And “Shalom” – “Behold, so the man shall be blessed who fears God: May God bless you from Zion, and may you see the goodness of Jerusalem all the days of your life, and may you see your children’s children – peace upon Israel.”
6. Jerusalem – Refinement of intellectual concepts and perfection of character traits
The Meshekh Chokhma, in his commentary on the Akeida (Bereishit 22:14), explains the Midrash Chazal and the name “Jerusalem” in an entirely different way:
Shem lived in the generation of the Flood; he was in the ark, and he fed and sustained all the creatures that were there in the ark – the main purpose being to correct the traits and actions that were corrupt, for “all flesh had corrupted its way” (6:12), “the land was filled with violence” (6:13), and his whole challenge was to repair the traits and characteristics of all the creatures. And this is the meaning of “Shalem” – which indicates that all of humankind is one person, and every individual is one organ in the collective man, and each needs the other, each influences and is influenced by the other, and all of them together maintain the existence of humankind and its eternity. But Avraham inquired deeply into wisdom, and studied all the ways of those who are mistaken, and argued with them, and concluded through his intelligence that there is One God Who watches over everything, and Who never conveyed His supervision to the heavenly bodies, as the idolators believe… and this is the meaning of the words, “Of which it is said this day, ‘on the mountain that God will choose'” – i.e., that God’s Divinity will be revealed when all flesh sees the glory of God through private miracles. AND BEHOLD, JERUSALEM IS BUILT ON BOTH OF THESE THINGS; I.E., TO REFINE THE CONCEPTS, WHICH EXIST ESSENTIALLY IN THE MIND, AND TO REPAIR AND BEAUTIFY THE CHARACTER TRAITS, WHICH EXIST ESSENTIALLY IN THE HEART. And this is reflected in the teaching of the Sages (Berakhot 8,1): “A person should always enter [the distance of] two entrances, and [only] then pray” – this refers to the mind and the heart. Therefore Jerusalem is “the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth” (Eikha 2:15); “there the tribes (the tribes of God) went up, to praise God’s Name” (Tehillim 122:4), for both the traits and the intellectual concepts are refined and purified in Jerusalem. AND THEREFORE IT IS CALLED “YERUSHALAYIM” – FOR BOTH OF THESE ACTIONS.”
The Meshekh Chokhma, who views the reality of Jerusalem as one of complete perfection, explains the Midrash as clarifying the perfection and wholeness of Jerusalem as the perfection of both the heart and the mind – both character traits and intellectual principles and concepts.
Shem, son of Noach, is identified by Chazal as Malki-Tzedek, King of Shalem. Shem’s mission in the ark was to repair the corruption of character that brought about the Flood, and hence we learn that his primary trait is the aspiration towards the perfection of character.
Avraham investigated and clarified – intellectually – the truth of faith and Divine Providence by disproving the words of the pagans.
Shem is essentially involved in repair of the heart; Avraham is essentially involved in repair of the mind, the intellect.
The tikkun that is achieved in Jerusalem is the unification of “refinement of intellectually concepts, which exist essentially in the mind, and perfection of character traits, which exist essentially in the heart.” It is in allusion to these two aspects of perfection that Jerusalem is given its name.
7. Jerusalem and the Temple
