Six years in Chadar HaMittos, the Bedroom Chamber of the Holy Temple. * Daring to descend into conversation.
By Rabbi Boruch Merkur
I have this image of a father I saw standing up with one arm fully extended, balancing his infant baby on his open palm. Having of course no say in the matter, the baby sits precariously in midair taking it all in, forced to trust Tatte in his dangerous amusement.
It was just after a Sheva Brachos meal this father hosted. I was a new face in his home, but I sat with friends from my yeshiva days, baalei t’shuva yungelait, whom I rarely met up with. Our thirst for conversation, however, was oddly denied by the host; he insisted on darshaning the entire time. Well, it wasn’t teachings or reflections of any kind; it was stories of tzaddikim, one after the other.
At the conclusion of each story, we tried to catch up with each other and talk. But immediately he got up, again and again, forcing his guests to listen to more. We were a captive audience, like the balancing baby.
Another quirky observation: On Shabbos Shvii Shel Pesach this year, I spoke at a shul in Toronto, a forty-five-minute walk from where I live. A baal korei from my neighborhood, an exceptionally diligent bachur from an insular family, made his way there before I arrived. After davening, when it was time to walk home, he wouldn’t budge until he had studied enough Torah material to review for the duration of the walk, lest we become forced to drift off in thought, or worse - to chat.
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The Rebbe tells the story in Tanach of a baby prince, Yo’ash, who from age one, spent six years in “Chadar HaMittos, The Bedroom Chamber,”[1] the Temple’s upper floor overlooking the Holy of Holies. This surprising residence was a hideout in times of danger:
Yehosheva[2] hid Yo’ash[3] (who was of royal descent), along with his wetnurse, in Chadar HaMittos, “attic of the Holy of Holies.”[4] “He stayed with her, hidden in the house of G-d, for six years, etc.”[5] From this it is understood that being in the Holy of Holies, all of Yo’ash’s physical needs were met there – eating, drinking, and sleeping. The fact is that each Jew’s true place is the Holy of Holies (as we will experience in the true and complete redemption).
Then the Rebbe tells us what fuels this awareness:
But this experience comes about through the descent (danger), just as the unique virtue of redemption, geula, emerges from the efforts in exile, gola.[6]
The danger we have now is in failing to recognize the importance of communication, of normal friendships, and healthy relationships, reflecting the Home of G-d. Eating, drinking, sleeping - and yes even speaking, conversation - are G-dly activities that are expressive of true love of one’s fellow.
We should teach our children that that is the Rebbe’s approach, even if we see it as a descent. It is the true way to create strong foundations.
All Jews are Holy of Holies. We can experience that any time. Will is the only thing between you and attaining the true you, Kohen Gadol. The Kohen Gadol was the wealthiest of the Kohanim, “King of the Kohanim,” whose garments were fashioned for “honor and beauty.” Everything is meant to glorify Hashem and become His home.
*
NOTES:
[1] Melachim II 11:2
[2] Yo’ash’s paternal aunt, sister of Asalya, and wife of the Kohen Gadol, granting her access to the chambers of the Beis HaMikdash.
[3] The eighth king of Judah, who from age seven, ruled for forty years. When his father, King Achazya, died, Asalya, his mother, assumed the throne and sought to purge all of royal descent, including Yo’ash, her grandson. Yo’ash was the only survivor of royal descent.
[4] Rashi on Melachim II 11:2
[5] Melachim II 11:3
[6] Seifer HaSichos 5751, pg. 512.