Last moztei shabbos I had the pleasure of seeing the inside of the newly re-built Churva Shul (destroyed shul) in the old city of Jerusalem for the first time. As I stood in awe of its breathtaking grandeur and striking beauty I couldn’t stop myself from asking a few questions about the deeper meaning of the rebuilding of this fairly ancient and previously destroyed synagogue. The re-dedication of this shul is in many ways a powerful of sign of our nation's advancement towards redemption. However, simultaneously as this shul was being re-built our government was/is freezing and halting the continued attempts to settle many areas in the heart of our ancient land. The following are 5 questions on these strange times. Come back later in the week for some thoughts on this topic.
- Why keep the name Churva?
- Can a building be physically built and spiritually remain destroyed?
- How do we relate to a government that builds and destroys our country at the same time?
- How can we distinguish between destruction which is needed for further building and destruction which is permanent?
- “If G-d will not build the house in vein do its builders labor on it” (Psalms 127) How are we supposed to know if G-d is helping the builders or the destroyers?
Binyamin - always looking for a good question