“Rebbi, why do we have to learn this?”
Last week, my ninth grade b’kius shiur at Heichal HaTorah completed learning Maseches Tamid and Midos. Tamid is the shortest masechta in Shas, with only six dapim (folios) and includes a couple of dapim that contain only mishnayos. However, there is a modicum of challenge in its study in that Tamid and Midos detail the structure of the Second Beis HaMikdash, destroyed in the year 70 CE.
One of my students often asked me why it was relevant or important for us to know what the structure of a building destroyed over 1,950 years ago looked like?
For some time, I was trying to think of an analogy that could resonate with him. Last week I shared the following:
The first time I took my son Avi to a Yankees game, he was six years old. He was very excited about the game, and as we entered the stadium, his excitement only grew.
I will never forget his reaction when we walked out of the concession area, and he got his first glimpse of the field. For about 30 seconds, his head slowly tilted upwards, from the field to the fabled facade at the top of the stadium, then slowly all the way to the right and then slowly to the left, with his mouth open, as he tried to grasp the enormity of the stadium. He was absolutely mesmerized.
A few years ago, our family went on an official tour of Yankee Stadium during the baseball offseason. Honestly, it was rather disappointing. We were led through Monument Park, where there are tributes to the great Yankees players of the last century. We were also allowed to enter the broadcast booth where announcers sit, and we saw the field from their perspective. But we weren’t allowed to even see the visiting clubhouse where the visiting players’ lockers are, and we definitely were not permitted anywhere near the dugout or field.
Contrast that experience with Citi Field, where Mets fans have many more kid-friendly events, at times even permitted to run the bases.
Why the difference?
The Yankees seek to foster a sense of mystique and awe for their hallowed stadium and its field. The unverbalized message is that non-players are unworthy of touching the field upon which Gehrig, Ruth, DiMaggio, and Mantle once played. (Yes, I know they didn’t actually play in this Yankee Stadium. But the new stadium is a continuation of the old one. In yeshivish jargon, it has a “chalos sheim of the old Yankee Stadium.”)
Part of the experience of attending a Yankees game and being a Yankees fan is connecting with the team’s storied history.
When I think back to Avi’s reaction when seeing the stadium that first time, I feel somewhat sad. If only he, and I, could have that type of experience when peering up at the Beis HaMikdash. Even merely seeing depictions and drawings of the majesty of the Beis HaMikdash evokes a deep emotional feeling in the Jewish faithful. Can we begin to imagine what the feeling will be when we see the real structure?
Of course, Yankee Stadium does not belong in the same sentence with the Beis HaMikdash, but my students were able to relate to the analogy.
Learning about the Beis HaMikdash – its dimensions, chambers, and structures – evokes within us nostalgia for past greatness and yearning for future glory. It helps make the Beis HaMikdash a reality and helps us recognize that our lives as Jews without it is seriously hampered.
When asked how one could feel the Churban during the Three Weeks, Rabbi Yisroel Belsky would say that one should learn about the Beis HaMikdash and the korbanos.
The Chofetz Chaim is legendary for having lived every day of his life anticipating the Mashiach and the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. Among his many other invaluable writings, he wrote a pamphlet entitled Torah Ohr, in which he extols the value and strongly encourages learning about korbanos and the avodah performed in the Beis HaMikdash.
At the end of the first chapter, the Chofetz Chaim writes: “From all this (that I have previously written) one can understand how important it is that one learn Seder Kodashim (about korbanos) with alacrity. In doing so, one brings pleasure to Hashem, as it were, because Hashem desires that during times of exile when there is no Beis HaMikdash, His children engage in the study of the laws of the holy offerings and the Beis HaMikdash. In the merit of doing so, their sins will be forgiven. Not only does one fulfil the mitzvah of learning Torah when he learns about the korbanos, but in heaven it is considered as if he literally offered the korban he is learning about.”
In recent years, there has been worthy emphasis on creating shiurim about shalom bayis and Taharas HaMishpachah (family purity) during the winter weeks of Shovavim.
In the same vein, it is appropriate for there to be lectures and shiurim about topics relating to the Beis HaMikdash during the weeks leading up to and including the Three Weeks of mourning for the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash.
There is a broad genre of topics relating to the Beis HaMikdash that can appeal to all levels of learning and interests. The halachos of korbanos themselves are vast and have many different components. There are worthy discussions regarding building the Beis HaMikdash, waiting for the Mashiach, archeological discoveries around the Har HaBayis, and the volatile question about whether a Jew could ascend Har HaBayis (halachically, politically, and otherwise). There is also worthy discussion among halachic authorities of previous generations whether we could bring Korban Pesach today even without a Mizbei’ach, and many other fascinating topics.
The Beis HaMikdash must constantly loom large in the life of a Jew. Aside from our daily prayers for the Mashiach, we must also long for that time constantly. The best way to engender those feelings is by learning about it and having a mental image of what we are yearning for.
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, a rebbe at Heichal HaTorah in Teaneck, New Jersey, is a parenting consultant and maintains a private practice for adolescents and adults. He is also a member of the administration of Camp Dora Golding for over two decades. Rabbi Staum was a community rabbi for ten years, and has been involved in education as a principal, guidance counselor, and teacher in various yeshivos. Rabbi Staum is a noted author and sought-after lecturer, with hundreds of lectures posted on torahanytime.com. He has published articles and books about education, parenting, and Torah living in contemporary society. Rabbi Staum can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. His website containing archives of his writings is www.stamTorah.info.
