Abraham In The Temple

Rabbi Yitzchak said: At the time when the Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, found Abraham standing in the Temple. He said to him: "What is My beloved doing in My house?" (Jeremiah 11:15). He said to Him: I have come concerning the affairs of my children. He said to him: Your children sinned and were exiled. He said to Him: Perhaps they sinned unwittingly? He said to him: "Her carrying out of wicked schemes" (the verse, Jeremiah 11:15). He said to Him: Perhaps it was only a minority of them who sinned? He said to him: "the many" (Jeremiah 11:15). He said: You should have remembered the covenant of circumcision. He said to him: "and the holy flesh shall pass away from upon you" (Jeremiah 11:15). He said to Him: Perhaps if You had waited for them, they would have returned in repentance? He said to him: "when your evil comes, then you exult" (Jeremiah 11:15). Immediately he placed his hands on his head, and was crying out and weeping, and said: Perhaps, heaven forbid, there is no remedy for them? A heavenly voice went forth and said to him: "A leafy olive tree, fair with goodly fruit, the LORD has called your name" (Jeremiah 11:16). Just as this olive tree has its purpose at its end, so too Israel has its purpose at its end.