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Teshuva and Removing The Satan's Control
The first Beit Hamikdash had a fire in the shape of a lion. In the second Beit Hamikdash, the fire was crouched like a dog.
Why was it this way?
Because, the second Beit HaMikdash was built by the Persian King, who was a non-Jew. And the Zohar HaKadosh says something very scary – that this dog was symbolic of the Satan. Because we did not do full teshuva, part of the korban was going to the Satan.
The Beit HaMikdash itself was not fully for HaKodesh Baruch Hu. There was partial control by the Satan himself.
HaShem Wants Full Teshuva, Not Partial Teshuva.
HaKodesh Baruch Hu says: I didn't destroy the bricks and stones just for you to rebuild them without doing teshuva. And I didn't do it just for partial teshuva. I wanted full teshuva. And that's what we're here to say.
We need full teshuva not partial teshuva.
It's good. It's a good start. But if you think that you can continue with partial teshuva, you're making a very big mistake. Somebody that knowingly sins, he has gotten to the point where he says: "listen, I keep Shabbat, I keep tahrat hamishpacha, I keep kosher, I keep this, I keep that, I keep all these different things...but this one particular thing I'm not gonna do." Not that: "it's hard for me and I'm struggling." No not that. Not: "I'm gonna try to do it, but I'm just failing." It's this: "I'm just not gonna do it. It's not for me." When he decides that this is not something he's gonna do. He's not going to learn Torah every day even though the Torah commands it. He's not going to watch his brit even though the Torah says to do it. He's not going to do something.
Torah says to do it. He says: "no no this is too much for me." And he decides actively that this is not what he's going to do. The Rambam writes such a person is a Kofer Gamur. You cannot count him in minyan.
A Jew Who Doesn't Keep Shabbat – What The Rambam Says
The Rambam writes something very interesting in chapter 3, halacha number 4. He writes: when a Jew is a kofer, apostate, worships false deities or desecrates Shabbat in public, we do not accept any sacrifices from him at all. Even a burnt offering that is accepted from a goy (gentile) is not accepted from an apostate or mechalel Shabbat.
As we learn from Leviticus 1:2, which states, "man from you who will sacrifice". According to the oral tradition, we learn that "from you" is not from all of you.
It excludes the apostate.
It excludes the mechalel Shabbat.
But here the Rambam says something very interesting. He says: if you believe in other gods or you violate Shabbat then the korban is not accepted. Wait, somebody that prays to let's say "JC Penny" or prays to a Rabbi, or prays to I don't know...Pikachu, he is the same thing as somebody that drives on Shabbat? How could this be? The guy who is praying to somebody other than HaShem, okay fine I understand why his korban isn't accepted. But why is the guy that's driving to shul on Shabbat, what's the problem with him?
So the Rambam explains in Hilchot Shabbat that someone who violates Shabbat is equivalent 100 percent to an idol worshipper. This is because the idol worshipper and him are both desecrating HaShem's Name. Shabbat is the cornerstone of the Jewish faith just like believing in HaShem is.
Everything Comes from HaShem – Return and do Teshuva
"I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His anger."
(Eichah 3:1)
Here we see that Jeremiah was there witnessing all of this. He wasn't just prophesying, prophesying of the future what could be. He literally witnesses people dying in the streets, millions of them.
"He has placed me in darkness like the eternally dead.
He has walled me in so I cannot escape."
(Eichah 3:6-7)
So what happened when Jeremiah tried to rebuke people?
"I have become a laughingstock to all my people, object of their jives all day long."
(Eichah 3:14)
He tried to tell people the truth, he tried to tell people to keep Shabbat, he tried telling people to do good things, get close to HaShem so bad things stop.
Because there were so many reshaim, so many wicked speakers, so many fakers that call themselves prophets. It was very hard for people to say, wait a minute so you're telling me, you're one guy that says the truth but there's 500 that are lying? More likely it's 500 are telling the truth and you're the liar. And this is is just a bad season, it's just bad weather, it's just bad luck. It's just bad this, it's just bad. It's not HaShem, it's something else. Because we understand HaShem, HaShem understands us. He knows that we can't do it.
He, Jeremiah, says that I've become a laughingstock, they made fun of him in public when he tried to tell them the truth.
Jeremiah tells them, you're forgetting that HaShem is HaShem. He's not just some person
He says:
"Whose decree was ever fulfilled unless the Lord ordained it? Is it not from the mouth of the most high that evil and good emanate? Of what shall a living man complain? A strong man for his sins. Let us search and examine our ways and return to HaShem."
(Eichah 3:37-40)
He says all of the stuff that's happening, everything is coming from HaShem. Don't ever think anything that what's happening in the world is coming from somewhere else. Anything and everything that happens in the world, HaShem signs off on it
You want to make a sin? HaShem will allow you to do it
You want to make a mitzvah? HaShem will allow you to do it
There's a hurricane. It's HaShem
There's a financial crisis. It's HaShem
There's cancer. It's HaShem
That's what the prophet Jeremiah said.
Where was G-d during the Holocaust? It's HaShem.
Chorban Beit HaMikdash...HaShem
EVERYTHING is HaShem
That's what Jeremiah is saying. Instead of complaining, he says, what are you complaining about? You should only complain about your own sins. He says, let's search and examine our ways and return to HaShem.
All of these bad things are only happening because we're disconnected from HaShem.
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