Divine Presence

The Talmud in Masechet Brachot makes an interesting observation. Since the time of the destruction of the Temple, 1,958 years ago, the Holy One Blessed Be He, has nothing in this world except the four cubits of Torah.

The explanation of this statement is that the Temple represented the place where the Shechina, the Divine Presence would dwell. Even though the glory of Hashem fills the earth, He finds satisfaction to dwell among those who are steeped in Torah study, and live according to its laws.

If there was no Torah study, there would be no point allowing the world to continue to exist.

This is alluded to in Bereishit, when the sixth day of creation is referred to as יום השישי. The other days did not have the letter “ה” before it. The Torah read יום שני, שלישי, רביעי , etc. The sixth day also referred to the sixth of Sivan when the Torah was given. Hashem warned the Jewish people that if the Torah would not be studied, He would turn the world back to nothingness.

Hashem yearns for the rebuilding of the Temple just as we do. But in the meantime, the pleasure he gets in this world, are the four cubits of Torah.

This idea helped the Jewish people in the Exile, knowing that they could bring Hashem’s Presence to them. Today, when nearly half of the Jewish people in Israel, the holiness of the land as well as Torah study, allows us to feel Hashem that much stronger.