Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg - Shabbat Bi-Shabato Behar 5763

The Rambam rules that the sanctity of both Jerusalem and the Temple itself will never be cancelled. "However, it is written, 'And I will make your Temples desolate' [Vayikra 26:31]. The sages explained that even when they are desolate they maintain their sanctity." [Hilchot Beit Habechira 6:16].   The book "Doresh Tzion" – a collection of sermons by the founders of the settlements in Eretz Yisrael who were disciples of the GRA – includes a sermon by Rabbi Yosef Hasofer from the year 5626 (1866). In his talk he links the counting of the Omer and the holiday of giving the Torah to the sanctity of Jerusalem.   The counting of the Omer begins right after Pesach, when Bnei Yisrael were extricated from forty-nine levels of impurity. Every day they left behind one impurity and in parallel they entered into a higher level of purity. On Shavuot they reached the fiftieth gate, at the highest level of purity. Thus mitzva of counting was given to the later generations because these days between Pesach and Shavuot are unique days in which impurity can be replaced by holiness. And that is the reason that we begin the days of the count with a sacrifice of barley, a food for animals, and end with wheat. "Go out and declare in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, This is what G-d said: I remember for you the kindness of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the desert..." [Yirmiyahu 2:2]. Jerusalem (above) followed G-d through the desert. And Jerusalem down below is in touch with Jerusalem above, "as a city which has been joined together" [Tehillim 122:3]. That explains why we say after the counting of the Omer every night that we want to be "purified and sanctified by a holiness from above" –the sanctity of Jerusalem in heaven.   (Experts in hidden meanings have counted the letters, and they find that the numerical values of "Knesset Yisrael," "Yerushalayim shel Maala," and "Sefirat Ha'Omer" are all the same, a value equal to 1071.)   Thus, the days of the counting of the Omer have a potential for a great uplifting, and for the highest level of holiness. However, they can also be a time of a great downfall, and this means that during this time a person must be very careful.   We note that there are two special days during the Omer which are not under the control of "evil shells" – these are the twentieth and the forty-second days of the Omer, and that this is well known by those with knowledge of mysticism. Because of this, when the disciples of the GRA began their activities in Eretz Yisrael and in settling in Jerusalem in the year 5572 (1812), they made sure to do their activities on those two days. What is even more amazing is that these two days correspond to the fifth of Iyar, the date of Yom Haatzmaut, and the twenty-seventh of Iyar, the day when the main capture of Jerusalem took place in the Six Day War.   Based on the concept noted above that Jerusalem accompanied Yisrael in the desert, Rabbi Neventzal developed a remarkable thought. In the war against Amalek, Moshe stood "on the top of the hill" [Shemot 17:10]. The use of the word "the" implies a specific identifiable hill. This refers to Jerusalem, as is written, "To the mountain of Mor and to the hill of Levona" [Shir Hashirim 4:6]. And "rosh hagiv'ah," the top of the hill, is the same in numerical value as Yerushalayim. We know that as long as Amalek continues to exist the Throne of G-d is not complete, as is written, "for there is a hand on the Throne of G-d" [Shemot 17:16], where the word "kess" is a throne, but is written without the letter aleph. The Throne of G-d is Jerusalem, as is written, "At that time Jerusalem will be called the Throne of G-d" [Yirmiyahu 3:17]. This explains why the war centered on Jerusalem. Rabbi Neventzal quotes from his teacher, Rabbi Pertzovitz, who calculated that the day when Amalek attacked Bnei Yisrael in the desert was the twenty-eighth of Iyar. "The conclusion could not be more startling than this. The war of Bnei Yisrael against Amalek took place on Mount Moriah, on the twenty-eighth day of Iyar!" [This is quoted in his sefer sichot al hatorah]