During the first few days of Sivan 5761 (2001), HaRav Ginsburgh spoke at the dedication of the Temple Guard, an organization founded by some of his students whose goal is to stand guard at the entrances to the Temple Mount and explain to non-Jews that they are not permitted to enter the compound.
In this nearly word for word transcript, the Rav explores some of the meanings of Jerusalem Day and the connection between the ingathering of the exiles to the Land of Israel and specifically to Jerusalem and the return of the Divine Presence to the city and to the world.
This transcript is appearing here for the first time, translated from the original Hebrew audio recording.
Today, the 28th of Iyar, is known in our generation as “Jerusalem Day,” the day of the liberation of Jerusalem. And this place, the Temple Mount—"the Temple Mount is in our hands"—the famous proclamation of this day, which shall indeed be fulfilled in actual practice.
From ancient times, this day has been the yahrzeit of the prophet Samuel. The prophet Samuel is called “the Seer” and he is considered equal in stature to Moses and Aaron. And what does he see? He sees the future, he sees what is yet to come. Thus, he is both wise and a prophet together. Who is wise? One who sees what is yet to come. So it seems that on that very day when they conquered Jerusalem in 1967 and those soldiers declared "the Temple Mount is in our hands," this is a proof regarding Samuel the Seer—that he too certainly saw what was yet to come, what would be for us today, from that day. And he also sees further ahead, what will happen from here onward, just as this matter, that the Temple Mount is in our hands— will indeed be fulfilled. And what he sees on this day—seeing everything, seeing what is yet to come, the ups and downs—he sees how a descent is the necessary precondition for an ascent, how “seven times the righteous man falls and rises,” and how “your people are all righteous”— that we may be in a fall, but it is certain that from the fall we shall rise. And for this one needs vision—the deep inner vision of Samuel the Seer.
The prophet Ezekiel, after describing the Temple Mount at the end of his prophecy, concludes and seals his book—all his prophecies—with the description of the Jerusalem of the future. One would think that the pinnacle, the crown jewel of Ezekiel’s prophecy should be the future Temple. But since everything follows the seal, after describing the Temple of the future, he returns to describe the perfection of Jerusalem—Jerusalem the holy city—in the future. From the very conclusion of the book of Ezekiel, according to his final words about Jerusalem, the sages learnt that in the future God Almighty will call Jerusalem by a new name. In this world, this city is called Jerusalem—Jerusalem the holy city—and certainly in the future the memory of this name will remain, there is no doubt. In the future, when the King Messiah comes and redeems us very soon, God will call this city by a new name. And what is the new name? “And it shall be from that day, ‘God is there’ [ָּהוי' שמה].”21
And there is a Midrashic teaching of the Sages on this in Aramaic, which means, “Fortunate is the kingdom whose name is like the name of its king.” The royal city, the capital city of the Jewish people, the holy city Jerusalem—about it one must say: “Fortunate is the kingdom whose name is like the name of its King”—the kingdom is named after the King. And what is the name of the King? The King of kings of kings, the Holy Blessed One—His name is eternal (netzach), and the essence of this city is the eternal city, because of which, the blessed Divine Name—the Name Havayah—and the name of this city is likewise called “the eternal city” and as Ezekiel says, it will be named, “Havayah is there.”
And regarding Samuel, whose day of passing is today, we recall the verse, the greatest words he spoke, “The Eternal One of Israel will not lie nor relent, for He is not a man that He should relent.” It is known that the holy city has many appellations. The most common appellation is “Jerusalem the holy city” (ַעיר הקדש), and the value of these words is exactly the same as “the Eternal One of Israel” (ִנצח ישראל), the description of God given by Samuel the prophet, the Seer.
So what is the eternal Name of the Holy Blessed One after which the holy city will be named? It is the explicit Name, the essential Name Havayah, which encompasses all time: what was, what is, and what will be, simultaneously. Not within time, but above time. Only that which is above time (and creates time) illuminates within time. That is the meaning of “the Eternal of Israel.” This is precisely the purpose of Jerusalem, to reveal this matter. “And it shall be from that day”— from that day on, on which the King Mashiach redeems us, immediately and at once—the name of the city will be “’God [Havayah] is there.” What in essence is the name of the city? Havayah. Only that Havayah “is there,” indicating the place.
Indeed, as we said, “fortunate is the royal city whose name is like the name of its King.” But this goes further, because there is a complete unification (known as a yichud, in Kabbalah) between the King and the kingdom. This is the role, this is the meaning of Jerusalem the holy city: that the King and the kingdom are called by the same name, the essential Name of God, which the High Priest would pronounce in the Temple and with which all the priests would bless the people. This is the name of Jerusalem.
Now, we have said that certainly and without doubt the name "Jerusalem" will still be remembered in the future. The sages tell us that God has seventy names, so too Jerusalem has seventy names. And Ezekiel is telling us that in the future they will unite. There is a beautiful and wondrous mathematical allusion to this. When one combines the two words “king” (ֶמֶלְך) and “kingdom” (ַמְלכוּת)—a joining of the King and His kingdom, His capital city—their sum equals “Jerusalem” (ְירוָּׁשַלִם). In the Tanach, “Jerusalem” is usually written—except for a few rare instances—without the second yud.
But one can also say there is an allusion here connected to the “Temple Guard”22 (Mishmar HaMikdash); we are all meant to join the Temple Guard. The letters shin-mem- vav-reish spell “guard” (ׁשֹוֵמר), and if we remove these letter from Jerusalem (ְירוָּׁשַלִם), what remains are the letters lamed-yud, spelling “to me” (ִלי ). So “Jerusalem” as it is written without the second yud is an anagram of the letters “My guard” (ִשומר לי) or “the Levite guards” (ֵלִוי ָׁשַמר). Who is the guard here? It is the Levite (Levi).
Maimonides writes that every Jew can and should make himself part of the tribe of Levi. He can do this by dedicating his life to the service of God, to serve in holiness, to serve the people of Israel in this Land. By doing so, he becomes a Levite. Every Jew can be a Levite. Jerusalem is a place of union and connection, and Levi means connection, specifically the unification of the bride and groom, as his mother Leah said upon his birth, “this time my husband will accompany me.”
It is well known what the Baal Shem Tov says about the verb “to guard” (ִלְׁשֹמר), and this too relates to the Temple Guard. He explains that “to guard” means to wait, to anticipate, as in the verse that described Jacob’s reaction to Joseph’s dreams, “And his father guarded the matter.” It means to keep, to wait, to anticipate that the matter will be fulfilled. And to guard a commandment, as in the verse, “one who guards a commandment will know no evil” means to anticipate very strongly—like Abraham our father who waits, sitting outside at the entrance to his tent, waiting for a passerby. Why do we mention Abraham in this context? Because the value of “passerby” ( עֹוֵבר ָוָׁשב) is also the value of “Jerusalem” (ְירוָּׁשַלִם). One must wait, seek the opportunity to perform a commandment. When will the passerby come here? What is a “passerby?” A passerby is one who has transgressed and now wants to return to God, to repent. This is the essence of Abraham, he seeks those who have transgressed and are now returning. And the question is: where does he seek them? The best place to search —there was no such place then—but now the most fitting place to seek and find the one who is passing and returning is in Jerusalem the holy city, since “Jerusalem” equals “passerby.”
It is written in Psalms chapter 122, Shir Hama'alot, which corresponds to the fifteen steps leading up to the Sanctuary—and there it says in the psalm, that there they go up, that there sat thrones of judgment. The verse before the ascent of the tribes says, “Jerusalem, built as a city that is joined together” (ּירושלים הבנויה כעיר שחוברה לה יחדיו). This is the source for the expression “Jerusalem the built” (ַירושלים הבנויה), a phrase we are familiar with from the end of the Passover Seder. We repeat this phrase, on various holy occasions. We say from the depths of our hearts: “Next year,” which means from this moment onward, “in Jerusalem the built.” Not just Jerusalem.
21. Ezekiel 48:35.
22. The Temple Guard is an organization founded by HaRav Ginsburgh’s students that stands outside the gates of the Temple Mount and warns non-Jews that they are forbidden from entering the holy place.
