114. Reb Baruch's Astonishment

Reb Baruch of Mezhibuzh wept over just a few lines in the siddur. So when his chassidim showed him an entire sefer on korbanos, he was stunned. How can you write calmly about something we no longer have? When Torah isn’t history—but heartbreak—you feel the loss. Do we?

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The חסידים of רבי ברוך of Mezhibuzh were very excited to present before their רבי a new ספר, a new book that just come out. The book was called מים קדושים, holy water. And it was a book describing the purification process which would take place in the times of the holy temple. And רבי ברוך was very surprised that such a book could even exist.

They didn't understand why he was so shocked. So רבי ברוך told his חסידים, you don't understand. In the סידור, in the prayer book when we get to the words איזהו מקומן של זבחים, when we just speak about the physical location of where sacrifices were brought, I can't continue praying. I start bawling and crying when I live the words איזהו מקומן של זבחים, where is the exact space that I begin to visualize and feel in my heart a place that doesn't exist today.

He didn't understand how the author was able to write a whole book about the process of something that doesn't happen today, doesn't happen yet. You see friends, when we learn about history, history doesn't have to carve a hole in our heart when it's just information that's not so relevant to our state of being today. But when we read about what once was, it's not a history lecture. It's describing something that doesn't exist today which prevents us from really being ourselves to the fullest.