מה יפו פעמיך בנעלים בת נדיב חמוקי ירכיך כמו חלאים מעשה ידי אמן ” 7:2
“How lovely are your feet in sandals (shoes), O daughters of the prince! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master’s hand.” The Gemara in Chagigah 3a says that from this Posuk we learn – How pleasant are the feet of Klal Yisroel, when they ascend to Yerushalayim when they are Oleh Regel, when they go up to Yerushalayim for the Sholosh Regalim. The Gemara in Brochos 54a says that one was prohibited from entering the Har Habayis with his walking stick and his shoes. How can the Loshon of “פעמיך בנעלים” which refers to the shoes, be telling us of the beauty when Klal Yisroel are Oleh Regel – when the main part of being Oleh Regel – being in the Har Habayis – it was prohibited for one to wear shoes?
We say in the Tefilah of Musaf, “והשב כהנים לעבודתם ולווים לשירם ולזמרם והשב ישראל לנויהם” – “And return the Kohanim to their Avodah in the Bais Hamikdash, the Leviyim to their singing in the Bais Hamikdash, and to the Yisra’eilim to their homes.” We understand why we would Daven that the Kohanim and the Leviyim should return to their respective Avodahs of the Bais Hamikdash. But what does, “ישראל לנוהם” – Klal Yisroel returning to their homes have to do with the Kohanim and the Leviyim performing their Avodah in the Bais Hamikdash? We are speaking about Klal Yisroel going to their homes after they were Oleh Regel and saw the Avodah of the Kohanim and heard the singing of the Leviyim. There was a great Avodah for Klal Yisroel to do, when they put back on their shoes and returned home. The Avodah was to take back with them the Kedusha and the feelings that they experienced in the Makom Kodosh, in the Bais Hamikdash.
Similarly, we see after the Chanukas Habayis of the new Bais Hamikdash that Shlomo Hamelech built, the Posuk in Melochim 1:8:66 says, “וילכו לאהליהם שמחים וטוב לבב” – that they all returned to their tents happy and with gladness of heart. Why do we care how they returned to their tents? The Posuk is telling us that when one is Oleh Regel, when there is a Chanukas Habayis, the experience and inspiration is not supposed to only last while one is there, and once one left, the experience is over. Rather, the main part of the Avodah is to take that Hashpa’ah, the great feelings and inspiration of Ruchniyos and Kedusha, and take it home with you. Make it last, make it a part of your life. When it says in Shir Hashirim, “מה יפו פעמיך בנעלים” – how beautiful are your steps in your shoes – it is speaking about one who puts on his shoes on the way out. When you are Oleh Regel, you take off your shoes to enter the Har Habayis, and you experience Kedusha and Ruchniyos. That is very important. But the Gemara is coming to tell us, that while that is where the Kedusha comes from, the Avodah is not complete. The beauty is when you take that Kedusha home with you. When you put back on your shoes and are leaving, when you return to your homes and daily routines, you must retain that which you were infused with when you were Oleh Regel. Shlomo Hamelech is telling us that the beauty of Oleh Regel is to take that Kedusha home with you.