See How Beloved You Are Before Hashem
Rabbi Reuven SchrierThe Gemara Yoma (21a), citing the Mishna in Avot, lists ten miracles that occurred for our ancestors in the Beit HaMikdash and Yerushalayim. For example, the sanctified sacrificial meats never rotted, and no flies were ever seen in the slaughtering areas despite the abundance of raw meat.
One miracle is strikingly absent from the list. In the Kodesh HaKadoshim, the Aron HaKodesh and Shlomo HaMelech’s massive keruvim took up took up no physical space. Though they were physically present, their otherworldly kedushah enabled them to transcend normal physical limits.
The Gemara wonders why this particular miracle was excluded. The Gemara explains: ניסי דבראי קא חשיב – outside miracles are counted, ניסי דגואי לא קא חשיב – inner miracles are not counted. Essentially, since no one but the Kohen Gadol beheld this miracle, it is not counted among the ten. Only outwardly projected miracles are listed.
If the point of counting these miracles is to show how sanctified the Beit HaMikdash and Yerushalayim were, why should our count not include those that occur in the holiest place? Why should hidden miracles be excluded? Just the opposite. What better way to highlight the Beit HaMikdash’s incredible status by publicizing a miracle that was not well known?
The Sfat Emet (Yoma 21a) explains that the point of listing these miracles is not to highlight how special the Beit HaMikdash is; it is to highlight how special Klal Yisrael is. Each miracle, perfectly crafted to make the experience of aliyah to Yerushalayim safer, more comfortable, and more accessible, was Hashem’s way of showing how beloved we are in His eyes. The hidden miracles may have been more impressive than the outward ones, but they didn’t communicate Hashem’s love for us.
The continuation of the Gemara beautifully reflects the Sfat Emet’s point. Counted among the ten was the miracle of the lechem hapanim, the holy show bread that remained hot and fresh for seven days straight as if it was just taken out of the oven. The Gemara asks: wasn’t this also limited to the kohanim and not witnessed by those outside? Why should it be counted on the list of ten? The Gemara answers that on the festivals, when Klal Yisrael would flock to Yerushalayim and pack onto the Har HaBayit, the kohanim would deliberately flaunt this miracle by showing the masses the fresh, steaming showbread as it was taken off the Shulchan, declaring, “see how beloved you are before Hashem!”
Indeed, one of the main points of Jews ascending to Yerushalayim and standing on the Har HaBayit during the Yom Kippur service was so that they could palpably feel and experience Hashem’s love for them. The Mikdash was the center of our relationship with the Ribbono Shel Olam. Upon entering, each individual Jew felt Hashem’s warm, personal embrace. The ability to return to Hashem in sincere repentance is far easier when a Jew deeply knows and feels Hashem’s love for him.
Yehi ratzon that we experience Hashem’s divine miracles – and warm embrace – in the restored Beit HaMikdash speedily in our days.
