"and all the people saw"

(Leviticus 9:24) Adar II 22, 5776/April 1, 2016 "And Moshe and Aharon went into the Tent of Meeting. Then they came out and blessed the people, and the glory of HaShem appeared to all the people. And fire went forth from before HaShem and consumed the burnt offering and the fats upon the altar, and all the people saw, sang praises, and fell upon their faces." (Leviticus 9:23-24) The matter-of-fact manner in which Torah lists these actions and reactions is in direct contrast to the seminal importance of this moment in the history of creation and in the ongoing relationship between man and G-d . Two unprecedented phenomena are taking place here: G-d is fulfilling His promise that"they shall build for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell among them," and Israel, united and acting in unison, is reciprocating in kind. The glory of HaShem, His Divine Presence, the Holy Shechina makes itself manifest before Israel and Israel sees G-d's glory, sing G-d's praise and the people throw themselves face down in total love and joy, basking in the sublime goodness of G-d's nearness. A moment before G-d's glory appeared and fire went forth from before HaShem, there seemed to have been some doubt that it would ever happen. We are told that "Aharon lifted up his hands towards the people and blessed them" (ibid 9:22) and then we are told that "Moshe and Aharon went into the Tent of Meeting. Then they came out and blessed the people." (ibid 9:23) Our sages are troubled by the brothers' inexplicable entry into the Tent of Meeting and their 'repeat blessing' of the people after they reemerge. Why didn't "fire go forth from before HaShem" immediately after Aharon's initial blessing? Were Moshe and Aharon frantically trying to 'jump start' the process? Were they experiencing a moment of doubt? And just moments later, a moment after "the people saw, sang praises, and fell upon their faces," Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, took their fire pans, and, entirely on their own initiative, brought a non-commanded, "foreign fire" before HaSHem, precipitating their tragic demise. (ibid 10:1) Sandwiched between an anxious moment of uncertainty and a tragic moment of unchecked self confidence, this short-lived instant in which G-d's Presence and man's uninhibited gratitude met and danced together in perfect harmony in a glory-filled sun-drench spring day, the first day of the month of Nisan, the first of the Hebrew months, one year precisely to the day that G-d first gave Israel instructions to prepare to exit Egypt, to "follow after Me in the desert, in a land not sown," (Jeremiah 2:2) is nevertheless the moment to keep our eye on. It is the Song of Songs, the Holy of Holies, the Moment of Moments. It is the moment that we must always aspire to and the moment whose perfect truth belies the seemingly overwhelming weight and gravity of the moments that preceded and followed it. To be sure, there are life-lessons to be learned from Moshe and Aharon's tireless preparations which led up to this perfect moment and there are volumes of lessons to be taken away from the well intended but fatally flawed actions of Nadav and Avihu, which drew the curtain on this perfect moment. But the greatest lesson to be gained from the series of events described in these few verses is that despite man's myriad flaws and follies, we can, and must, at any given moment, open our eyes to see, and raise our voices to praise, and lower ourselves in total and complete love and acknowledgement of G-d's all embracing Presence. Even if it lasts but a moment, it lasts an eternity. The perfection of the moment outlives all other moments. Man seems to be eternally plagued by the twin foibles of self doubt and self importance. From the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, to the making of the Golden Calf, man sets his own traps and falls victim to his own follies. But man's persistent humanity does not preclude his ability to rise above his own imperfections, to remove the blinders from his eyes and fill his lungs with song and praise for G-d . Indeed, man's humanity is the very source of his superhuman ability to transcend his imperfections and behold the beauty of G-d's Presence in His world, unhindered and uncompromised. This is the Holy Temple moment. That is, this moment when "the glory of HaShem appeared to all the people... and all the people saw, sang praises, and fell upon their faces," is the moment that the Holy Temple and the Divine service is made for, is intended to enable and inspire, day after day, the perfect instant in time when man and G-d embrace in the sublime simplicity of love and gratitude, of elevating song, when voices are lifted in praise and eyes cast down in humble respect and gratitude. The Holy Temple moment!

-The Temple Institute