attic, the ladder gets us from the main living areas up to the attic. This is much like a staircase that connects the first floor to the second floor. The Zohar points out that the gematria of sulam (ladder) is 136. This is the exact numerical value as the word kol, voice. The Zohar continues that the ladder represents prayer and prayer is the way a person, who is based on earth like the bottom of the ladder, can connect with Hashem in the Heavens above. The angels who started by going up represent the angels that take our prayers up to Hashem. The angels who subsequently came down symbolize other angels that descend to carry out the requests of our heartfelt prayers. Thus, we see that Yaakov, the bechir she’b’Avos, the choicest of the Patriarchs, is dreaming that the most direct vehicle to bridge the gap between earth and heaven is to connect with Hashem through devout prayer.
Let me share with you a story of a great man that conveys this idea in a very direct way. Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, zt”l, zy”a, was very serious about always davening in a yeshivishe minyan. The lack of haste and the serious demeanor of a yeshivishe minyan, where no one was rushing to get back to work or distracted by the many worldly needs of the outside world, was his preferred choice of where to pray. It therefore surprised everyone that when the yeshiva had to change its schedule, because of the needs of the married kollel men, from davening Mincha at Mincha gedolah, in the early afternoon, to later before shkiah, close to sunset, Rav Scheinberg stopped davening at the yeshiva. Instead, he continued to daven at the same early time at one of the local workmen’s shuls.
The bochrim, who always wanted to learn from the holy ways of their venerable rebbe, asked him why he eschewed the later yeshivishe minyan to daven in the more “casual” minyan earlier in the day. Rav Scheinberg answered simply, but oh so profoundly, “I simply can’t wait until almost sunset to see Hashem. It’s too long from early in the morning when we daven Shacharis to wait until almost the end of the day to see Hashem once again. I much prefer to daven in the early afternoon Mincha so I don’t have to wait so long for another meeting with Hashem.” This anecdote speaks volumes as to how a meaningful prayer elevates us from the daily grind to having a face-to-face meeting with the King of Kings, HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself.
Dovid HaMelech proclaims, “Ani kirvas Elokim li tov” – And I being close to Hashem is what is good.” May we merit to attain more often in our lives this closeness to Hashem and in that zechus we should see speedily the coming of Mashiach with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.
