Construction planned on the Temple Mount
Let me preface this story by saying that I'm not sure how 'indisputable' it is that any part of the Temple Mount is "indisputably not within the areas that require immersion and other preparations (i.e. ashes of a properly sacrificed red heifer), according to Jewish law." Many Rabbis and most Orthodox Jews (including - as far as I know - the entire ultra-Orthodox community) take the position today that we don't know where the more sanctified areas of the Temple Mount start and end, and that no Jew should ascend the Temple Mount today. However....Arutz Sheva is reporting that MK Uri Ariel wants to build a synagogue in an area of the Temple Mount that is "indisputably not within the areas that require immersion and other preparations, according to Jewish law."
“This is not a new idea,” Ariel stressed, “it has been brought up and considered countless times since the [1967] Six Day War [during which the Temple Mount was liberated from Jordanian occupation –ed.].”We all know what the Muslim world's reaction to the 'provocation' would be, don't we?
The plan will be submitted to the Jerusalem municipality and the Committee for Design and Construction for approval. Ariel says that every aspect of the plan will be submitted to leading Torah scholars for approval.
The National Union MK, who visited the Temple Mount himself Monday, said that such a plan was an opportunity for the Muslim world to prove it is capable of rising above the violence and intolerance that have surfaced in the past year as a result of papal remarks and political cartoon portraying Islam’s founder Muhammad. Referring to Ariel's visit to the holy site, MK Talab el-Sana (Ta’al) said the “provocation” would bring nothing but “war and bloodshed.”
MK Ariel points out that every ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court regarding the matter of the Temple Mount has recognized the right of every Jew to pray on the Temple Mount. [And we all know how little the 'Supreme Court' has done to enforce that decision. CiJ] “This is rectification of a historic injustice, much more than the transport to Israel of [Theodore] Herzl’s children’s bones [as was done recently, in accordance with his wishes ed.].Historically, Ariel is apparently correct. This is from a letter that Rabbi Shlomo Goren z"l wrote when he was Chief Rabbi of Israel, shortly after the Ninth of Av 5727 (1967 - some two months after the Six Day War):
"Since the destruction of the Holy Temple, the loss of our independence and the start of our exile and oppression during the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jewish presence at the site of our temple has always been an unmistakable symbol. The Romans, Byzantines and Crusaders expelled us and prevented Jews from entering Jerusalem, because they couldn’t stand to allow the Jewish nation to serve its G-d at this holy site. This synagogue will not interfere with believing Moslems who wish to pray at the Al-Aksa Mosque. On the contrary, this is an opportunity for the Moslem world to demonstrate and prove that it is tolerant enough."
"From the destruction of the Second Temple until three hundred years ago, the prayers of Jews on the Temple Mount did not cease... The uniqueness of the Kotel (Western Wall) as a place of prayer is a historical innovation, and is not more than three hundred years old. It began after the decrees and limitations placed by the Muslim rulers on the Jews, and the abrogation of the 'synagogue' ... that had existed for centuries on the Temple Mount... In no manner or form is the Western Wall entitled to be a substitute for the Mount of the Lord. The prayers at the Wall symbolize the exile of the people and its expulsion from the Temple Mount, while our prayers on the Temple Mount represent the return of the people to its land and the place of its Temple.Yeshivat Har HaBayit makes the following claims, some of which could be easily verified with specific citations [if anyone has them, please feel free to put them in the comments section - I own a Rambam and a Meiri and have a very large library of sacred Jewish books. Lest anyone pick up on it, let me add that I totally disagree with the following disparaging remark made in that article and any similar ones: It is disgraceful that an anti-semitic decree has been turned into a self-imposed Rabbinic prohibition. Throughout the generations, Jewish law has been quite clear that "Yiftach b'doro k'Shmuel b'doro" - that we must follow the Rabbis of our generation and not question their authority. In my opinion, whether the sentence about the 'self-imposed prohibition' is historically correct or not - and the material at the link I cited is voluminous and I have not read it all so there may be more material in a similar vein - that sentence steps over the Yiftach b'doro k'Shmuel b'doro line. CiJ]
E. HistoricallyArutz Sheva also reports that
For almost 1500 years after the destruction of the Second Temple there are historical accounts of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. The following are citations from the Sefer Har HaBayit by Shaul Shefer, pages 341-345:
1. 363 C.E. Julian Caesar, the Byzantine, returns Jerusalem to the Jews in the days of Hillel the third and allows them to build a Temple. An earthquake destroyed the building materials stored in Solomon's Stables.
2. 640 C.E. Kalif Omar Ibn-Chatub cleans and repairs the Temple Mount, allows 7 Jews to settle there and build a yeshiva.
3. 940 C.E. The Karaite writer, Solomon Ben-Yerucham, writes about a synagogue on the southern side of the Temple Mount and the arguments between the Rabbis and Karaites caused the Jews to lose their foothold on the Mount.
4. 1000 C.E. Rabbi Avraham Berachia wrote about a synagogue and yeshiva that the Jews built on the Temple Mount.
5. 1165 C.E. The Rambam visits Jerusalem and prays on the Temple Mount.
6. 1287 C.E. The Meiri writes that he heard that the custom is to enter the Temple Mount.
7. 1476 C.E. Jews enter el-aqusa for a hearing about the Ramban synagogue.
Jordan's King Abdullah II has donated a huge carpet to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and has announced a contest to design a fifth minaret for the mosque. The existing minarets have been affixed with green neon lights in recent years, dominating the Jerusalem skyline. The planned minaret would be constructed along the eastern wall of the Temple Mount and would be clearly visible towering above the Western Wall.Guess which project is more likely to be approved....
The project requires approval by the Israeli government before it can begin.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:12 PM
3 Comments:
Last August I took my family to Israel for the first time. It was one of my dreams to go up to the Mount. I was told no one was allowed up (it was the week before disengagement). I was also told even when people are allowed up to the Mount they are not allowed to Pray. I could just see it--- getting arrested for dahvening without a license.
I do pray that you are wrong and that my next trip I will not only be on the Temple Mount, but to put on my Tefellin in a Shul on the Mount. Or even better, that the Moshiach comes and there is a Temple on the mount.
I don't claim any special expertise, but concerning the question of "definitely not part of the temple area" it appears to me that the Herodian additions are very clearly seen. Any part of the Temple Mount that was added during that period (e.g. from the "Tefer" on the Eastern Wall to the Mugrabi Gate on the Western Wall - South) is definitely not where the Temple stood.
Yoel,
You may be right. My understanding is that those who totally reject Rav Goren's permission to ascend the Mount fear that "amcha" will not know where the borders lie.
Post a Comment
<< Home