The Temple Is God's Own Handiwork and Inheritance

"You will bring them in and plant them" (Exodus 15:17): the fathers prophesied without knowing what they prophesied. It is not written "You will bring us in and plant us," but "You will bring them in and plant them": the children enter, but the fathers do not enter. And so it says, "If you do not know, O fairest among women, go follow the tracks of the flock and pasture your kids" (Song of Songs 1:8): the kids enter, but the goats do not enter. Another interpretation: "You will bring them in and plant them" in this vineyard that is planted in rows upon rows, and so it says, "From the east side to the west side: Naphtali, one portion; Judah, one portion; Asher, one portion" (Ezekiel 48). "And plant them": a planting that has no uprooting, and so it says, "I will build them and not tear down, I will plant them and not uproot" (Jeremiah 24:6), and it says, "I will plant them in this land in truth, with all My heart and with all My soul" (Jeremiah 32:41). "On the mountain of Your inheritance": on the mountain about which You promised us, and so it says, "For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel, there the whole house of Israel shall serve Me in the land" (Ezekiel 20:40). Another interpretation: "on the mountain of Your inheritance": the Torah is called an inheritance, as it is said, "and from Mattanah to Nahaliel" (Numbers 21:19). Israel is called an inheritance, as it is said, "they are Your people and Your inheritance" (Deuteronomy 9:26). The Land of Israel is called an inheritance, as it is said, "when you come into the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance" (Deuteronomy 26:1). The Temple is called an inheritance, as it is said, "on the mountain of Your inheritance." Let Israel, who are called an inheritance, come to the Land of Israel, which is called an inheritance, and build the Temple, which is called an inheritance, by the merit of the Torah, which is called an inheritance; therefore it is said, "on the mountain of Your inheritance." "The place, O LORD, which You have made for Your dwelling": this is one of the verses showing that the throne below corresponds to the throne above, as it is said, "Thus says the LORD: the heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool" (Isaiah 66:1), and it says, "O mortal, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the children of Israel forever" (Ezekiel 43:7), and it says, "The LORD is in His holy palace; the LORD's throne is in heaven" (Psalms 11:4), and it says, "I have surely built You a lofty house, a place for You to dwell forever" (1 Kings 8:13). "You have made, O LORD": the Temple is precious before the One who spoke and the world came into being, for the whole world was created only by the speech of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made" (Psalms 33:6); but when He built the Temple, as it were, it is called a deed of His own doing before Him, as it is said, "You have made, O LORD, a sanctuary." Woe to the nations of the world for what their ears will hear: that the Temple is called a deed before the One who spoke and the world came into being, and they destroyed it, those who said, "Strip it bare, strip it bare, down to its foundation" (Psalms 137:7). And it says, "The LORD roars from on high and gives forth His voice from His holy dwelling; He surely roars over His habitation" (Jeremiah 25:30). Woe to the nations of the world for what their ears will hear: "I will gather all the nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat and enter into judgment with them there on account of My people and My inheritance" (Joel 4:2). "My people": this is Israel. "My inheritance": this is the Temple, may it be built speedily in our days. "The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands established." The Temple is precious before the One who spoke and the world came into being, for the whole world was created only by one hand, as it is said, "My hand also founded the earth" (Isaiah 48:13); but when the Temple was built, it was built only with His two hands, as it is said, "which Your hands established." Another interpretation: "the sanctuary of the LORD": the Temple is precious, for it is set between two Names, "You have made, O LORD, a sanctuary, O LORD." Another interpretation: "the sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands established": when is His name sanctified in His world? When He establishes His sanctuary and gathers the exiles of His people, as it is said, "The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers the scattered of Israel" (Psalms 147:2). A parable: to what may this be compared? To bandits who entered a king's palace, seized the king's servants, killed some of them, impaled some, burned some, and destroyed his palace. The king came and sat in judgment over them; he seized some, killed some, impaled some, burned some, and settled his palace anew, and his kingship became known in the world.