Thread by @JoshuaCypess

1/ After the destruction of the second Temple, Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakkai (Ribaz) innovated the culture-saving concept that Torah could take the place of the sacred space & sacrifices

Every place could be made holy, through Torah

It's kept my people & culture intact for 2000 yrs

2/ The building - as depicted in many a midrash - became a husk of wood & stone. The kedusha went to every space dedicated to Torah

Possibly it's based on Avot 1:2: the 3 pillars of Torah, Avoda & Ma'asim Tovim are equals (sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.1.…)

3/ Many aggadic statements support the idea that Torah study is equal to all the commandments, again possibly b/c of Ribaz's innovation

The #CovidCrisis is an unprecedented halakhic period similar to what Ribaz faced, where sacred space needs to be translated & shifted

4/ The gemara emphasizes that once the Temple is permanently inaccessible, we are given substitutes: sometimes tuma hutra b'tzibura, but since 70CE we've used our prayer & our 'dalet amot' of Torah

In 2020, those 4 cubits are literal

But halakha is prepared for this

5/ This is where a Soloveitchik 'Halakhic Man' perspective helps. I'm a Litvak so maybe it comes naturally, but spirituality to me is halakha

If we're patur from shul then our loss of the physical structure & absence of community fellowship is offset by the heft of halakha

6/ It's ironic that the mystical glorification of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai (& weird association w/Lag B'omer, see seforimblog.com/2011/05/printi…) during the Omer, esp. this year: here's a man who spent 13 yrs w/o a minyan or Beit Midrash

But I've seen many mystics falter in this crisis

7/ Mysticism has the power to imbue the mundane with sanctity but is almost entirely limited to physicality, ritual, words said w/o comprehension. Objects.

Feels a little to much like the 2nd Commandment to me

But Ribaz & Rashbi are sources for us in this crisis

I'll use them