The sweeping array of redemptive central blessings in the weekday Amidah leads directly to Zion. The dramatic final crescendo concludes with these words: “May our eyes behold Yor return to Zion in mercy. Blessed are You, Lord, Who returns His Presence (His Shechinah) to Zion.”

It’s worth looking carefully at the language of this blessing. It could have said, “May You return to Zion in mercy,” which would be succinct and powerful. Why emphasize “May our eyes behold” the return? What exactly are we supposed to see?

There is a disagreement between the position of Maimonides and the position of the Talmud concerning the divine Presence (the Shechinah) on the Temple Mount after the destruction of the Temple. Rambam is insistent that the Shechinah remained even after the destruction. The Talmud maintains that the Shechinah left after the destruction of the First Temple. Rav Yitzchak Sender reconciles these opposing positions by distinguishing between the revealed Presence and the hidden Presence. It’s not that the Presence has abandoned Jerusalem. It is still there, but unseen. And we pray that soon we will come to see the Presence that we today cannot see.

There is great wisdom in this. For is it not the case that we are surrounded by blessings that we take for granted; wonders and miracles that we ignore; and proof of G-d’s Presence that escapes our perception? Any and every time we break through our personal spiritual blindness we have a sense, a foretaste, of personal redemption. And personal redemption is not simply perceptual. It’s not just a sound and light show. It carries with it a sense of purpose, a demand for action. (That’s why when we read the biblical prophets, we see a tremendous number of moral and social mandates, and very few descriptions of any hallucinogenic prophetic experience.)

And when enough of us share that sense of purpose, and are willing to rise to respond to the demands that have been placed upon us, redemption becomes more likely, indeed inevitable. (Hence the popular Chanukah song “Mi y’mallel” which includes the line, “And in our day the entire people of Israel will join together, rise, and be redeemed.”

Never underestimate the redemptive power of the Jewish people! We will see the redeemed Jerusalem in our day! May our eyes soon be opened!

Rabbi Robert L. Wolkoff