Worth Waiting 

The Gemara (Shabbos 31a) tells us that when one’s soul arrives before the Heavenly court, it will be asked six questions, one of which is “Tzipisa l’yeshuah?” Did you yearn for the final Geulah?

Although Tzipisa l’yeshuah doesn’t appear as an explicit commandment in the Torah, our chachamim teach that it’s a pursuit afforded tremendous significance. Great tzaddikim excelled in living with this ideal. Although this may seem like a difficult level to attain, let us try to bring it within reach.

Tzipiyah l’yeshuah is ever relevant, but we can identify specific junctures in time when it becomes a particularly poignant focus.

1

Each day in davening, we offer multiple supplications for the Geulah. Perhaps the most explicit are the brachos in Shemoneh Esreh of “Binyan Yerushalayim,” followed by “Malchus Beis Dovid.” In the former brachah, starting with “V’liYerushalayim ircha,” we beseech Hashem for the restoration of “Kisei Dovid, the Throne of Dovid.” The Arizal (Shaar Hakavanos) explains that this refers to Mashiach ben Yosef, whose arrival predates and lays the foundation for Mashiach ben Dovid. Thus, he is referred to as the “Throne of Dovid”; just as a throne serves as a base from which the king’s glory can emanate, so, too, Mashiach ben Yosef sets the stage for the magnificence and grandeur of Mashiach ben Dovid.

Following this brachah, we move on to “Es tzemach Dovid,” which is a direct request for Mashiach ben Dovid. There, we say “ki lishuas’cha kivinu kol hayom — for Your salvation we yearn all day.” While saying these words, says the Arizal, we should focus on truly yearning for the Geulah.

2

One of the most beautiful tefillos in our liturgy is the Lecha Dodi that we sing on Friday nights, authored by Rav Shlomo Alkabetz. But if one takes a close look at the words, he’ll notice something curious. Out of the nine stanzas, only three (the first two and the last) refer to Shabbos. The other six are all expressions of yearning for Yerushalayim and the Beis Hamikdash. Why do we express such longing for the Beis Hamikdash at the onset of Shabbos?

Rav Moshe Shapira explains this based on the Gemara in Taanis (30b) that teaches that both Batei Mikdash were destroyed on Motzaei Shabbos. The depth behind this, says Rav Shapira, is that if the Churban Beis Hamikdash is only possible when moving away from Shabbos, then so long as we’re moving toward Shabbos, there’s no possibility for churban.