~~~~~~~Tuesday’s D’Var Torah – Parshas Behar~~~~~~~
And My Sanctuary shall you revere (26:2). The Bais HaMikdash, standing as a beacon for our people in Yerusalem, was revered-something that is respected & given reverence by all, near and far. Our wondrous Sanctuary was destroyed by the Romans two thousand years ago. How can we now fulfill this commandment if there is no sanctuary to revere? The Sforno answers that this now applies to all the Shuls and Yeshivos. There was a certain Shul in the Catskill Region of New York that closed down in the 1950’s. In the mid 1970’s, a Jewish summer camp chose to hold a Shacharis at the building which was vacant for years but still standing. Upon entering the site they were amazed to see that the interior was in working order, there was not a speck of dust on the furniture even though it had been out of use for over 20 years. More amazing, there was a shul calender which was up to date. How could this be? They inquired and finally found a man who told them the following: “My father, may he rest in peace, was one of the founders of this shul. He was a carpenter and literally built much of the building with his own hands. After WWII, many young people either moved out or were killed in the war. The membership dwindled till it closed. I came in once a month since then to dust the place, update the calender, and do whatever else was necessary.” One of the camp counselors asked him, “Why did you bother doing all that?” He replied with complete simplicity, “I figured this is G-d’s house and I have to take care of it.” This simple man understood the holiness of a shul and we must have the same respect and reverence for any shul or yeshiva today, as we would for the great Bais HaMikdash itself.