Today is Yom Yerushalayim where we celebrate the unification of Jerusalem and the miracles of the Six Day War. Following the War of Independence in 1948 when the Arab countries surrounding Israel rejected the partition plan and sought to annihilate the 600,000 Jewish residents of the new State, the Jewish people won a resounding victory, but Jordan took possession of the Old City of Jerusalem. Those who had been living in the Old City, lost their homes. Synagogues and Yeshivot were destroyed and the area around the Wall was stripped of Jews who had been living there for decades and centuries. We could no longer worship at the Kotel.

19 years later the voice of Motta Gur, commander of the paratrooper’s brigade, rings in our ears and we can all hear his historical announcement: “Har Ha-bayit be-yadeinu!” “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” ... It is this we celebrate with Hallel and praise for Hashem’s miracles.

We read each day in the Amida:

תִּשְׁכּוֹן בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלַֽיִם עִֽירְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ, וְכִסֵּא דָוִד עַבְדְּךָ מְהֵרָה בְּתוֹכָהּ תָּכִין, וּבְנֵה אוֹתָהּ בִּנְיַן עוֹלָם בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵֽינוּ

Dwell within Jerusalem Your city, as You spoke about, & the throne of David, Your servant, speedily prepare it within it, & build it an eternal structure speedily in our days.

We mention the throne of David. Some compare the throne below with the throne above and just as we long for the throne below to be re-established, we realize that in some ways, the throne above is not whole.

We read each Friday morning, Friday afternoon, evening and Shabbat:

נָכ֣וֹן כִּסְאֲךָ֣ מֵאָ֑ז מֵעוֹלָ֣ם אָֽתָּה׃

Your throne stands firm from of old; from eternity You have existed. Again the throne!

When Amalek attacks Benai Yisrael after leaving Egypt, Moshe sends Joshua to fight them. It is there we are commanded never to forget what Amalek does and Moses builds an alter and says

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־יָד֙ עַל־כֵּ֣ס כַּהּ מִלְחָמָ֥ה לַהֹ’ בַּֽעֲמָלֵ֑ק מִדֹּ֖ר דֹּֽר׃

He said, “It means, ‘Hand upon the throne of Hashem, Hashem will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”

Rashi asks: And what is the force of כס — why does it not say as usual (throne or chair) כסא? And the Divine Name, also, is divided into half (Kah is only the half of the Tetragrammaton)! The Holy One, blessed be He, swears that His Name will not be perfect nor His throne perfect until the name of Amalek be entirely blotted out.

And I would venture to put forward based on this that Amalek and the establishment and rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple are diametrically opposed.

Although Jerusalem is mentioned in Tanach in some way between 700 and 800 times, it is not mentioned at all in the Torah itself.

We do have a verse in Devarim which states:

כִּ֠י אִֽם־אֶל־הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר הֹ

but look only to the site that Hashem will choose amidst all your tribes as Hashem’s habitation, to establish the divine name there.

There you are to go, Rabbeynu Bachya writes: The place in question is Mount Moriah; it is well known among the Goyim. They know of its spiritual advantages through tradition. There is no need to mention this location by name. The people all had a tradition that this was where their ancestor Yitzchak had lain bound on the altar. Maimonides writes in his Moreh Nevuchim (3,45) that there were three reasons why the location of the future Temple was not spelled out at this point.

1) If the nations of the world had known that in that location prayers are answered positively by G’d and sacrifices are welcome to Him, every nation would have made a supreme effort to take possession of that site. This would have resulted in untold slaughter among the nations and ongoing strife among them.

2) If the Canaanites who dwelled in the land at the time Moses spoke these words had heard of them and they had realized that the Israelites would dispossess them and take over that site they would have utterly destroyed it before the Jewish people had a chance to conquer it.

3) Even the tribes of the Israelites would have argued among themselves in whose territory this site, would be located at the time the land was distributed among the tribes. Such a division among the people would have been even worse than the rebellion of Korach when the people were not prepared to recognize the preferred hereditary status of the Priests.

For all these reasons Moses preferred not to spell out the exact location of where the Temple would be built in the future. If even the Jews did not know the location, it is clear that the Gentiles did not know it either. Although everyone knew of the significance of Mount Moriah in the past, they had no idea of what this meant in terms of its future religious significance, in terms of the place G’d would choose.

We know that even King David did not know that Har HoMoriah was the mount to build the Temple on. He originally selected the tallest mountain in Yehuda and only after learning in detail with Samuel the prophet, did they ascertain that the choice from the sacrifice was the shoulder and thus chose the second highest spot.

If I have not lost you yet, a couple of more facts and then, let’s try to put the pieces together.

Rabbi Ari Kahn writes: The Shulchan Aruch, section 580, reports that on the 28th day of the month of Iyar a fast day is observed, marking the anniversary of the death of Shmuel HaNavi (Samuel the Prophet). In antiquity this day was widely celebrated.

The Radbaz teaches that the tomb of Shmuel HaNavi was a site of pilgrimage. People would take their young sons and travel to the burial place of Shmuel to cut the child's hair for the first time. When it became dangerous to travel to Jerusalem, the custom evolved to travel to meron on the 18th of Iyar and thus we have the custom to go on Lab LaOmer to the Kever of Rashbi (as cutting hair on Lag makes no sense to Sephardim who don’t cut until the 34th).

Still we see that the 28th day of Iyar was, in antiquity, a day of pilgrimage as well as the yearly remembrance of Shmuel HaNavi. On that day, of all the days in the calendar, Jerusalem was the destination. We might even venture to say that the power of the prayers uttered all those years ago on this day by the pilgrims at the end of their arduous journey contributed to Jerusalem's liberation on the very same date, causing it to once again become the day when people venture up to Jerusalem.

But something else occurred on the 28th of Iyar. According to Seder HaOlam. The battle with Amalek took place on the 28th of Iyar.

Rabbi Kahn explains: This association allows us a deeper appreciation of the date and its significance. The battle with Amalek is the archetypical struggle between holiness and depravity. This struggle defines the essence of the 28th of Iyar. It is its nature, its character, its 'personality'. The victory of holiness over depravity was achieved when the prayers of Moshe and the nation were answered. When the Beit Hamikdash was eventually constructed on the holy mountain, symbolizing the possibility of human connection with God and holiness.

On the 28th of Iyar, Amalek tries to destroy the throne. It is up to us to rebuild it. Samuel is born on the 28th. He anoints Saul whose task is to destroy Amalek. Saul fails.

Samuel then anoints David. Together they discern that the place of the Temple to establish the throne on earth corresponding to the throne above is Jerusalem.

Thus, Samuel in anointing the Davidic dynasty through Mashiach and in establishing the “place” as Jerusalem is forever associated with the City. Perhaps in his merit (as he is noted as in a way equal to Moses and Aaron) miraculous victory and celebration came on the 28th of Iyar in our lifetimes.

But I cannot help but think. Did we in 1967 make the same mistake as Saul? Har HaBayit BeYadeynu. And the Mashicach was riding in on his white donkey as Rabbi Abittan would explain. In Jerusalem a banner was unfurled. As they unrolled it we read. Yisral – Israel, a bit more Boteach – puts its faith and trust and then the final word which should have said Hashem read Sahal – the army. We handed the keys to Har HaBayit (and Maarat HaMachpelah) back and Mashiach turned around.

Still though today is a day of tremendous celebration and joy. The geulah begins step by step. We are experiencing it. But we must remember the geulah does not come on its own. The Mikdash does not fall from the sky on its own. Mashiach does not ride in on his own. It is up to each of us to contribute a spiritual brick. To learn, to teach, to watch, to do and to fulfil that which we are asked to and volunteered to do.

In the Omer we are at the day of Chesed shel Malchut, the Kindness of Kingdom. The first step towards reestablishing Hashem’s Kingdom on Earth. And as we arrive at Shavuot at the end of the week, the date of Matan Torah and the birth of King David, let us pray together and see fulfilled BimHerah Beyameynu the words we utter each morning:

תִּשְׁכּוֹן בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלַֽיִם עִֽירְךָ

Dwell within Jerusalem Your city, as You spoke about, & the throne of David, Your servant, speedily prepare it within it, & build it an eternal structure speedily in our days.

Amen