Rav Berger on Kever David and Geula - Part 5 of 6

From Rav Berger's latest:

Continued from Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Prayers on Mt. Zion are Auspicious for Children, Life, and Abundant Sustenance

On the verse יִשְׁלַח-עֶזְרְךָ מִקֹּדֶשׁ; וּמִצִּיּוֹן, יִסְעָדֶךָּ [Send forth thy help from the sanctuary, and support thee out of Zion], we find in a Midrash in Vayikra Rabba (24:4):

R' Levi said: All goodnesses, blessings, and consolations that HKB"H is destined to give to Israel will only come from Zion.

And indeed, this place is auspicious for salvations and many miracles, as we find in Tehillim that Mt. Zion is auspicious for children, life, and sustenance:

• A blessing for children, as it says (Tehillim 128:5-6): יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה, מִצִּיּוֹן: וּרְאֵה, בְּטוּב יְרוּשָׁלִָם--כֹּל, יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ. וּרְאֵה-בָנִים לְבָנֶיךָ: שָׁלוֹם, עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל. [The LORD bless thee out of Zion; and see thou the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life; And see thy children's children. Peace be upon Israel!]
• A blessing for life, as it says (Tehillim 133:3) כְּטַל-חֶרְמוֹן-- שֶׁיֹּרֵד, עַל-הַרְרֵי צִיּוֹן: כִּי שָׁם צִוָּה יְהוָה, אֶת-הַבְּרָכָה-- חַיִּים, עַד-הָעוֹלָם [Like the dew of Hermon, that cometh down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for ever.]
• A blessing for sustenance, as it says (Tehillim 132:13-15) כִּי-בָחַר יְהוָה בְּצִיּוֹן; אִוָּהּ, לְמוֹשָׁב לוֹ. זֹאת-מְנוּחָתִי עֲדֵי-עַד: פֹּה-אֵשֵׁב, כִּי אִוִּתִיהָ. צֵידָהּ, בָּרֵךְ אֲבָרֵךְ; אֶבְיוֹנֶיהָ, אַשְׂבִּיעַ לָחֶם. [For the LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation: 'This is My resting-place for ever; here will I dwell; for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision; I will give her needy bread in plenty.]

Saying Psalms at this Holy Place is Auspicious for Cutting Off the Kingdom of Apostasy and the Kingdom of Edom that Overpowers Israel at the End of Days

The Maharsha (Sanhedrin 98a) writes on the verse וְכָרַת הַזַּלְזַלִּים בַּמַּזְמֵרוֹת [He will cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks] that by saying Tehillim, we cut off the kingdom of apostasy that overpowers Israel at the End of Days and the kingdom of Edom.  And look there in the continuation of the verses where the verse praises the place of Mt. Zion.

On Mt. Zion, Ru'ah HaKodesh and Prophecy Dwelled on King David to Compose the Psalms

This place was extremely sanctified since there is where our master King David A"H lived most of his days, and there is where the prophecy and Ru'ah HaKodesh dwelled upon him to compose the Psalms.  And from there, the entire House of Israel drew everything their souls needed - spiritually and physically - from the verses of the holy Psalms that the Sweet Singer of Israel sang with his Ru'ah HaKodesh for all of Israel in all generations.  (See the book No'am Elimelech - Likutei Shoshana on the verse "שירו לה' שיר חדש")  And it's easy for the wise to understand the greatness of the Segula of the place for the saying of Tehillim - in the place it was composed.  And especially since according to what the Rishonim wrote (brought down earlier) that in that place where the gravesite is today, it is accepted that there is where David placed the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem and there is where he established that the Levites would sing the Psalms as a preparation for the building of the Beit Hamikdash...

The Holier Something Is, The More Destroyed It Is

However, unfortunately, the famous statement of the Ramban (in his letter printed at the end of his book "Torat Ha'adam") has been fulfilled with us: "The holier something is, the more destroyed it is."  As we really haven't found such a strong aspect of destruction as we do at this holy and exalted place.  As even though many Tzaddikim, supremely holy people with Ru'ah HaKodesh have gone up to this place...

(

• Rishonim:
• Anonymous student of the Ramban
• R' Eshtori Haparhi, a student of the Rosh
• The holy Ari, as brought down in Maharam Hagiz
• The student of the Seer of Lublin - R' Aharon Moshe of Brod ZY"A
• Maharam Galanti ZY"A
• The Ben Ish Hai ZY"A, who established there an awesome and long prayer that starts with the words "Arise up, annointed King David"
• The rabbi of Yerushalayim, Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld ZY"A, who would even send the sick and those who needed salvation to this holy place.
• Rav David Baharan ZY"A, who would come at the beginning of every Zeman - after Sukkot and after Pesah - with his family to say the entire book of Psalms on the holy gravesite.
• Rav Yosef Yitzchak [Shneersohn] of Lubavitch ZY"A, who established there a "Tehillim Group" kollel that remains until today.
• The Minhat Elazar of Munkatch ZY"A who told his associates while he was still on the boat on the way to the Land of Israel:

  If possible, it would be nice to first go to Mt. Zion, the uttermost parts of the north where the graves of the kings of the House of David are buried because 'Who is at the head?  David is at the head' - he is the annointed king, to whom our hearts desire, and it's not proper etiquette to settle our minds from the outside [?] in other holy places before visiting the respectful palaces of the kingdom.

• The Imrei Emet of Ger ZY"A, when in one of his visits to David's Tomb on Mt. Zion, he place a stick in the field close to David's Tomb and said to those accompanying him that here, in this clump of earth, is where the kings' graves are.
• R' Elimelech of Karlin ZY"A and his followers.
• R' Moshe of Lelov ZY"A and all his followers for generations.
• R' Shlomo of Zevil ZY"A and his followers.
• R' Shlomo Mordechai of Boyan ZY"A who would stay there during times of favor, and so would his grandson the Boyaner Rebbe Shlit"a.
• The Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz ZY"A
• The Tolner Rebbe ZY"A
• The Helkat Yehoshua of Biala ZY"A
• R' Yudela of Zhikov ZY"A
• R' Asher Freund ZY"A
• Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef ZY"A
• The kabbalist Rav Yitzhak Kaduri ZY"A
• Mashpi'im and Hasidim of Breslov throughout the generations
• and many other Tzaddikim and Ge'onei Hador in the past and present that due to space constraints, we cannot list. 

), but nevertheless, the hand of the Sitra Ahara has become strong to hide and make the hearts of the myriads of the children of Israel forget about the holy place through various and strange methods - both via the non-Jewish heretical researchers from 100 years ago who brazenly disputed the authenticity of the holy place that has been accepted from countless generations (where the Ga'on Rav Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky Z"L in his book "Ir Hakodesh VehaMikdash" pushed off all the imagined and corrupt claims - see there.  And to us, believers who are children of believers, we have no need for this, for it is enough for us the testimony and reliance of the holy Ariza"l, who, with his Ru'ah HaKodesh, gave approval to this holy place) and especially via the fact that the scoundrel non-Jews come and desecrate it [like it says] בָּאוּ גוֹיִם בְּנַחֲלָתֶךָ-- טִמְּאוּ, אֶת הֵיכַל קָדְשֶׁךָ [the heathen are come into Thine inheritance; they have defiled Thy holy temple] and the city of Zion and palace of David were given over for many years for shame, derision, and trampling under the feet of thousands of non-Jewish tourists, who come up every day like clockwork in the courtyard of the House of Hashem (according to an official direct ruling coming from the Vatican to any Xtian that comes to Yerushalayim must enter that place),  and also, the disgusting houses of worship that surround it - all these contribute to a certain reluctance by people to go to this holy place - totally unjustly and unwisely!

And all this causes the awesomeness and greatness of this holy place to be forgotten from the hearts of the holy nation [and as it says in a dirge for Tikkun Hatzot] "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation from the glorious Zion" Why does no man careth for my soul?

The Sitra Ahara Fights Specifically There Since it is an Auspicious Place to Help in Our Redemption!

The Sitra Ahara fights specifically there to make us forget and to prevent Am Yisrael from coming to this holy place because the power of spiritual impurity [i.e. the Sitra Ahara] knows that in the end, there is where the horn of David - our righteous Mashiah from the seed of King David - will sprout.  And being that this place is auspicious in helping along our Redemption and the redemption of our souls via David, our righteous annointed one, they are doing everything possible in order to prevent this.  And it's known that Haza"l already testified about us (Holy Zohar [Teruma] 175b, Yalkut Shimoni, vol. 2 Remez 106) that Israel didn't go into exile until they despised (G-d forbid) the kingdom of the House of David and Israel will never see a sign of Redemption until they return and request the Kingdom of Hashem and the kingdom of the House of David...

Therefore, prayer at this holy place for the sprouting of Redemption and the lifting of the horn of the kings of the House of David is accepted and works better. And this is like the simple meaning of the verses (Tehillim 132:13-17) כִּי-בָחַר יְהוָה בְּצִיּוֹן; אִוָּהּ, לְמוֹשָׁב לוֹ. ... שָׁם אַצְמִיחַ קֶרֶן לְדָוִד; עָרַכְתִּי נֵר, לִמְשִׁיחִי [For the LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation: ... There will I make a horn to shoot up unto David, there have I ordered a lamp for Mine anointed.]

[To be continued]