The nefesh of a person likewise has a Yerushalayim within it. A person comprises different levels. He has aspects that are lower in stature, such as his hands and feet (of course, we can serve Hashem with these, but these are “chutz l’Aretz avodah”).
Then there’s a deeper and higher level in the nefesh of a person. Within the neshamah of every Yid lies a nekudah that is called “Yerushalayim.” The deeper one goes, the more one taps into this nekudah, which is essentially the chelek Elokah mima’al, as the sefarim explain.
The Churban Laid Waste to Our Inner Yerushalayim
During the great Churban, this very nekudah in the nefesh was also destroyed. The exile from the physical Yerushalayim was only an indication of a deeper event that occurred deep within the nefesh of Klal Yisrael. Our inner Yerushalayim was destroyed!
The Gemara (Ta’anis 5a) tells us that there’s a Yerushalayim up above, and there’s a Yerushalayim down below. One cannot be rebuilt without the other. This means that the place of Yerushalayim is only one aspect of Yerushalayim. There are deeper aspects that also must be rebuilt.
