Ariel Awakens: the Mikdash and the Lion of God

Throughout Tanach and Chazal, one finds constant references to lions, which serve as metaphors for power, royalty, and ascendance. Throughout Chumash, the Torah repeatedly compares individuals and tribes to the lion. In Yaakov’s blessings, it is clear that the lion symbolizes Shevet Yehudah and the malchut that will eventually emerge from him. In the prophecies of Bilaam, the lion becomes a parallel for the entirety of Klal Yisrael. 

But in Neviim, this metaphor takes on a deeper meaning. The lion is no longer used merely to describe Yehudah or Am Yisrael. Instead, it comes to describe Yerushalayim, the Mizbeach, and the Mikdash itself (see Malbim to Yishayahu 29:1). For example, when Yishayahu HaNavi cries out over the impending suffering of Yerushalayim, he repeatedly refers to it as Ariel, literally translated as “the Lion of God”:

ה֚וֹי אֲרִיאֵ֣ל אֲרִיאֵ֔ל קִרְיַ֖ת חָנָ֣ה דָוִ֑ד– Woe, Ariel, Ariel, the city wherein David encamped! 

Chazal further teach that the structure of the Heichal – the principal sanctuary of the Mikdash which housed the Menorah and Aron HaKodesh – was wider in front and narrower in back. This was designed to mirror the image of a lion crouching in place, its broad mane giving it an imposing and majestic appearance (Middot 4:7). 

This shared imagery is no coincidence.

The lion symbolizes Klal Yisrael, Malchut Beit David, and Yerushalayim v’Mikdash because all three are inseparably bound together. Am Yisrael and its kingship are deeply rooted in the sanctified soil of Yerushalayim. The holy city stands at the center of Klal Yisrael’s national life, and Malchut Beit David is inextricably linked to it. As we have noted in the past, David alone possessed the spiritual capacity to conquer Yerushalayim and reveal the future site of the Mizbeach and Mikdash. 

The shared lion imagery subtly conveys an essential truth: the strength of Klal Yisrael and the might of its kings do not emerge from political power or military force alone. They flow from Yerushalayim – from Ariel, the Lion of God. It is this sanctified abode that channels hashgachat Hashem into the life of the nation. 

But as Yerushalayim suffers destruction, that strength constricts. 

In the structural narrowing of the Heichal, the Maharsha (Middot 4:7) sees a profound metaphor for the progressive constriction of the kedushah and power of Klal Yisrael. The first Beit HaMikdash stood in its full glory, radiating complete sanctity But after its destruction, we were left with the second Beit HaMikdash which, though holy, paled in comparison. The power of the Godly Lion was already beginning to narrow. 

Finally, after the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash, all that remained was something narrower still: the Western Wall that stood behind the Heichal. 

As the Mikdash was increasingly constrained, the physical and spiritual power of Klal Yisrael waned as well. 

But a reversal of fortunes is already underway. While the last 75 years have been marked by both triumph and trial, the overall trajectory of Am Yisrael has been unmistakably ascendant. And in these most recent years especially, something deeper has begun to stir. Am Yisrael has risen with a ferocious and unconquerable spirit. Hashem is once again showering His nation with strength.

The lion that once lay battered and chained has begun to rise. The Lion of God is awakening. And when Ariel rises, all the world will hear its roar.