Our Sages said: Any person that the Beis Hamikdash was not rebuilt “B’Yamav, in his days,” it is as if it was destroyed B’Yamav, in his days! This is a bewildering statement! Are we to understand about our greatest Tzaddikim, the Ta’naim who authored the Mishna, the Amora’im who authored the Gemara or Rash”I and the Ramba”m that they share in the blame of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash?!
We pray 3 times a day, “U’vnei Osa B’karov V”yameinu, and build it (the Beis Hamikdash) speedily in our days…” yet we have yet to witness the rebuilding of the Holy Temple. Can it be that all these Tefillos were said in vain?
Rabbi Shmuel Brazil, Rosh Yeshiva of Zeev Hatorah explains: there is another way to understand the words of our Sages. When a person devotes his days and his life to serving Hashem and strives to bring Hashem’s Shechinah in to his life, he is actively engaged and occupied in rebuilding the Beis Hamikdash! When Klal Yisrael accumulate enough merit, the Beish Hamikdash which is a composite of the spiritual labor of B’nei Yisrael, will descend from heaven.
Thus the reading of the above statement is not to be understood as B’Yamav in his days. Rather B”Yamav with his days which means the spiritual efforts to which a person devoted his days. It follows that regardless of whether a person merits the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash in his lifetime, if he devotes his days to serving Hashem, the Beis Hamikdash is indeed built with his days. If one uses his days frivolously, it is considered as if the Beis Hamikdash is destroyed with his days.
With this principle we can also understand that what we pray for is to merit the Beis Hamikdash restored with our days which is surely not a prayer in vain rather a fervent wish for the assistance to be able to use our days wisely to achieve spiritual gain.
In these days when we mourn the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, let us understand that the more one mourns over what we lost and yearns for Redemption and to openly see and feel Hashem in our lives, the more he will merit to see the Redemption, As Chaza”l say, anyone who mourns over Yerushalayim will merit to see her (Yerushalayim) in her rejoicing!

By Rabbi Sharaga Thav
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