MIKDASH-BUILD

7 Tishrei 5757
Volume I, Number 3

Table of Contents
1. NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
2. IN SEARCH OF THE LOST ARKS (Parts I & II)
3. IN THE NEWS-- RESTRAINING ORDERS RENEWED

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Shana Tova to my fellow builders of the Beit HaMikdash.

In this issue preceding Yom Kippur, the holiday where the Atonement Service included the Cohen Gadol entering the Holy of Holies and sprinkling blood from his bull and the destined goat towards the Holy Ark, I have include the beginning of a series on the search for the Holy Ark. Although I consider Michael ben Chaim's approach to be novel, we must generally welcome the pursuit of the Beit HaMikdash, and I hope to publish a variety of opinions.

The standard approach is based upon the Mishna (Shekalim 6:2)

"It once happened that a Cohen occupied with his Temple duties saw a point on the floor which was different than the rest (and he understood that the Holy Ark was hidden there). He went and told his friend. Before he finished he died, and they knew for sure that this was the place the Ark was hidden."

It is generally understood that King Yoshiyahu, foreseeing the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, hid the Holy Ark.

In any case, submission of articles is more than welcome.

On another note, a few weeks ago, with guidance from Avraham Isaacs, I went to the Temple Mount for the first time. Needless to say, it was a powerful experience. It gave me an understanding of our chain of history, the Divine Presence, and the Destruction which I could not get from all the books in the world. Seeing the Makom HaMikdash helped instill in me a very special type of Fear of G-d, and when I want to deeply pray, I think of what I saw there.

Sukkot is one of the three Pilgrimage Festivals with the commandment of "Joy before G-d", for all Jewish men to gather, ascend to the Beit HaMikdash, and bring offerings. These holidays are to give us view of the Divine Presence and instill us with a Fear of G-d. What better way to commemorate this than to ascend the Temple Mount. I wouldn't miss it for anything.

I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO ASCEND THE TEMPLE MOUNT ON SUKKOT.

The Chief Rabbinate and the majority of contemporary Halachic authorities allow ascending the Temple Mount, but there are Halachic restrictions as where it is permissible to go, and there are Halachic requirements, such as emersing in a mikva beforehand, so I recommend you consult a Rabbinic authority. I would be happy to forward your queries to a Rav who is knowledgeable about Temple Mount issues, if need be.

Gemar Chatima Tova,

yirmi
(Yirmiyahu Fischer yirmi@jer1.co.il )

Table of Contents

IN SEARCH OF THE LOST ARKS

2 ARKS, 2 SETS OF STONES........

by Michael ben Chaim

PART I. THE TORAH

It is often forgotten that Moses received the law from G-D at Sinai on three separate occasions all described in the Book of Exodus and he gave a general summing up of those events in the Book of Deuteronomy. At a fourth meeting G-D ordered Moses to bring his own stones and wooden Ark when he made the second trek up the Mount.

The first event in the third month after having left Egypt, G-D for the only time "spoke" to all the people giving at that time the ten commandments and a series of civil laws. ( Exodus 20-24)

G-D then called upon Moses to:-

" Come up to ME into the mount and be there and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them." Exodus 24:12.

And so Moses goes up to the mountain for his first 40 day visit where he is given a set of stones MADE BY G-D together with comprehensive instructions regarding the sanctuary. As part of those instructions G-D is very explicit. Moses is to make an ark of acasia wood which shall be overlain with pure gold which was to be topped by two cherubim also of gold. Most importantly for our story:-

" And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony WHICH I SHALL GIVE THEE" Exodus 25:16

We shall see that this sentece is crucial, because these first stones are the ONLY ones that G-D gave to Moses.

The rest of that event is well known. Moses came down from the mountain and broke the stones "WHICH G-D HAD GIVEN HIM". The third meeting took place at "The Tent of Meeting" where Moses pleaded for a second chance.

The event to follow was NOT the same as the first visit to the mountain. This time G-D was not going to give Moses a new set of tablets. Instead the Lord said unto Moses:

" Hew thee two tablets of stone like unto first; and I will write upon the tablets the words that were on the first tables, which thou didst break." Exodus 34:1

It is obvious therefore that this set of stones cannot be the ones G-D referred to when he order Moses to put them in the Ark of Gold. In fact G-D goes even further he orders Moses to bring another ark with him, one of simple wood.

" Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto ME into the mount; and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou didst break and thou shalt put them in the ark.......And I turned and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the LORD commanded me. " Deuteronmy 10: 1-5.

But this was written 40 years after the Exodus and we know that some stones were placed in the Golden Ark "on the first day of the first month" of the second year after the Exodus. Exodus 40:1.

" And he took and put the testimony into the ark" Deuteronomy 40:20.

The Torah therefore is absolutely clear. There were two arks, two sets of stones and in accordance with G-D's orders, the broken stones WHICH G-D gave, were placed in the Golden ark and the stones which Moses cut were placed in the wooden ark.

We shall see where the two arks and the two sets of stones are in the next chapter.

PART II, THE TANAKH

Jeroboam. the son of Nabat, was put in charge of building the Millo, by Solomon his King. It is the last story in the Book of Kings before the death of Solomon.

However, Jeroboam met the prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite who forecast that he would become the King of the northern ten of the tribes of Israel. Solomon heard of this prophesy and " sought to kill " Jeroboam who was forced to flee to Egypt to the household of the Egyptian King, Shishak. there he remained until the death of Solomon. I Kings 11:26-41.

The relationship between Jeroboam and Shishak was a close one and they became not only allies but Shishak gave in marriage to Jeroboam, Ano the eldest sister of his own wife Thelkemina. Septuagint: Reges III, 12-24e.

After Solomon's death, Jeroboam returned to Israel and as the prophesy foretold, became King of the Ten Northern Tribes leaving Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, King of Judah and Benjamin which of course included the city of Jerusalem.

" AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN THE KINGDOM OF REHOBOAM WAS ESTABLISHED, AND HE WAS STRONG, THAT HE FORSOOK THE LAW OF HE LORD, AND ALL ISRAEL WITH HIM." II Chron. 12:1

He had built a system of great fortifications and had wanted to attack Jeroboam in the north but the prophet Shemaiah warned against it. It was at this point that Shishak the ally of Jeroboam, attacked from the south with a massive army consisting of 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and

" people without number that came with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians." II Chron. 12:2-3,

Because Rehoboam had dealt treacherously with the Lord, he was surrounded on all sides, Jeroboam with the ten tribes in the north, Shishak with an immense army in the south. Shishak took all the great fortified cities that Rehoboam had built to protect Jerusalem and came there.

There in Jerusalem was the greatest treasure the world had ever known, treasure amassed by Solomon and that brought by the Children of Israel out of Egypt. More importantly, Jeroboam, the ally of Shishak knew of every item.

The demands of Shishak were simple, hand over the treasure and Jerusalem would be left alone.

" So Shishak King of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the King's house: he took all away"

That was the account in Chronicles, written by Ezra in Babylon. The account in the Book of Kings similarly reads:

"..Shishak King of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the King's house; he event took away all." I Kings 14: 25-26.

Is there any doubt that Rehoboam was forced to give up everything EVEN THE ARK. He was no longer doing the bidding of G-D. Ezra had an opportunity of clarifying the account in the Book of Kings. Jeroboam knew EVERYTHING of importance regarding the treasures in Jerusalem. What possible excuse would there be for Rehoboam not to hand over everything as stated?

Those who rely on the Talmud for their clarification should note:-

PESACHIM 87b. The Great Treasure ( which Joseph had accumulated in Egypt and more ) described in G-D's promise to Abraham ( Genesis 15:14 ) returned to Egypt.

The Ark covered in Gold was taken by Shishak. The tales of an Ark being hidden under the Temple may very well have applied to the simple ark of wood containing the stones which Moses had taken up the mountain, but the Ark of Gold according to the Tanakh went to Egypt.

The question is what happened to the contents? The broken stones which G-D had given to Moses?

We will discover that when we look at the Egyptian records of the Egyptian King Shishak in the next installment

(Michael ben Chaim is a publisher of academic books on Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology and History. His family tree shows my great-grandfather to be a direct descendant of King David, one of the parallel lines of the late Rebbe.)

Table of Contents

IN THE NEWS-- RESTRAINING ORDERS RENEWED

(Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, September 17, 1996) O.C. Home-Front Command Shmuel Arad lengthened by three months restraining orders, originally issued under the former Labor-led Government, against fifteen Chai V'kayam activists. The restraining orders forbid them to enter the area of the Temple Mount. Police officers delivered the orders to the activists' homes last night. In response, the Chai V'kayam movement has stated that the orders were issued against people whose only wrong-doing was their wish to pray at Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount. They claim that this only serves to prove that the Prime Minister is backtracking from his pre-election promises to permit Jews to pray on the Temple Mount.

Table of Contents