Tefillah - 124 Revelation

The Concept of Kisei\Throne

In the end of the blessing ofולירושליםwe ask, וכסא דוד עבדך מהרה לתוכה תכין, “And the throne of Dovid, Your servant, quickly prepare.”

We first ask that Yerushalayim be rebuilt, then we ask that that the Shechinah be returned, and then we ask that the ‘throne of Dovid’ be returned. This needs understanding. What is this extra request that the ‘throne of Dovid’ be returned? Isn’t this part of our request to return Yerushalayim and the Shechinah?

There is a Throne of Hashem, which is called the Kisei HaKavod, the Throne of Glory. There is also a concept of the “throne of David”, and there was also a special throne which King Shlomo, the son of King Dovid, possessed. The throne of Shlomo, as we know, was more prominent than the throne of his father Dovid.

The Sages state that as long as Amalek exists, the Name of Hashem is incomplete, and in addition, the “Throne of Hashem” is incomplete. But what is this concept of the ‘throne’ of Hashem? And what is the throne of Dovid and Shlomo – what is the meaning behind it?

No Revelation Yet: Concealed Completely - Or Covered Over?

Hashem’s Name is either revealed, or His Name is concealed. In Amen Yehai Shemei Rabbah, we declare that Hashem’s Name should be revealed throughout all the realms, so Hashem’s Name can either be concealed or revealed. That is how we simply understand things: since Hashem’s Name is not yet fully revealed, since there is no giluy yet, it must be that we are currently in a situation of he’elam, a concealment of the giluy, therevelation.

But the more subtle understanding is as follows.

There are two different levels of perception we can have: a system of giluy (revelation) vs. he’elam(concealment), and a system of giluy (revelation) vs. kisuy (covering).

The lower level of perception is when we perceive our current situation as being that of he’elam – that because we have no giluy\revelation of Hashem’s Presence, therefore, there is no giluy\revelation at all, which implies that all we find ourselves in is he’elam, a concealment of Hashem’s Presence.

The higher level is when we perceive our situation as that of “kisuy”, a situation in which the revelation of Hashem’s Presence is rather “covered over”, as opposed to being completely concealed from us right now.

It is a higher level when we view the absence of Hashem’s revelation as “covered”, kisuy, rather than he’elam, “concealed.” He’elam, concealment, implies that Hashem’s Name happens to be currently hidden, and that it cannot be revealed at all now, for we are in a situation of he’elam; whether we find ourselves in total he’elam or in partial he’elam. But kisuy implies that although there is not yet giluy of Hashem, that doesn’t mean that there is no giluy at all; rather, the revelation is merely covered over, and it can be quickly removed, like when we remove a covering.

If the perspective is giluy and he’elam, then one perceives the current situation as being far from the giluy. But when the perspective on the current situation is that we are in kisuy and not in he’elam, that means that the revelation of Hashem is really here, and it is just being covered over; the covering can be removed in the blink of an eye, and then we will have all of the giluy a moment later.

The difference between these two perspectives is vast. Hashem’s Name is currently not revealed. What does that mean? Hashem is called a Kel Mistater, a “Hidden G-d”, which implies that Hashem’s reality is hidden from us, concealed, and that we don’t know when we will ever see the revelation. But if we view the current situation as that of kisuy, that the revelation is merely “covered” – not concealed – then that means that in one moment, the covering can be removed and we will have the revelation.

From Our View, and From Hashem’s View

The deeper way to describe this is that there are two views – From Hashem’s view, and from our view.[1]

From Hashem’s View, the absence of His giluy implies kisuy. From our perspective, the lack of giluy implies he’elam, a situation of total hester panim; we are at the end of exile, when the hester panim is more intense than it ever was, and we truly feel that Hashem is hidden from us, for His reality is not revealed to us. From our perspective, we cannot fathom how the situation can change in the blink of an eye.

Logically speaking, it does not make sense that our situation of hester panim can change so quickly and become the giluy of Hashem, which will be the essence of the redemption.

From Hashem’s Perspective, there is kisuy, not he’elam. When you cover matzos on Pesach, which represent the expressions of redemption, you can remove the covering quickly and reveal the matzos – in other words, the redemption can be quickly revealed, as soon as the “covering” is removed.

This is the depth behind the Kisei HaKavod of Hashem. The kisei of Hashem represents the concept of kisuy. Nothing is forgotten by Hashem. It only appears to us that there is no revelation. It appears to us that the glory of Hashem is not revealed. But that is only from our perspective. From Hashem’s perspective, it is only covered over.

The Understanding of ‘Kisei Dovid’

Now we can understand what the Kisei Dovid (Throne of David) is which we ask Hashem to restore.

Dovid HaMelech is called the Melech Malka Meshichah, the king who forebears Moshiach. Dovid HaMelech’s avodah on this world revealed how the absence of giluy on this world is not hestet\he’elam (concealment), rather, a kisuy (a revelation that’s covered over).

Our belief in Moshiach’s arrival is to believe that he will come even when he tarries. Not only must we have emunah in Moshiach’s arrival; even when he tarries, we await his arrival – simply this is because the more we await, the more we will hope; but the deeper meaning to await Moshiach is to realize that he can come quickly, because we are merely within a kisuy, not a he’elam.

This is also the meaning behind the words of מהרה תצמיח which we say in the next blessing of Shemoneh Esrei. How can it be that Moshiach can come in the blink of an eye, when we are in such deep he’elam? But the answer is, the he’elam is all from our limited human perspective. From Hashem’s perspective, there is no he’elam, there is just kisuy.

This is the meaning behind the concept of Kisei Dovid, which represents the Kisei of Hashem (as the Yalkut explains). Shlomo HaMelech’s throne is also called the throne of Hashem. This means that they revealed how this world is not he’elam, but kisei\kisuy. So when we say the words את צמח דוד, we are asking Hashem to prepare the throne of Dovid - because this is part of rebuilding Yerushalayim. We are not just asking that the throne be restored. We are asking that what it represents should be restored. The concept of kisei, a throne, represents how all of Creation is a kisuy that covers over reality.

Awaiting Moshiach: Awaiting The Inner Change

Thus, main aspect of awaiting the redemption is not to await Moshiach and merit all the good things that the prophets spoke of. The purpose of awaiting Moshiach, as our Rabbis wrote, is to await the inner change that will take place with his arrival.

“The light of Hashem will shine forth on Zion” – an inner light will shine onto all souls, and this will bring an inner change to all souls. From that will come Moshiach. But the purpose is not to await for the person that will be Moshiach. The purpose is to await the change he will bring to every soul. It will change each person into a new person – like how a baal teshuvah is a new being, as the Rambam writes.

If someone is awaiting for Moshiach because he wants a certain tzaddik in the generation to come save Klal Yisrael – this is such katnus hadaas (an immature perspective)! Of course, it is true, that Moshiach will be a tzaddik who will redeem us. But it is not the reason to await his arrival.

The reason to await Moshiach is to await the spiritual changes he will bring to us: romemus (an uplifting) to our daas, an uplifting to our middos, and uplifting to all souls. From that exultation we will feel – that will be the actual revelation of Moshiach.

Remembering The Goal of Our Life

These words are about the general concept of the redemption, in which a change will come to all souls, but it especially applies to what we are discussing here.

We were are all created for one thing – to recognize that Hashem is King over above and below, and that there is nothing besides Him; the purpose of Creation is to come to know only of Him, to feel Him and recognize Him, until this knowledge fills all 248 limbs and 365 sinews of our body.

All of Creation has only one goal: to recognize Hashem. “Hashem increased Torah and mitzvos” in order to merit Klal Yisrael – why? So that we will use the great merits of Torah and mitzvos in order to come to the goal, which is to recognize Hashem.

But we have to make sure that we’re not getting caught up in the Torah and mitzvos and forgetting about the goal. Often a person is very involved in Torah and mitzvos, but he misses the goal of Torah and mitzvos, which is to come to recognize Hashem. The tools we have to get to the goal are Torah and mitzvos, but we must be aware that they are a tool, and not the goal.

Thus, a person really needs to review what the goal of Creation is (to come to fully recognize Hashem) again and again – hundreds of times, thousands of times, hundreds of thousands of time – without exaggeration!

If someone thinks this an exaggeration, he doesn’t realize what the depth of our life is about. Our soul has to be permanently attached to what the goal is. We must have an inner perspective on Creation: there is only one goal we have – that all of Creation only exists in order to recognize the full reality of Hashem.

But when we look at reality in front of us, we see the opposite of all this. There are 49 Gates of Impurity that were created, and in the final generations, the impurity is at its height. Even someone in the Torah world, who learns Torah and does all the mitzvos, might have Torah and mitzvos, but he can be missing the goal of all this.

This reflects what is written, “Those who grasp Torah do not know Me”, and people feel that Hashem is just a Keil Mistater, a hidden G-d.

There is a lot of Torah and mitzvos in Klal Yisrael. But the attitude amongst most people towards the reality of Hashem is, that He is a ‘Keil Mistater’ – a ‘hidden’ G-d. Indeed, the initial perspective of our soul is that we see the absence of giluy on this world as being he’elam, a concealment of Hashem’s Presence.

But when we look deeper, we can realize the depth of what is written, “My soul is close to her redemption.” The Rabbis wrote, based on this verse, that there is a private redemption which each Jewish soul can experience, besides for the general redemption that will come to the masses, even if he never experiences the general redemption. In order to reach the private redemption in one’s soul, a person needs to come out of the perspective of he’elam and instead understand that the redemption is just “covered over” - not concealed.

“In The Blink of An Eye”

All the he’elam we see in front of us can change “in the blink of an eye”, whenever Hashem wills it, and every soul will instantly change his will and seek the truth, and only seek Hashem.

If someone has no aspiration to search for truth, though, he won’t merit this. But if someone does seek truth, and he’s just confused, he will be able to merit the redemption in one moment, as soon as Hashem wills it. And if Hashem wants, even someone who doesn’t seek truth will also merit a change to his inner will.

‘He’elam’ Vs.’ Kisuy’ (‘Covered’ Vs. ‘Concealed’)

The change will not be a change of he’elamto giluy (revelation), but rather a change from kisuyto giluy.

When a person purifies himself and he connects himself in dveykus to Hashem, to the essence of his heart, which is the reality of Hashem – and the Chazon Ish wrote that this is a constant feeling one can feel once he merits it - the ‘orlas halev’ (blockage on the heart) from him will be removed, the kisuy will be removed; in one moment, the soul will be able to fully recognize the reality of Hashem.

It means for a person to leave his intellectual perspective, in which he sees the situation as being ‘he’elam’ over the giluy, and enter the soul’s perspective, which sees the situation as a ‘kisuy’ over the giluy.

Believing In The Redemption

When a person lets this perspective penetrate – the inner understanding behind the concept behind Divine Providence – he can feel, in the depths of his heart, that Hashem will be able to change everything in one moment, and all of Creation will seek Him; we will all tremble from the falsity of this world and instead see the truth. All souls will then run after Hashem. Nothing else will have to happen. No major action or idea is needed. Hashem can make all the necessary changes in the blink of an eye.

This deep fact is not another intellectual piece of knowledge. It is a deep perspective on Creation, a realization our soul can feel when this knowledge penetrates, that Hashem can bring the salvation we need - and in the blink of an eye. When it penetrates, a person will truly feel how Hashem watches over us always, as it is written, “Behold, He stands behind our walls, an onlooker from a window, from a crack in the wall”.

This is not just another part of our emunah in Hashem. It is a power in our soul to recognize that the situation we are in is like a passing dream, and in one moment, we can get up from this nightmare we are in and wake up to the real reality – the revelation of the purpose of Creation.

When these words penetrate deeply into us, we will be able to feel how all of the world can change in an instant from all its impurity it is in, as soon as Hashem wills to bring us the salvation.

Just saying “Ani Maamin” every day, without living those beliefs that we say, won’t do much for us. We will feel like everything is just he’elam and feel hopelessly far from salvation. But when we realize that the situation is kisuy, not he’elam, then our soul itself will be a lot closer to the giluy. When our soul recognizes this and feels this, it can then apply to that soul, “My soul is close to her redemption.”

Beginning Your Own Redemption

The words here contain much subtlety, but they describe a perspective which can totally change how you view life and it can bring one a lot closer to the light of the redemption.

We do not yet have the actual revelation of Moshiach ben Dovid. But our Rabbis wrote that the closer we are to his arrival, the more the light of the redemption shines, and it becomes easier for us to leave the perspective of “he’elam” and enter the perspective of “kisuy”.  It is actually a part of the redemption process.

In Conclusion

וכסא דוד עבדך מהרה לתוכה תכין- When we ask that the Kisei Dovid be quickly prepared, we are not just asking for that in the simple sense. We are asking for something deeper – that our perspective should change, that the perspective of Kisei\Kisuy be revealed.

That is also why we ask that it come “quickly” - because it is really a request that this full revelation of Hashem come quickly.