“Who is like Israel, one nation in the Land.” In our beautiful oneness, we bring Hashem’s presence into this world, and we elevate the entire world.  Every person, every stone is elevated to an exalted state of harmony, exuding and revealing the deepest spirituality in everything – the Godliness in everything.  The Beis HaMikdash was our central place, the place where Hashem’s presence was a simple and revealed reality, felt by everyone who saw it.  It was the place where we went as a nation to be one, to emulate the One, and connect the entire creation with the One, with Hashem. 

Two thousand years of exile have accustomed us to live in a state that is the exact opposite of our nature, separate from each other, from our land, from this reality. In these difficult times, we need ways to lift ourselves up, out of the individual lives we all live, and to remember what it is to be “One nation in the Land.” We need to remember that there is a revelation of the Beis HaMikdash within each Jew. We are one close family, with purity and holiness in all its ways, all its words, and all its intentions.

The Piasetzna Rebbe teaches that song is one of the “keys to the soul.”  It has the power to bring out our hidden souls.  Once our souls are revealed, we have to take their expressions and direct them toward our great spiritual goals – ultimately, toward the Geula. We are sending these songs out to you, our people, as little soul keys, with hopes to unlock and awaken our souls. We need to focus again on our deep true nature and remember the Beis HaMikdash and yearn for it with all of our hearts.

The tzadikim teach that in our generation, the greatest test is not to have yeush (despair). It’s been so long since we have had any taste of the wondrous revelation of the Shechina in the world, so long since we’ve felt completely one as a nation, so long since we’ve seen Hashem’s Mikdash with our eyes, that it can feel like we will never have those things again, chas v’shalom.

The Baal Shem Tov Hakadosh taught that wherever a person’s thoughts are, that is where he himself is entirely. So, my friends, we have to know that longing and yearning and pining for these things is what brings them; “The generation that longs for and anticipates My reign, will be redeemed right away.” And that is why we called this music “Tzipia” (anticipation, longing). By remembering and longing for the Beis HaMikdash – that special and unique place that returns us to our true selves and to Hashem – we can bring ourselves to it. We have to strengthen ourselves and each other, and focus all our energy on trying to raise ourselves up in every way, to arouse a great desire for the Geulah, and long for it and anticipate it, this is the secret to its arrival.  We have to awaken our true slumbering selves. May it be Hashem’s will that they open our hearts and strengthen us, and help bring us closer to the complete Geulah.