מעלת בניית בית בירושלים

And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have assigned the land to you to possess.

The Gemara asks: Can it enter your mind that one may write this bill of sale on Shabbat? Writing on Shabbat is a prohibited labor for which one is liable to receive court-imposed capital punishment. The Gemara explains: This is as Rava says with regard to a similar issue, that one tells a gentile that he should do it, and he does so. Here too, it is referring to a situation where one tells a gentile that he should write a bill of sale, and he does so. And even though the halakha generally is that telling a gentile to perform an action that is prohibited for a Jew on Shabbat violates a rabbinic decree, since the Sages prohibited instructing a gentile to perform prohibited labor on behalf of a Jew on Shabbat, here the Sages did not impose this decree, due to the mitzva of settling Eretz Yisrael.

The baraita further teaches: And one who purchases a field in Syria is like one who purchases a field in the outskirts of Jerusalem. The Gemara asks: With regard to which halakha was this stated? What practical ruling is taught by this statement? Rav Sheshet says: This serves to say that one writes a bill of sale [ono] for this purchase, and one may write a bill of sale even on Shabbat.

Rav Sheshet said: If he opened with: Have compassion on Your people, Israel, mentioning redemption of Israel at the start, he concludes with: Who redeems Israel; if he opened with: Have compassion on Jerusalem, he concludes with: Who builds Jerusalem. Rav Naḥman said: Even if he opened with: Have compassion on Israel, he concludes with: Who builds Jerusalem, because it is stated: “The Lord builds Jerusalem; He gathers in the exiles of Israel” (Psalms 147:2). This verse is interpreted to mean: When does God build Jerusalem? When He gathers in the exiles of Israel. The rebuilding of Jerusalem symbolizes Israel’s redemption.

§ Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Yosef said: In the future, at the time of the resurrection of the dead, the righteous will burst forth and arise in Jerusalem, as it is stated: “And may they blossom out of the city like the grass of the earth” (Psalms 72:16), and the term “city” means nothing other than Jerusalem, as it is stated: “For I will defend this city” (II Kings 19:34).

With regard to the aforementioned verse, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Each and every acacia tree that the gentiles took from Jerusalem will be returned to the city by the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia tree and myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert cypress, the plane tree and the larch together” (Isaiah 41:19). And the term wilderness is referring to nothing other than Jerusalem, as it is stated: “Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation” (Isaiah 64:9).

And where will the horns of the righteous be exalted? In Jerusalem, as it is stated: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they who love you shall prosper” (Psalms 122:6). “They who love you” are the righteous. Therefore, the blessing of the rebuilding of Jerusalem is placed after the blessing of the righteous.

And once Jerusalem is rebuilt, the Messiah, scion of the house of David, will come, as it is stated:

“Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek the Lord their God and David their king” (Hosea 3:5), and consequently, the blessing of the kingdom of David follows the blessing of the building of Jerusalem. And once the scion of David comes, the time for prayer will come, as it is stated: “I will bring them to My sacred mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). Therefore, the blessing of hearing prayer is recited after the blessing of the kingdom of David.

See, a time is coming—declares GOD—when the city shall be rebuilt for GOD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate;

23. The Rabbi: Did we not state before that speculation, reasoning and fiction on the Law do not lead to the pleasure of God? Otherwise dualists, materialists, worshippers of spirits, anchorites, and those who burn their children are all endeavouring to come near to God? We have, however, said, that one cannot approach God except by His commands. For he knows their comprehensiveness, division, times, and places, and consequences in the fulfilment of which the pleasure of God and the connexion with the Divine Influence are to be gained. Thus it was in the building of the Tabernacle. With every item it is said: 'And Bezaleel made the ark . . ., the lid . . ., the carpets . . .,' and concerning each of them is stated: 'Just as the Lord had commanded Moses.' This means neither too much nor too little, although our speculation cannot bear on works of this kind. Finally it is said: 'And Moses saw the whole work, and behold they had performed it just as the Lord had commanded, thus they worked, and Moses blessed them' (Exodus 39:43). The completion of the Tabernacle was followed by the descent of the Shekhinah, the two conditions which form the pillars of the Law having been fulfilled, viz., firstly, that the Law originated with God; secondly, that the people conformed with it in a pure mind. God commanded the building of the Tabernacle, and the whole people obeyed--as it is said 'Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart, shall ye take My offering' (Exodus 25:2)--with the greatest zeal and enthusiasm. The result was equally perfect, viz. the appearance of the Shekhinah, as it is said: 'And I will dwell in their midst.' I gave thee the example of the creation of the plant and animal, and told thee that the form which distinguishes one plant from another and one animal from another is not a natural force [but a work of God, called nature by philosophers. As a matter of fact the powers of nature] are capable of favouring such a development according to the proportion of heat and cold, moisture and dryness. One thing would, then, become a plant, another a vine, this a horse, that a lion. We are unable to determine these proportions, and could we do it, we might produce blood or milk, etc. from liquids mixed by our own calculations. We might, eventually, create living beings, endowed with the spirit of life. Or we might produce a substitute for bread from ingredients which have no nourishing powers, simply by mixing the right proportions of heat and cold, moisture and dryness, and particularly if we knew the spherical constellations and their influences which, in the opinion of astrologers, assist to bring forth of anything that is desired in this world. We have seen, however, that all alchymists and necromancers who have tried those things, have been put to shame. Do not raise the objection that these people are able to produce animals and living beings, as bees from flesh and gnats from wine. These are not the consequences of their calculations and agency, but of experiments. It was found that cohabitation was followed by the birth of a child; man, however, does but plant the seed in the soil prepared to receive and develop it. The calculation of proportions which give the human form belongs exclusively to the Creator. In the same manner is the determination of the living people worthy to form the seat of the Divine Influence God's alone. This calculating and weighing, must be learnt from Him, but we should not reason about His word, as it is written: 'There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord' (Proverbs 21:30). What dost thou think we should adopt in order to become like our fathers, to imitate them, and not to speculate about the Law?

We may assume that the term Sanctuary covers the instruction to erect a Temple both at the time and during later periods of Jewish history. It is a comprehensive positive commandment basically applicable not only in the desert but whenever the Jewish people reside in the Holy Land. Actually this duty is incumbent upon Israel even while the nation is in exile. The only reason this commandment cannot be fulfilled when the people are exiled is that G'd has specifically forbidden that any site other than the Temple Mount in Jerusalem serve as such a Sanctuary once the first Temple had been built by Solomon. Compare the legislation in Deut. 12,9, where G'd speaks of Israel's having attained מנוחה ונחלה, "rest and inheritance," as prerequisites for the erecting of a permanent (as opposed to collapsible) Sanctuary for G'd. This is why the Torah does not introduce this subject matter by referring to a משכן, a temporary structure. Had the Torah mentioned this term first we would have thought that the commandment was of a temporary nature. Once the Torah had introduced the concept of a Sanctuary for G'd it could proceed to give us the details that were applicable in the desert at the time the Torah had been given. You will find that Maimonides writes in the first chapter of the section of his code dealing with the laws applicable to the Temple that it is a positive commandment to build a house for G'd as the Torah has written: "and they shall construct a Sanctuary for Me." He based himself on the fact that the Torah called the Sanctuary משכן already in the very verse following this commandment. Another reason it is called Sanctuary is that as soon as the people would begin construction it was already considered sacred although the structure had not yet been completed and G'd's presence had not yet taken up residence therein.