MIKDASH-BUILD19 Av 5757Volume I, Number 33 |
Table of Contents
- 1. MIKDASH AND SHABBAT: A SPIRITUAL SPACE-TIME CONNECTION, parts 7 & 8
- 2. IN THE NEWS
by Akiva Bernstein
One of the most hotly debated questions in Torah Judaism is the question, "Who will build the third Mikdash?" This debate is a prime example of a popular saying often quoted: "For every two Jews, there are three views." One holds that some sort of Mikdash made of fire will descend from heaven and land on the exact spot of the previous two sanctuaries. "Up in the sky -- it's a bird, it's a place, it's super-sanctuary!" Another view is that Mashiach will build it on behalf of the nation of Israel (and the rest of the world). Still another view holds that Mashiach will build part of the Mikdash, and the nation of Israel -- the rest of it. This view includes a very wide variety of combinations. One such possibility is that the nation of Israel will build most of the Mikdash, and leave it for Mashiach to add its doors and gates, thus completing the entire project. The last view is that the nation of Israel will build the third Mikdash even before the advent of Mashiach. Each of these views is problematic, as will be explained, G-d willing, below.
The view that the Mikdash will descend from the heavens as a Mikdash of fire is the most problematic. Shmot 25:2-7 describes the materials necessary for the construction of the Mishkan. The materials were all physical and the Mishkan was made by man -- it was not a Mishkan of fire made by Hashem. The second part of the verse at Shmot 25:9 reads, vechen ta'asu -- "and thus you (plural) shall do". In the Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrein 16b, we find: vechen ta'asu -- ledorot -- "and thus you shall do -- for [all] generations!" The Talmud stresses that this does not apply only le'atid lavo -- "for the future to come", i.e. at some undefined point in the future, but "for [all] generations". Thus, the entity called Mikdash (Shmot 25:8) must be built by all of Israel, since it says: "and thus you (plural) shall do", and in every generation the building (or repair) of the Mikdash is the building of the physical Mikdash, not a Mikdash of fire. This also rules out the possibility that Mashiach will build ALL of the entity commonly referred to as Mikdash. As for the suggestion that Mashiach will merely put in the gates and the doors of the Mikdash, this is hardly befitting of him, since King Shlomo did far more than that in the first Mikdash. And the view that the nation of Israel will build the Mikdash even before the advent of Mashiach is contradicted by a statement by the Rambam in Mishnah Torah, in the section called Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot, at the beginning of Chapter 11, that one of the signs that an individual is indeed Mashiach is that he builds the Mikdash.
The lack of an apparent solution stems, largely, from the imprecise use of the term Mikdash. Let us here define a number of terms precisely, and then produce the solution imposing the "boundary value condition" whereby everyone builds precisely that which is allotted to him.
In Mishnah Torah, Sefer Ha'Avoda, Hilchot Beit HaBechira 1:5, the Rambam provides a very precise definition of Heichal (temple) and Mikdash (sanctuary). He defines Heichal as an entity consisting of three sections, an area called ulam (Entrance Hall), followed by a room called Kodesh (Holy Place), and finally another room called kodesh hakodashim" (Holy of Holies). He states that set off from, and enclosing, the heichal on all four sides are partition serving as walls, which are patterned after the courtyard of the "Mishkan" (tabernacle) in the desert in Moshe's time. The entire area of the partitions and the Heichal he defines as Mikdash.
The reader is now requested to look at the diagram at the end. It is a diagram of the second Mikdash. One will note surrounding the Heichal a large T-shaped building, i.e. the Heichal is completely surrounded by this T-shaped structure. In addition, the Heichal was 40 cubits high, while this T-shaped structure was 100 cubits high. Thus, the Heichal was completely surrounded by this T-shaped structure. This surrounding structure we will call Beit HaMikdash, the House of the Sanctuary. If one studies the structural patter of the Mishkan, one will see that the Mishkan had no structure equivalent to this Beit HaMikdash. The Beit HaMikdash was an addition to the original mitzvah if Mikdash, probably explained to King David by either Shmuel or Natan, both of whom were Neviim.
Now back to Shmot 25:9, vechen ta'asu -- "and thus you (plural) shall do": the entire nation of Israel, ledorot -- for [all] generations -- every generation of Israel must be engaged in either building of maintaining the structure called Mikdash, as defined above by the Rambam. "vechen ta'asu -- "and thus you shall do" thus -- no less, but also no more, you, the nation of Israel as a group are to do.
In Shmot 36-40, we find a pattern development with two main formal points. Everyone had his own equitable part in the construction of the Mishkan. The Benei Yisrael had their part (Shmot 36:8-39:40). Moshe enjoyed the status of king of Israel (see Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Beit HaBechira 6:11), and as such had a separate part in the making of the Mishkan (Shmot 40:1-33), assembling the parts already prepared by Benei Yisrael, and Hashem had His part (Shmot 40:34-38), covering the Mishkan with His Anananei HaKavod. This pattern is also orderly: first, the "Benei Yisrael" did their part, followed by the king, and finally, Hashem. One may conclude that, since the Mishkan was built together with Moshe, a king of Israel, perhaps the Mikdash is likewise to be built together with a king, i.e. Mashiach. The aforementioned Gemara (Sanhedrin 16b) refers to this question: vechen ta'asu -- ledorot -- "and thus you shall do -- for [all] generations". It does not read: "and thus you shall do", in the generation of a king, but rather, "for [all] generation", king or no king.
The solution now begins to take shape. The T-shaped structure, called Beit HaMikdash, which is not an original part of the mitzvah of Mikdash, the nation of Israel is neither required nor permitted to build. This part of the building is reserved only for a Melech Yisrael, a King of Israel, to construct, which in our case means Mashiach. This gigantic, T-shaped super-structure is certainly a worthy project for Mashiach to handle alone. The fact that the Beit HaMikdash completely surrounds the Heichal built by the nation of Israel is symbolic of the sovereignty of Mashiach over the nation. In Midrash Shocher Tov 62, Hashem explains to David that, had David built the Temple, it would not have been destroyed. Mashiach, is a "son of David" and will be even greater than David was. His building of Beit HaMikdash will ensure that the entire 3-dimensional structure, the Mikdash and Beit HaMikdash will never be destroyed.
Question: why use the term "3-dimensional"? Second question: what is Hashem's part in the whole matter? why has Hashem been left out? Believe it or not, a major hint is given by the use of the term "3-dimensional". Let us say that Hashem's part is to envelop the Mikdash and Beit HaMikdash with ananei hakavod, clouds of glory, just as He enveloped the camp of Israel in the desert with these same clouds. Granted, even Mashiach is unable to envelop the Mikdash and Beit HaMikdash in this way. However, such a solution is 3-dimensional and, therefore, petty by G-d's standards. If Hashem is capable of creating and maintaining a 4-dimensional universe, then He is certainly capable of construction a 4-dimensional sanctuary.
We again recall Minkowski's haunting words, Only a kind of union of the two (space and time) will preserve an independent (physical) reality". Translated into spiritual terms, they are even more haunting: only a kind of union of Mikdash and Shabbat will preserve an independent spiritual reality. The Ramban, in his commentary on Vayikra 19:30, provides a major hint to the solution of the above problem. He uses an expression, the Great Shabbat (Shabbat HaGadol), and calls it Mikdasho, "G-d's sanctuary". A super-Shabbat with sanctuary-like qualities. What are the important parts of this Great Shabbat?
There are two, the 3-dimensional sanctuary of Shmot 25:8, and the 1-dimensional Shabbat of Shmot 31:16 and Devarim 5:15. In these three verses, some form of the verb 'asah ("to make") is used. We, the nation of Israel, must make the sanctuary of 3 dimensions and we, the nation of Israel, must make the 1-dimensional Shabbat. However, a union of these two is impossible for us to bring about, just as a union of time and space is impossible for us to generate. Only Hashem is able to unify space and time, and only Hashem is able to unify a 3-dimensional sanctuary with a 1-dimensional Shabbat.
Near the end of the book of Shmot, Benei Yisrael constructed parts of the Mishkan, and Moshe, who -- as already noted -- had the status of melech yisrael, then assembled these component parts to make the complete Mishkan. This is true here as well. The nation of Israel, including Mashiach, will make the two component parts of the 4- dimensional sanctuary, and Hashem -- Melech Malchei HaMelachim -- will then unify these two parts into one entity.
Does such a 4-dimensional Mikdash-Shabbat actually exist? The answer is definitely yes! Is there a reference to it in the Torah? Again, the answer is definitely yes! Where? -- in Shmot 15:17. Looking carefully at the nikkud, the vowel pointing, of the word MKDSH appearing in that verse, we perceive a very strange phenomenon, unique throughout the entire Tanach. In all other occurrences, the letter kuf has a shva nach and the letter dalet -- a dagesh kal and, as a result, the word "mikdash". Here in Shmot 15:17, in contrast, the letter kuf has a daggesh chazak and, consequently, a shva na', while the dalet is rafah, i.e. has no "dagesh". The word is thus pronounced "mikkedash" -- a different pronunciation for a very different type of sanctuary.
Secondly, a Torah scroll itself is written, of course, without vowel pointing, thus allowing for a variety of pronunciation for the same word. "It is written in the name of Rav Natronai Gaon: Why are the vowel signs not placed in the Torah? Because vowel signs limit the interpretation!" Form Eliyahu Ki Tov's "Sefer HaToda'a", the section of the month of Sivan, near the end of subsection "Torah and Masorah":
Look carefully at the three middle letters of the word leshivtecha. They spell "Shabbat". An established place for Your Shabbat You have constructed, Hashem, Mikdash (super-sanctuary), Hashem, which Your Hands have prepared. The Torah could have used the term leshichnacha here, instead of leshivtecha, as we find in Devarim 12:5 -- leshichno definitely refers to the Mikdash. But here in Shmot 15:7 the Torah uses the form leshivtecha in order that it be read for Your Shabbat.
Note also in Shmot 16:29 we find Shvu -- "sit!", which has as its infinitive form the word LShBT -- "lashevet", the same word leshivtecha in Shmot 15:17. Immediately following Shmot 16:29, in verse 30, the Torah reads, vayishbetu, which has as its infinitive form the word lishbot, often written LShBT, as well, thus revealing the strong link between "setting (dwelling)" and the "cessation of work".
One further point. In the beginning of Shmot 15:17, the Torah uses the expression har nachalatecha, "mountain of your inheritance". In Kiddush for Shabbat night, a similar expression is used: hinnechaltanu, "You have made us inherit". Generally speaking, it is impossible for a 3-dimensional being to visualize a 4-dimensional entity. When this super-sanctuary is finally constructed, Hashem will find the way to bring us there and reveal to us what it looks like. How will one know when he is actually inside this super-sanctuary? The answer, in spiritual terms, is when he is moving at the speed of light. And what will one's natural response be when this super sanctuary is actually revealed to him?
The diagram is one of the floor plan of the Second Mikdash (not drawn
precisely to scale). Were we to imagine the diagram to be 3-dimensional, then the 4th dimension, that of time (Shabbat0), would be
perpendicular to the diagram, i.e. strait up out of the page.
Yehuda Etzion and Shlomo Neiman were placed under arrest by Jerusalem police at the Mugrabi Gate after they tried to go up to the Mount to ray today, Rosh Chodesh (New Month) of Menachem Av.
The two are currently in police custody.
Last week, Etzion was granted permission to go onto the Mount to pray as long as he does not move his lips or show any external religious signs such as a prayer shawl.
Etzion has stated in the past that he and his Chai Vekaiyam organization will continue to fight for religious freedom for Jews in Israel, especially on its holiest location, the Temple Mount.
The Chairman of the Islamic Endowment in Jerusalem, Adnan Al Husseini, has warned that Islam will never, under any circumstances, agree to Jews praying on the Temple Mount. In an interview with Voice of Palestine Radio, Husseini threatened to use violence against Jews if they attempt to pray on the Temple Mount.
He accused the rabbis of Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) of being responsible for the attempts by Jews to pray on the Mount.
Additionally, the sheikh in the Al-Aqsa mosque attacked the decision by the Supreme Court to allow Yehuda Etzion to pray on the Temple Mount in last Friday's sermon.
"We will not stand idly by," threatened the sheikh, "and we refuse to obey the decisions of this racist court. The rabbis will not enter the Al-Aqsa mosque, not over our dead bodies and shrouds." His speech was broadcast live on Voice of Palestine Radio. {ARUTZ 7 8/4 C}
(IINS News Service -Israel-8/5) This morning, after spending about 20 hours in the Jerusalem police lock-up, Chai Vekaiyam activists Yehuda Etzion and Shlomo Neiman were released by a Jerusalem judge.
The two were arrested by police for demanding to be permitted to go onto the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and pray. Police, as usual, refused the request and placed the two under arrest.
The Court rejected police requests to invoke conditions to the release of the two. Police wanted them banned from the Old City of Jerusalem. The Court refused and questioned the actions of police for arresting the two to begin with.
Etzion has been a leader in the struggle to obtain the right for Jews to pray on the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, an act currently opposed by the Moslem Wakf of Jerusalem.
Despite court rulings permitting the Jewish prayer on the Mount, police continually refuse to permit it fearing widespread Arab violence.
For further information about IINS (Israel Internet News Service Ltd.) send email to: citydesk@iinsnews.com
Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Shimon Feinberg rejected this morning the request of the police to prohibit Chai Vekayam members Yehuda Etzion and Shlomo Neiman from entering the Temple Mount. The two activists were arrested yesterday as they attempted to pray on the Mount, and afterwards refused to sign that they would not re-attempt to enter the site. Judge Feinberg ruled that there was no reason to arrest Etzion and Neiman. "After reviewing the entire penal code, I did not find any clause that forbids them from doing what they did," said the judge. In a related item, the Chief Rabbinate republicized a previous ruling forbidding entry to the Temple Mount. Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi Dov Lior explained to Arutz-7 yesterday that there are areas that are definitely permitted for entry, according to Jewish law, "provided one knows what they are and has immersed in a mikveh (ritual bath)." However, Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, told our correspondent Hillel Fendel that the Chief Rabbinate should be the supervisory body over the Temple Mount, and until such time, no one should ascend to the Mount on his own.
The archeological excavations at the King's Valley project near the Western Wall of the Temple Mount have been completed.
The excavations took three years at a cost of 55 million shekels. Among the discoveries at the site: remnants of Herodian edifices towards the end of the Second Temple and from the period of the destruction of the Second Temple.
In addition, drainage canals and ritual baths used by pilgrims to Jerusalem were also found. The Antiquities Authority declared that the excavations at the King's Valley site are among the most important ever conducted in Israel.
The site will soon be opened to visitors, and it is estimated that a half a million tourists will visit it each year. {ARUTZ 7 8/5 C}
(IINS News Service -Israel-8/6) The Chief Rabbinical Council has once again issued a ruling that it is contrary to Jewish law for one [today] to go onto the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. This marks the third such ruling since the Mount was liberated in the June 1967 Six Day War.
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Daron stated the move was taken to counter recent moves by persons in the right-wing camp trying to encourage Jews to try and pray on the Mount. The rabbi rejected views that since we are prohibited from praying on the Mount we are not the owners. He stated because of the location's intrinsic holiness (that prohibits our presence at this time), it is ours forever.
Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau stated that today, we are unable to remove the [spiritual] impurity from our bodies and are therefore forbidden to go onto the Holy Mount. He added that we are still uncertain as to the exact whereabouts of the Holy of Holies, that is off-limits to all Jews with the exception of the High Priest on Yom Kippur.
(IINS News Service -Israel-8/6) Chai Vekaiyam activist Yehuda Etzion was slapped with an administrative order today banning him from entering the Temple Mount area until February 1998.
Etzion has been a leader in the fight to permit Jews the right to pray on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City.
Last week, the courts handed down a landmark decision permitting Etzion to pray on the Mount, as long as he does not move his lips or display any external religious signs such as a kippa (yarmulke) or other religious objects.
Etzion tore up the administrative order when he received it and told officials he does not recognize an order that is based on the 1945 emergency laws written during the time of the British Mandate.
Etzion stated the laws were designed to keep Jews out of Palestine and now the IDF used it to keep Jews out of the Temple Mount area.
The order was signed by IDF OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Shmuel Arad.
Chai Vekaiyam activist Yehuda Etzion was placed under arrest this afternoon when he began praying near the Shvatim Gate entrance to the Temple Mount.
The administrative order (issued yesterday) barring Etzion from the Temple Mount only prohibits his going onto the Mount. Nevertheless, he was arrested by police this afternoon when he began praying near the gate.
When presented with the administrative order signed by OC IDF Home Front Command, Etzion stated he does not recognize the emergency laws dating back from the Mandate period which were designed by the British to keep Jews out of Palestine.
Later in the day, Etzion was released and police stated the arrest was not justified since he was not on the Mount [but at a gate leading to it] when taken into custody.
The Jerusalem police have apologized to Yehuda Etzion for mistakenly arresting him. Etzion was arrested on charges of violating a court order forbidding him from approaching the Temple Mount, when in fact the order prevented him only from entering the Temple Mount. Superintendent Shimon Harush apologized to Etzion for the mistaken arrest, and Etzion was in fact released immediately and unconditionally.
Today, Tisha B'Av, police permitted small numbers of the Temple Mount Faithful to go onto the Temple Mount as they do annually on this day, marking the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
The participants, dressed in sack cloth, were prohibited from uttering any words of prayer.
Shortly thereafter, members of the Chai Vekaiyam organization tried to go onto the Mount and pray.
They were stopped by police and literally dragged out of the area.
Among the group were Yehuda Etzion and Itimar Ben Givir. Police arrested at least 11 persons.
About 50 persons participated in the activity as some tried to get onto the Mount while others blocked police.
The Antiques Authority has submitted a complaint to Attorney-General stating that the refurbishing works being carried out by the Moslem Waqf on the Temple Mount are causing severe damage to the eastern corner of the Mount. In a letter to Mr. Rubenstein, the Chairman of the Authority asked that the entry of the working volunteers - mostly Israeli-Arabs from the north - be prohibited, and the same for the delivery of building materials to the holy site. MK Tzvi Hendel of the NRP, who learned about the letter, demands that the Attorney-General act at once in this vein.
In a related item, the Chai VeKayam movement claims that it is in possession of tapes of last Friday's weekly sermon at the Al Aksa mosque, in which the speaker calls for the murder of Jews who attempt to pray on the Temple Mount. The movement submitted the tapes to the police, and asked them to investigate.
Leaders of the Chai Vekaiyam Organization, who are fighting for the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, stated they have a tape of last Friday's sermon delivered by Moslem religious figures on the Mount.
According to Chai Vekaiyam leaders, the tape testifies to calls from the Mufti in his sermon for the "murder of Jews who attempt to pray on the Mount", Judaism's Holiest site.
The tape was submitted to police and Chai Vekaiyam called for the opening of a criminal investigation.
The Israel Antiques Authority has filed a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General against the Moslem Wakf pertaining to damages caused by the Wakf on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City.
According to officials in the Antiquities Authority, contracting work being carried out by the Wakf Authority on the eastern Sector of the Mount has caused significant damage to the Mount.
MK (National Religious Party) Tzvi Hendel called upon Attorney
General Professor Elyakim Rubinstein to take immediate action to
stop additional construction and its subsequent damage to the
Mount.
HaTenu'ah LeChinun HaMikdashGathering 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
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