[Avodah] tachanun & lamnatzeach

[saul mashbaum]

RETurkel 
>>it is clear that "har ha-bait" is MUCH below 
the level of all the nearby hills including the Har-Hazeitim.
Har Tzion is some 30 meters above Har HaBayit
>>
Indeed, Har Habayit (Har HaMoriah) is just one of the hills which surround the biblical Yerushalayim, Ir David..
When one now visits Ir David, "where it all started", the entrance to which is near Shaar HaAshpot, the first site usually visited is the "tatzpit", the observation point from which one can observe the surrounding area. One clearly sees the very nearby har-Habayit and har Tzion, the nearby har HaZeitim, and the hills of Armon HaNetziv somewhat in the distance. This is literally the meaning of the verse "Yerushalayim harim saviv la...".  I have rarely felt a geographical biblical verse come more alive than at that point
Har-Habayit being the most special hill, despite it's being lower than the other hills, sounds like Har Sinai, doesn't it?
Saul Mashbauim 
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