When one reads The Jewish Link each week, one must be filled with pride at the greatness, strength and beauty of the Jewish community. There are so many articles and advertisements of so many organizations and people dedicated to kindness and caring for the benefit of the Jewish People. Yad Leah, Camp HASC, Project Ezrah, Tomchei Shabbos, the long list of volunteer opportunities in Israel, Jews even donating kidneys through Renewal, and the list goes on.
It is with this in mind that I was surprised to read the article by Rabbi Bodenheim, “Learning Torah to Hasten the Building of a New Beis Hamikdash,” Aug. 8.
We find a long list of causes for the destruction of the Temples and Yerushalayim in Rabbinic literature: desecration of Shabbos, neglect of reading the Shema twice daily; neglect of teaching children Torah; brazenness; shaming scholars; insistence on the letter of the law. Tradition has favored one reason, in particular, as the cause of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash: sinas chinam, baseless hatred between Jews. The remedy seems to be Ahavas Yisroel, not Torah study.
The Maharal writes, “If one learns Torah without doing acts of kindness, Gemilas Chasadim, it is as if he has no God.”
Rabbi Shimon Shkop wrote, “We were created for one purpose: So that our greatest desire should be to benefit others… in imitation of the Creator.”
Once the Briske Rebbe, Reb Chayim Soloveitchik, was asked what the function of a rabbi is. He replied: ”To redress the grievances of those who are abandoned and alone, to protect the dignity of the poor, and to save the oppressed from the hands of his oppressor.” Not Torah study nor ritual decisions.
Rav Chaim of Volozhin, who wrote the Nefesh HaChaim, taught his son to be involved with the suffering of others, that man was created to be helpful to others.
Let’s focus on our priorities and rebuild the Beis Hamikdash.
