Pesukei DeZimra and Kohen's entering the Beit Hamikdash

This is from the Praying with Passion Series (#27).
I excerpted this from an email discussing the Pesukei DeZimra prayers and how they compare to steps in entering the Beit Hamikdash.


Theme: (An essential concept of the prayer):


The Next Level Of Holiness


Pesukei D’Zimrah, which are recited in preparation for Shemoneh Esrei, carry us to a higher level of holiness in our prayers. This ascent mirrors the progress from the outer courtyards of the Beis HaMikdash into the Holy of Holies.




Insight : (Deeper meanings of the theme):

Step By Step To The Top

When a Kohein entered the Holy Temple, he could not go straight into the Holy of Holies. First, he had to enter the Har HaBayis, then the Azarah, and then the Haichal. Only then could he enter the Holy of Holies. Similarly, one cannot enter directly into Shemoneh Esrei, the pinnacle of prayer, which is compared to the Holy of Holies. Rather, there are steps leading to Shemoneh Esrei, which ascend to higher and higher levels, like a pyramid (Nefesh Shimshon, Pages 36-42).

First, on awakening, we express gratitude to Hashem that He restored our faculties (Modeh Ani). Then we ascend the first step, reciting Birchos HaShachar, which is comparable to entering the Har HaBayis – the area outside the holiest section of the Beis HaMikdash. At this first level of holiness, we recite blessings upon the most mundane of our day’s activities – getting up, getting dressed, putting on shoes and so forth, elevating each by recognizing them each day as a new gift from G-d.
Pesukei D’Zimrah is the second step, comparable to entering the Azara. This is the area which begins the Camp of the Shechinah. It is the place to which some of the sacrifices were brought, and it was invested with a higher level of holiness than the Har HaBayis. In a similar way, Pesukei D’Zimrah are intended to reveal the light of Hashem’s presence by praising Him for the natural bounty He bestows on us, enabling us to serve Him (Derech Hashem, Volume 4, Chapter 6, Os 10).

Krias Shema and its berachos, in which one accepts the yoke of Heaven, is the third step. That is where a person comes to the recognition that Hashem is One; that He created the world and He controls it on a daily basis. This compares to the holiness of the Haichal.

The highest step on the ladder is when one recites Shemoneh Esrei, which is compared to entering the Holy of Holies. As Shulchan Aruch (Siman 98, Se’if 1) states: “(One) should regard it as if the Shechinah (Divine Presence) is before him…and…as if he was speaking before a human king, and (he) would then arrange his words and concentrate on them so that he would not stumble or fail. How much more so, before the King of kings who explores all thoughts and intentions.”




Visualize : (Images that bring the prayer to life):

Coming Clean

The peasant arrives at the palace. The guard lets him in, for this king is eager and willing to meet his subjects. However, after the peasant’s long trek, he is covered with dirt. His rough, patched clothing is caked with mud. His matted hair bears witness to days of travel on dusty roads. Not only does he look utterly unprepared for an audience with the king, but he feels unprepared as well.

Fortunately, the guard does not bring him directly to the throne room. First, he sends him for a bath and a haircut. Then, he issues him a fresh, clean suit of clothing. The peasant feels clean, pure and unencumbered by the dirt that had clung to him. He knows that now, he will be pleasing in the king’s eyes, and his petition will be well received.

As we make our way through life each day, the forces of impurity in our world inevitably cling to us. As we recite Pesukei D’Zimrah, they are bathed away. We emerge fresh, clothed in our renewed gratitude toward G-d for the wondrous world He has given us, and ready to come closer to His presence.

As you begin to recite Pesukei D’Zimrah, visualize yourself finishing the first step of entry towards the Holy of Holies, the ‘Har HaBayis’, ascending to the next level of holiness, the ‘Azarah’.

Exciting Har HaBayit - Temple Mount Development: Jews Pray Unharassed!

From Arutz 7 today:

6. Excitement on Temple Mount as Rabbi Prostrates Himself
by Gil Ronen

A large group of hareidi-religious Jews ascended the Temple Mount Tuesday and received friendly service from the police there – unlike the harsh police treatment that Jews typically receive on the Mount in recent years. One of the Jews was even allowed to fully prostrate himself in prayer, facing in the direction of the location of the ancient Temple – which is now occupied by a Muslim mosque.

Unlike previous Jewish ascensions to the Mount in the recent past, and in contrast to this group's last ascension on Passover, in which their entry to the Mount was blocked, police on the Mount were courteous and friendly. The group was allowed in promptly upon arrival and without delays. They were gripped by excitement when one of the rabbis prostrated himself facing the presumed location of the Temple's Holy of Holies in ancient times. Police allowed this religious act as well.

Jews are usually forbidden from openly praying or even mumbling prayers on the Mount, as part of an Israeli policy of complying with Muslim Wakf's demands in this matter. It is not completely clear whether the friendly police attitude Tuesday was a fluke or a sign of changing attitudes.

Temple Mount activist Yosef Rabin told Arutz Sheva that the event is a significant one. “There has been a long running effort to bring hareidim to the Mount and now it is starting to take root,” he said.

Rabin noted that ever since the liberation of the Mount in 1967, hareidi-religious Jews have usually preferred to avoid ascending it, and that the ones who went up to the holy site were Jews of the national-religious ilk. However, he said, “the image of the type of people that go to the Mount is starting to crack. It seems that everyone has followed the hareidi lead when it comes to Har HaBayit [Temple Mount], and now that hareidim are starting to go, we might start seeing a tremendous wave of all types.” Most of the renowned hareidi rabbis are against going up on the mountain, as was Rav Avraham Shapira zt"l of the zionist flagship Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, for fear of treading in places that are forbidden.

The group of Jews was led by Rabbi Yitzchak Brand of the city of Emanuel and Rabbi Yisrael Ariel of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. The rabbis say they intend to bring ever-larger groups of Jews to the Mount with the purpose of eventually holding a Passover sacrifice there.

In ancient times, Jews who ascended the Mount fully prostrated themselves as part of the prayers there. The regular Jewish prayer services in synagogues include several instances of bowing in the direction of the synagogue's Torah Ark, and partial prostration is carried out on some holidays.