במדבר, פרק כ״ו, פסוק י״ט

The lineage records of the tribe of Judah preserve the memory of Er and Onan, despite the fact that they died childless and contributed no descendants to the continuing family line [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Beyond a simple historical registry, this account carries a deep symbolic layer regarding the historical journey of the Israelites, with the tribe of Judah representing the entire nation [אור החיים]. The two brothers serve as representations of the two Temples.

The first brother, Er, represents the First Temple. His identity reflects an era of spiritual wakefulness when God maintained a visible, active watch over His people. The moral corruption that brought about his downfall mirrors the severe sins that ultimately caused the destruction of the First Temple. The second brother, Onan, represents the Second Temple. His identity relates to a sense of lack and deception, reflecting how the Second Temple was missing several core elements that defined the first one. His specific failure involved withholding kindness from his own brother. This directly parallels the baseless hatred and mutual deception among the people that led to the fall of the Second Temple [אור החיים].

The death of both brothers signifies the destruction of these two holy structures. Just as a soul departs from a physical body and leaves it empty and impure, the Divine Presence departed from the Temple. Furthermore, the specific detail that their passing occurred in the land of Canaan carries both physical and spiritual weight. On a geographic level, it identifies the physical location of the Temples. On a spiritual level, it reveals the root cause of the nation's moral decay and subsequent tragedy. Because the Israelites failed to fully drive out the Canaanite inhabitants, their continued presence in the land ultimately led the people away from the proper path [אור החיים].