The Chofetz Chaim relates a parable of a poor person who exerted himself to get a contribution from a wealthy man. He sent many different messengers to ask the wealthy man for an audience. Then he himself went to the rich man to ask him to have rachmanus. The rich man agreed and set up an appointment to meet the poor man the next day in his office, at which time he would grant him his request.

A week went by and the man did not show up. When the two met again, the poor man repeated his plea, and asked the rich man to have rachmanus and lend him the money he needed.

HaGaon R’ Yosef Sholom Elyashiv shlita suggests that the difficulty here is not why no one could answer Hashem’s query. It is important for us to clarify what was the cause of this generation’s downward spiral, of their spiritual decline that they did not recite these brachos.

With this concept, the Sefer Divrei Aggadah offers an understanding of the destruction of the First Bais Hamikdash. Hashem asked the Bnai Yisroel (Yirmiyah 9:11) “Al mah ovdoh ha’aretz – why was the Bais Hamikdash destroyed?” No one knew how to answer the question, despite the fact that the nation had transgressed the three severe aveiros of giluy arayos, shefichas damim and avodah zarah – immorality, murder, and idol worship.

The pasuk in Devarim (6:7) states, “V’shinantam l’vonecha v’dibarta bam … -- and you shall teach them to your children and you shall speak of them.”

The Vilna Gaon once commented that this small paragraph of Krias Shema contains all of the Aseres HaDibros – Ten Commandments. For example, the first dibrah (commandment) of “Anochi, I am your G-d,” is represented by the words “Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad,”. We learn that the commandment of “Lo Sirtzach – one shall not kill,” is alluded to in this parsha with the word “v’shinantam – and you shall teach your children.”

So too is the relationship between the neshamah and the guf of Klal Yisroel. Every mitzvah that the neshamah wants to perform is controlled by the guf. The hands have to take action in order to wear the tefillin and to light Shabbos candles; the feet have to take the steps in order to go to bais medrash. If the physical body consents to the will and the bidding of the person’s neshamah then he can fulfill the mitzvah. However, if the guf does not cooperate, the neshamah will not enjoy any benefit.

A wealthy man, looking for a shidduch for his only daughter, was keen on a particular bachur who was outstanding in Torah and middos. The father of the bachur, however, lived in a distant city, so the rich man sent his luxurious carriage so that they could make the arrangements in person.

However, when the two men met, the father of the young man was unwilling to agree to the shidduch. The wealthy man then offered him a huge sum of money to win him over. “If you will agree to the shidduch now, I will give you 400 additional zuz.” However, the father of the bachur was not amenable.

The question that is obviously asked is: What reason was there for not disclosing the site of the Bais HaMikdash to Dovid? Mefarshim offer various answers. Some say that had Arnon found out that the Bais HaMikdash would be built on his land, he would have demanded a large sum of money for the property. Others suggest that the nations might have been motivated then to erect avodah zarah on that location in order to invalidate it as the future site for the Bais HaMikdash.

In discussing the makom hamikdosh, the posuk tells us (Devarim 12:5), “Ki im el hamakom asher yivchar Hashem Elokeichem – only at the place that Hashem, your G-d will choose.” The Torah does not state exactly where that place is. With respect to this observation, the Gemara in Zevachim 54 states, similarly, that when Dovid and Shaul were going to build the Bais HaMikdash they did not know the exact designation for its location.

The Haggadah states: “The Torah speaks of four sons, one wise, one wicked …” HaGaon Rav Yisroel Lubchansky asks: Why does the Hagaddah identify the son as a chacham-- wise? It would seem that the title of tzaddik, as the opposite of rosho, would be more appropriate.

Chazal tell us in Mesechta Tamid 32a, “Who is truly wise, one who sees what will happen in the future.”