Sing and Rejoice as the Shekhinah Returns to Dwell in Zion

Pesikta Rabbati 35:1

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst, says the LORD" (Zechariah 2:14). This is what was said by the holy spirit through Solomon: "If she is a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver; and if she is a door, we will enclose her with a board of cedar" (Song of Songs 8:9). Against whom did Solomon say this verse? He said it only concerning the assembly of Israel. For when the latter Temple was built, the Divine Presence did not rest in it, for the Holy One, blessed be He, said: if all Israel go up, the Divine Presence will rest; if not, they will use only a heavenly voice. Rabbi Yitzchak said: why did the Divine Presence not rest in the latter Temple built by the returnees from exile? Because Cyrus king of Persia, who was of the seed of Japheth, built it, for the Divine Presence does not rest upon the works of the hands of Japheth; but the first Temple, which the children of Israel, descendants of Shem, built, the Divine Presence rested in it, as it says, "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem" (Genesis 9:27). When Israel was exiled from their land, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the world, when Israel dwelt in their land they cleaved to idolatry; now that You have exiled them among the nations, all the more so. What did the Holy One answer them? I am confident in My children that they will not abandon Me and cleave to idolatry; rather they give themselves up for My sake at every hour, and not only do they give themselves up, but they bring others under My wings. Consider Egypt: I brought ten plagues alone upon them and they could not endure, but were snuffed out. So too the kingdom of Babylon: I brought light troubles upon them and they could not stand but vanished from the world. But Israel, even though I bring troubles and sufferings upon them in the world, are not driven from before Me; rather they endure forever. "And I will be to her, says the LORD, a wall of fire round about, and for glory I will be in her midst" (Zechariah 2:9). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I and all My retinue become a wall for Jerusalem in the time to come. Now since fire surrounds her, who can enter within? In the time to come the righteous walk in the fire as a man walks in the sun on a cold day, and it is pleasant to him. If you wonder at this, look at Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: when Nebuchadnezzar cast them into the fiery furnace, they walked in it as a man walks in the sun on a cold day, as it says, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods" (Daniel 3:25). The fourth was Gabriel, who walked behind them like a disciple before the master, to teach you that the righteous are greater than the ministering angels.

Themes

ConsolationShekhinahRedemption

Continue Reading

Pesikta de-Rav KahanaWherever Scripture Says She Has None She Will HaveJust a single line, but the sages let it carry real weight. Isaiah praises the woman "that did not bear," and Rabbi Levi pulls back to notice a quiet pattern ruPesikta RabbatiOnly the Holy One Himself Could Comfort ZionHow do you comfort someone whose grief has no equal? The sages picture the usual method: a widower will accept consolation when friends remind him that another Pesikta RabbatiThe Storm-Tossed City Rebuilt in Sapphire and Light"O afflicted one, storm-tossed, not comforted." The sages read each word of that title as a wound. Afflicted of Torah, of commandments, of righteous men; stormePesikta RabbatiI, I Am He Who Comforts You and Heals the WoundThe Temple lies in ashes, and the people ask the hardest possible question. Your own Torah, they say, rules that whoever lights a fire must pay for the damage. Pesikta RabbatiRejoice Greatly Daughter of Zion and the Reward of the MournersThe prophet calls the daughter of Zion to rejoice over a king who comes humble and riding on a donkey. But the midrash lingers first on the people who earned thYalkut Shimoni on TorahSeeing From Afar and the Distancing of the ShekhinahRabbi Yitzchak lingered over a single word in the verse. Scripture says Abraham saw the place "from afar." Why that word, when the destination was already in vi