Our Thoughts
Prince Harry finds himself locked out of the family home!
It was confirmed this week that Prince Harry would not be staying at Buckingham Palace during his visit to London, despite earlier reports suggesting he had accepted an invitation to do so.
According to reports, the Duke of Sussex did not formally respond to King Charles’ offer of royal accommodation before the required deadline. By the time a subsequent request was made, it was too late to arrange the necessary hospitality and staffing. Prince Harry arrived in the UK alone, while Meghan and their two children remained in the United States as the dispute over their security arrangements continues.
Whatever the precise circumstances, one cannot help but imagine how painful it must be to return home only to find the family door closed. To arrive and be told, “You booked too late,” is a heartbreaking image. If family means everything to Prince Harry, it must have felt like a devastating rejection.
As we enter the Three Weeks, our national period of mourning for the destruction of the Two Temples and the exile that followed, we encounter a similar sense of loss. One can only imagine the heartbreak, anger, and feelings of betrayal experienced by our ancestors. How could God have allowed this to happen? Where was He when the Babylonians and Romans desecrated His earthly home?
The response from Heaven is remarkable. The Jewish people had strayed and, in strict justice, deserved punishment. Yet, like a loving father who cannot bear to harm his child, God directed His wrath toward the stones and timber of the Temple rather than His people. The Temple was destroyed, but the nation was spared.
So where was God after the destruction?
Although we had distanced ourselves from Him through our actions, He never distanced Himself from us. We were no longer worthy of the Temple—the family home where we experienced His presence most intensely—but He remained where He has always been: walking beside His children into exile.
This is beautifully reflected in the image of the Cherubim atop the Ark. The Talmud teaches that at the very moment the Temple was destroyed, they were found embracing one another. At the very time when the relationship between God and His people appeared most fractured, its symbol expressed intimacy and love.
The message is profound. The Cherubim represent the eternal bond between God, our Father, and the Jewish people, His children. In moments of tragedy and crisis, a loving parent does not push a child away; he draws the child closer. God’s response to exile was not abandonment but embrace. He accompanied His people into exile, surrounding them with unconditional love.
That has always been the Jewish story. Times of suffering test us, but they never sever our relationship with God. The doors of the Temple may have closed, but the King never left His children. Even in exile, we continue to walk together, held securely in His loving embrace.