Pesukei D’Zimrah: Ashrei: Becoming God’s Sanctuary

“Praiseworthy are those who sit in Your House”. The verse doesn’t say “B’veitecha”- in Your house; it says: “Beitecha”- Your House. This means that those who attach themselves to God become His Sanctuary and His Throne. (Ramah of Fano)

What is the difference between dwelling in God’s House and becoming an intrinsic part of His Sanctuary? 

When someone enters a house and sits there for a while, he can then leave. The person and the house he visited are two separate entities.  

Happy are those who, by their very essence, have become God’s House and His Throne. No matter where they are, they still are God’s Sanctuary, “Yoshvei Beitecha”; it becomes their identity. Not only that, but by transforming their inner being, they impact those who come into contact with them.

Indeed, the following verse, Psalms 84:6 continues: “Praiseworthy is the man whose strength is in You, those whose hearts focus on upward paths.” It doesn’t state “one whose heart”, but rather, “those whose hearts”- in the plural. This is to infer that the righteous ones who cling to God and become His Sanctuary affect those who are not at their level, but who attach themselves to them, so that they too are praiseworthy.  (Ramah of Fano)