A long, winding line slowly winds its way through the Mentiferi Living House on Long Island. Every few moments, it gets a little moving, and then it goes back to normal.
Today is the 3rd of Tammuz, the day of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt"l, and I, like tens of thousands of others, eagerly await the moment when I can prostrate myself on the holy site, for prayer and blessing on this auspicious day.
The organizers did not take unnecessary risks. As every year, they erected fences along the entire route the day before, in order to create an orderly line on the way to Zion - thus preventing unnecessary rushing and congestion in the area.
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I raise my head from my book of Psalms and look to the horizon: hundreds of people stand still, each one busy, preparing well, with strength and trembling, for those few moments when they will enter the holy Zion and plead in prayer for their souls and the souls of their families.
A vibration of holiness runs through my body. This is indeed no easy task, and I must utilize the remaining time with proper preparations. I return my head to the Book of Psalms and begin to read the verses with an outpouring of the soul.
Time seems to stand still, and the chapters of the Psalms that flow in torrents now take on a different and more uplifting meaning.
Three sublime hours have ended at the entrance to the holy sanctuary. With strength and trembling, I cross the threshold, my hand clutching the Book of Psalms - which I have already finished once and a half - as well as the "Pedion Nefesh" (-PN) containing names for prayer and blessing. The time granted to me, and to another small group entering the Holy of Holies with me, is no more than five minutes.
I read the 'P"N', trying to use the short time to arouse the mercy of heaven for me and my family - and that's it. I'm already on my way out.
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In a month, Lag BaOmer will be celebrated - the Day of the Holy Sepulchre.
This day is celebrated by all of your people, the House of Israel, with large bonfires, the custom of Halakah for the three-year-olds, a mass ascent to the Rashbi's tomb, with dancing and joy, and also... with terrible urgency in the tomb complex.
And the little me asks: Why?
With a little logic and common sense, it is possible to turn the entrance to Zion on the great day of Lag BaOmer into a sublime and uplifting experience. The moments that the public will have to spend standing in line will be used for proper preparation for the entrance to Zion, thus saving hundreds of thousands of people a great deal of suffering.
The tragic event that occurred in our camp on the eve of the holiday obliges us, the Haredi community, to speak to God, to think, and to reach correct and healthy conclusions.
The sun that beat down fiercely on the heads of those waiting in line on Tuesday of Tammuz last year did not prevent the thousands from standing for three hours or more in order to gain access to the holy site at Montefiore. On the contrary, it only made them more prepared and properly exalted for the entrance.
There is no reason why this procedure should not be implemented even in the Rashbi's commentary.
