Tehillim Tools: Beit haLevi: Psalm 84:3

The 4th of Iyar is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Yosef Dov (Yoshe Ber) Solovetchik of Brisk, the Beis Halevi: “My soul yearns, indeed it finds, for the courtyards of God; my heart and my flesh pray fervently to the Living Power. Even the bird finds its home, and the free bird her nest where she laid her young; O, to be act Your altars; God, Master of Legions, my King and my Lord.(Psalms 84:3-4).”

“My soul yearns,” to fulfill the mitzvah of building the Temple. There aren’t those who hold that no Minchah, or libations, or sacrifices with birds can be offered on a Bama, a temporary altar, even on the Great Bama. Therefore, King David says, that when the Temple will be built there will be both, “my heart and my flesh rejoice,” and such rejoicing is only possible over wine; an indication that in the Temple we will have libations. “Even the bird,” is a reminder that in the Temple we will be offering all sacrifices, including those with birds.

No matter how much we can accomplish and achieve without the Temple, we must acknowledge our soul’s yearning to have everything that is possible only in the Temple itself. It is only fair, where our service of God can be complete.

This teaching can be used as a Kavanah for the meditation: “May it be Your will, God, our Lord and the Lord of our forefathers, that the Holy Temple be rebuilt, speedily in our days. Grant us our share in Your Torah, and may we serve You there with reverence, as in days of old and in former years.”