The Pain of the Shechinah in Galus
The Two Forces of Evil Are the Same
The Sfas Emes in Parashas Pinchas elaborates on the idea that the covenant that Hashem has forged with the Jewish People—that deep and everlasting bond—is not only in body, but also in “place.” We say וכרות הכנעני ארץ את לתת הברית עמו, and Hashem has established with us a bris (covenant) that He will give the land of Canaan [to Klal Yisrael]. Thus, the forces that present us with great challenges in matters of kedushah (bris) are the very same forces of evil that prevent us from entering the land of Eretz Yisrael and meriting the Beis HaMikdash and the Kodesh HaKodashim. The covenant that Hashem forges with the Jewish People applies to נפש שנה עולם, place, time, and soul.
There is a “holy of holies” within every Yid’s neshamah, and there are forces that do everything they can to ensure that we cannot access that holiness. Similarly, these forces do whatever they can to prevent us from accessing the Kodesh HaKodashim in place.
It is therefore no accident that the months of Tammuz and Av—which are closely tied to galus and redemption (which will lead us back to Eretz Yisrael)—are the months that correspond to our eyes, and to the great battle for the holiness of a Yid that each of us must wage.
