Illustration by Yoseph Savan based on The Zohar
Ariel Ben Avraham – JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (XXX-XXXI)
XXX
“Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem; who say, ‘Raze it, raze it, down to its foundation’.”
(Psalms 137:7)
The psalmist knows very well the enemies of Jerusalem, the children of the heathen nations descendant from Esau/Edom. They represent the lowest thoughts, emotions, feelings, passions and instincts, that prey on goodness to satisfy their insatiable materialistic fantasies and illusions, and fight to impose the rule of wickedness and the destruction of human dignity, making goodness subservient to evil. Here, the “day of Jerusalem” refers to the final redemption of the Jewish people, and the day when the Messianic era begins.
“I bow down toward Your sacredness [Temple], and give thanks to Your Name, for Your loving kindness and for Your truth. For You have magnified Your promise above all Your Name. In the day that I called, You have answered me, You have encouraged me in my soul with strength.” (138:2-3)
The Creator’s promised final redemption, to make goodness rule and prevail in the material world, is evoked again to the point that the psalmist calls it greater than His Name.
It is a clear allegory to the greatness of God’s goodness that He will reveal in the Messianic era. It will be bigger than what we already know about His goodness, which is His Name.
He hears David’s prayer and answers him with the assurance that encourages him to live with a strengthened soul for the Messianic era, when we will see the magnificence of unfathomable qualities of His goodness. Being the Jewish people the inheritors of this divine promise, led the psalmist to exalt this sublime reality.
“Happy are the people whose destiny is this, happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” (144:15)
This verse summarizes the origin, essence, purpose and fate of Israel, with the exact words in their exact meaning. In this awareness we only have words of thankfulness and praise, also stated in the next verse.
XXXI
“The Lord reigns forever, the God of Zion, forever and ever. Praise the Lord.”
(Psalms 146:10)
Eternity is the reward for bonding in God’s love through the blessings He constantly bestows in us with His goodness. Thus we realize that it is as eternal as Him, and this happiness beyond possible description is only manifest in Zion, Jerusalem; the utmost joy of all hearts. Hence we will praise Him for eternity, for this praise is as infinite as Him.
“The Lord builds up Jerusalem, He gathers together the dispersed of Israel.” (147:2)
This realization will be factual when all the dispersed children of Israel are gathered by their God. Our Sages understand this as the prelude to the rise of the Third Temple that God builds along with Jerusalem, for these are irrelevant without the entire gathering of the Jewish people in the land of their divine inheritance.
This last and eternal Temple and its city are rebuilt with spiritual materials and qualities that will reflect the new consciousness the Creator promised for the Messianic era. Hence the edifices and towers of the city are already made of light columns and beams with compartments made to last forever, as the verse suggests in regards to eternity. Likewise, human and material life will be also spiritual as it was originally created at the beginning of God’s creation in the Garden of Eden.
“Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bars of your gates, He has blessed your children in your midst. He established peace in your borders; He fulfills you with the best of wheat.” (147:12-14)
These verses reiterate the previous ones in regards to Jerusalem, as it was originally created by God; and as is going to be in the Jewish final redemption and the advent of the Messianic era.
The strengthening of the bars that protect Jerusalem tells us about the strong spiritual qualities that dissipate wickedness in all forms, for evil will fade before them. Goodness is the blessing that spreads out in levels, aspects, dimensions and expressions of our new future consciousness dwelling in the city of God. Hence peace is the air we will breathe in its midst. Our food will be from the best of wheat that can only be God’s love.
