MIKDASH-BUILD

5 Adar II 5757
Volume I, Number 23

This issue is dedicated in memory of the girls murdered in Naharayim, Hashem yikom damam. May it be the desire before Hashem that future issues be dedicated only for happy occasions, and may we merit the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.

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1. MAAMAR OF THE WEEK
2. BOOKS ABOUT THE BEIT HAMIKDASH
3. IN THE NEWS
4. CORRESPONDENCE

MAAMAR OF THE WEEK

"These are the accounts of the Mishkan (Tabernacle)" (Shmot 38:21).

This that the Scriptures state, "A glorious throne exalted from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary." (Yirmiyahu 17:12) means there our Sanctuary is positioned. (pun on the Hebrew word "makom" (place) being spelled the same as "mechuvan" (positioned)) The Scriptures also state, "... in the place, Hashem, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, Hashem, which thy hands have established." (Shmot 15:17) You also find that Jerusalem is positioned Above like Jerusalem Below. Out of His great love for the one Below, He made another one Above, as it is stated, "Behold, I have given thee the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." (Yesha'yahu 49:16) On account of what was it destroyed? "Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste go away from thee." (ibid. 17) Additionally, David said, "Jerusalem, built as a city that is compact together," (Tehillim 122:2) meaning that it was like a city that G-d built. (pun on the Hebrew word "benuya" (built) being a contraction of "banu-Ka", (G-d built)) The Jerusalem Translation reads, "it is built in the Heavens like a city attached as one on Earth." Its Divine Presence swore that He will not enter the one Above until the one Below is built. ... May it be the Will that it will be rebuilt speedily in our days.

Midrash Tanchuma Pekudei 1


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BOOKS ABOUT THE BEIT HAMIKDASH

Yasher Koach to all those that have submitted information on the following books.

The Holy Temple Revisited; Leibel Reznick; Hardcover; List: $50.00 -- Amazon.com Price: $50.00 (Usually available in 4-6 weeks, but may not be available at all)

available on the internet at http://www.amazon.com

The following books about Temple Mount and Beit HaMikdash are available from Shulamit Books International, Israel, as stated below:

  • Mazar, E. & B. Mazar, Excavations at the South of the Temple Mount. The Ophel of the Biblical Jerusalem (Qedem, 29) Order No. 2345 NIS100 - English
  • Yacobi, The Archeology of Jerusalem During the 1st and Temple Period (School for Foreign Students Hebrew University) - English Order No. 5923 NIS 33.50
  • Eibschitz, Elhanan Ha-bayit ha-sheni be-tif'arto The Temple mount and the Herodian Temple in all its details and with a reconstruction. Col. photos of the reconstruction and many plans and drawings Order No. 4122 NIS 60 - Hebrew
  • Richman, Chaim, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem An illustrated explanation of the tasks in the Jerusalem Temple in ancient times, priests, sacrifices, offerings, and festivals. Over 70 lavish full color illustration, 34 of which are full page, photos & maps. A co-production with the Temple Institute Especially suitable for young students Order No. 1322 NIS 51 - English
  • Richman, Chaim, A House of Prayer for all Nations. The Holy Temple of Jerusalem A colorful introduction into the Temple service in Ancient complementing the book "The Holy Temple of Jerusalem" and the "Temple Haggada" of the "Temple" series: Sacrifices, Purity, Priests, Garments, Day of Atonement, The Festivals Order No. 3569 NIS 35 - English


    Shulamit
    Books International, Israel
    bks_intl@netvision.net.il
    Fax: 972-2-993 2920 Tel: 972-2-993 2034
    POB 1331, Efrat 90345, Israel

    (The publishers and authors of these books are not necessarily associated with HaTenu'ah LeChinun HaMikdash, and the Tenu'ah assumes no responsibility for their content.)



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    IN THE NEWS

    In NEWS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM ISRAEL 4.3.97 by Dr. Aaron Lerner

    BAN ON JEWISH PRAYER ON TEMPLE MOUNT WAS AD HOC

    A study of cabinet protocols by Ariyeh Zohar for then Minister of Religion Zevulun Hammer finds that the ban on Jewish Prayer on the Temple Mount, Decision 761 of August 1967, was not a decision in principle but rather a temporary ad hoc ruling. It is clear from the protocols that the ministers tried to make it clear that the decision was temporary and applied only to a specific incident. The decision was made to thwart the plans of then IDF Chief Rabbi Goren to bring thousands of Jews to prayers on the Temple Mount Plaza on the Sabbath after the 9th of Av - which marks the anniversary of the destruction of the Temples . Goren intended to establish this as a tradition.

    ("Haaretz" 25 February, 1997)

    Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, March 12, 1997

    COURT REJECTS TEMPLE MOUNT APPEAL

    The Supreme Court rejected a petition today by Chai V'Kayam and the Temple Mount Faithful against the building of a mosque In the Solomon's Stables area beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Justice Zamir explained that the petitioners did not demonstrate in what way the mosque would constitute an offense to Jewish sensibilities. Justice Goldberg, writing the minority opinion, said, "In my humble opinion, no court in Israel requires proof that a piece of the Temple Mount, Judaism's most hallowed site, appropriated by the Moslem Waqaf for the purpose of extending the Moslems' prayer area constitutes a real offense to the nationalist and religious sensibilities of a large Jewish public."


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    CORRESPONDENCE

    Greetings.

    My interest in the rebuilding of the Temple grows daily. Among some things researched is a new proposal, based upon inferred photos of the Temple Mount which reveals that Solomon's Temple was about 1/3 the size of Herod's construction, and was located north of the Dome of the Rock.

    If there is any credibility to this, couldn't construction of the Temple begin with the support of Orthodox leadership ?

    While I realize that this is a politically determined decision also, I know that G-d will bring it to pass in the near future. The only question I see is what stands in the way--is it the mosque, or other factors ?

    What is the attitude of most of the Kohanim regarding building upon the original site only ?

    Also, I am very interested in any material you may have regarding the construction of the Temple. Thank you !

    Dr. Enoch Kaufman

    Dr. Kaufman,

    The general understanding is that, since King Shlomo consecrated the ground of the Beit HaMikdash and the Alter for all generations, it is forbidden to build the Beit HaMikdash or offer sacrifices on any other spot, even on the Temple Mount. Today, the exact measurements and placement of the Beit HaMikdash are not 100% clear and cannot be determined without the proper Halachic authorities entering the place the Alter stood and examining it to determine that it is indeed the true placement. Today, since we do not have the ashes of the Red Heifer, we cannot purify ourselves from defilement of contact with the dead and are consequently forbidden to enter the original area that the Beit HaMikdash stood. If the Red Heifer recently born is ready, G-d willing, in two years for the purification rites, or we are able to perform sacrifices that may be offered in a state of defilement, than we would be able to enter those areas, and halachic authorities could examine the Temple Mount in order to determine the placement of the Beit HaMikdash.

    It is not, however, the mosque which is preventing us from rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash, nor is it a halachic impediment. The problem is not that the Moslems have a mosque but the manner that Jews accept it. If, instead of 300,000 Moslems out of population of a million living in Israel going assembling to pray on the Temple Mount, a million Jews out of the four million living in Israel would ascend the Temple Mount in purity, there would be no question as to whose holy place it really is. It is not a halachic problem, as Rav Kook writes, "if there will be a desire to build the Beit HaMikdash, even before Mashiach comes and wonders are seen, there will not be such a halachic problem." ("Mishpat Kohen", Hilchot Beit HaBechirah, section 94, paragraph 2)

    What's needed is a popular demand by Jews to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash. No leaders, religious or otherwise, can insist on that the people need something unless the people believe they need it. Many Jews understand that a day must not go by without putting on tefillin. Rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash, however, which is no less important for the Jewish People, is put on the back burner because its long absence has caused it not to be on our minds. The Ramban, on his commentary to the Torah (Bamidbar 16:22), states that had the demand to build the Beit HaMikdash come not just from King David, but from the Jewish People as a whole, the Beit HaMikdash could have been built in King David's lifetime or beforehand. The Beit HaMikdash requires that we demand it.

    With hope that we will all go up together to the Beit HaMikdash,

    yirmi

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    HaTenu'ah LeChinun HaMikdash

    Gathering en masse to arouse consciousness among the People, its rabbis, and its leaders to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash and return the Kohanim to their Service

    P.O. Box 31336, Jerusalem, ISRAEL
    Telephone: +972-2-5371904
    Email: Yirmiyahu Fischer


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