Sleepy Souls

In the HaYom Yom for 21 Tamuz ( Hayom Yom is anthology of Hasidic aphorisms and customs arranged according to the calendar for the Hebrew year of 5703 (1942–43). The work was compiled and arranged by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rabbi of Chabad, from the talks and letters of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, courtesy of Wikipedia.) it says כתיב ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם בתוך כאו"א [כל אחד ואחד] מישראל, שבכאו"א [שבכל אחד ואחד] מישראל תוכיות נקודת פנימית לבבו הוא מקדש לשבתו יתברך. והנה מקום המקדש גם בזמן הגלות והשימום קדוש הוא. וכדאיתא בשמות רבה פ"ב [פרשה ב'] א"ר [אמר רב] אחא לעולם אין השכינה זזה מכותל המערבי. וכל ענין השימום הוא בהבנינים, וכן הוא גם במקדש הפרטי שבכאו"א [שבכל אחד ואחד] מישראל, דהיסוד הוא שלם זך וטהור וכמ"ש [וכמו שכתוב] אני ישנה ולבי ער, ואיתא במד"ר [במדרש רבה] אני ישנה מן המצות ולבי ער לגמ"ח [לגמילות חסדים] אני ישנה מן הצדקות ולבי ער לעשותן, דכל ענין השימום, ר"ל [רחמנא ליצלן], שישנו בישראל הוא רק בדוגמת הבנינים שמחוץ להיסוד, אבל היסוד דמקדש הפרטי הוא בקדושתו.  It is written: They shall make Me a sanctuary and I shall dwell within them. “Within them” means within every one of Israel. For within every Jew, the core point of the heart’s inner essence is a sanctuary for His dwelling (may He be blessed).The site of the sanctuary remains sacred, even in times of exile and desolation. In Midrash Sh’mot Raba Chapter 2, R. Acha says: “The Shechina (Divine Presence) never departs from the Western Wall.” All the desolation is limited to the buildings. So, too, is the case with the personal sanctuary within each of Israel; the foundation is whole, clear and pure, as it is written, I am asleep but my heart is alert. Midrash Raba comments: “I am asleep for mitzvot, but my heart is alert for acts of kindness; I am asleep for charities, but my heart is alert to perform them.” Every form of (spiritual) desolation (may G‑d rescue us from such) found in the people Israel is only in those aspects of the people analogous to buildings above the foundation. The foundation of the individual sanctuary, however, remains in its holy state.

It is hard for people to relate to the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash.  It happened so long ago and we can't imagine what the Mikdash represents and what it means for the world.  People will cite כל דור שלא נבנה בית המקדש בימיו כאילו נחרב בימיו to say that it is not an act that happened many years ago but if the Mikdash is not built it is destroyed again this year but it is still near impossible to relate.  [That is not what it actually says in the Yerushalmi Yoma 5a, it says כל דור שאינו נבנה בימיו מעלין עליו כאילו הוא החריבו, the individual himself tore down the Mikdash.]  An easier approach is to realize that that the Mikdash and its destruction is an outgrowth of the spiritual state of the world.  The destruction of the Mikdash is apparent in the spiritual erosion, corrosion and breakdown in a person's soul.  Never mind wrong deeds, but the general attitude of lack of spiritual yearning, darkness and emptiness that permeat one's soul is the churban one must mourn for.  The fact that one rolls from one tisha b'av to the next lured asleep by the surrounding culture and the daily grind of live barely thinking of the Mikdash for a couple of seconds a year is the churban.  That is what there is to mourn. One must mourn the fact that they do not know why they are mourning and will try to fill the time of the day but watching some holocaust video, listening to some 24 hour program etc. to all fade away the second one can eat. However, the Rebbe is giving hope here. The Mikdash is destroyed but the Kotel remains standing.  It is not totally destroyed.  There is left a bit to rebuild from.  A beacon of light in the darkness .  So too, our souls may slumber but they can be awakened.