Temple Mount by Rabbi Mordechai Rabinovitch

5/20/2018 Temple Mount by Rabbi Mordechai Rabinovitch

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IS THE

TEMPLEMOUNT

STILL OURS?By Mordecai Rabinovitch

Photo:Flash90.

An aerial view of the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount.The structure above is the El-Aqsa Mosque

(refer to diagram on page 3).

Israel


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Rabbi Rabinovitch serves as the co-coo

dinator for Vaad Rabbanei Yesha of thspecial committee established to dealwith all matters relating to the TempleMount. A resident of the Jewish settle-ment Kochav Yaacov, where he lives whis wife and eight children, he hasauthored numerous volumes of theYad

AvrahamArtScroll commentary on thMishnah, as well as MayimRishonim(on tractateYadayim) andBirkat HaAretz (novellae relating to order Zeraim).

Thousands of tons of earth are dug from the

Temple Mount and discarded in a

local garbage dump,

with no archeological supervision.

PhotocourtesyofDr.DanBahat

It is well known that as a conse-quence of the Six Day War, sovereign-ty over the Temple Mount wasrestored to the Jewish people. It is also

well known that almost immediately,the State of Israel went to great lengthsto reassure the Moslem world of its

peaceful intentions; not only was theMoslem waqf given de facto control ofthe Mount, but for all practical pur-poses Jewish entry and worship on theTemple Mount was prevented. Indeed,the latter prohibition was bolstered byrabbinic rulings declaring it forbiddenby Jewish law to enter the entireTemple Mount compound.

What is less well known, however, isthat for the last several years, the Arabshave been engaged in a determined

effort to permanently change the statusand character of the Temple Mount. Inthe course of this campaign, the laws ofthe State of Israel are flagrantly violat-

ed, sometimes under the cooperativeeye of the Israeli police, with no conse-quences whatsoever. Thousands of tonsof earth are dug from the TempleMount and discarded in a local garbagedump, with no archeological supervi-sion. Artifacts of immense significance

are mutilated or destroyed, particularlyif they hint of some ancient Jewish con-nection with the Mount. Moreover,much of this information is intentional-ly hidden from the media and the pub-lic, in a conspiracy of silence.

It is difficult to imagine that all thiscan happen to the holiest place onearth, with little more than an occa-sional whimper of public protest.Possibly with all the strife to which thecitizens of Israel have been subjected

over the last decade, their apathy canbe understood. But the rabbis havealready taught that neglect of theTemple is a national crime that can

bring national punishment.1 Perhapall we need is to stop this crime toimprove our entire situation.

The Modern DayDestruction of the

Temple Mount2

Among the five calamities whichbefell the Jewish people on Tisha BAthe Mishnah Taanit4:6 lists the ploing of the city. Rambam (HilchotTaanit5:1) following Yerushalmi(Taanit4:5) explains that the wickedTurnus Rufus plowed the Temple santuary and its surroundings. It is notlikely that Turnus Rufus wanted toplant wheat at the site of the Templeruins; most likely, he wanted to erad

cate whatever Jewish remains had survived the destruction of the Temple.Evidently, this is also part of thedestruction of the Temple, and warramourning on the part of the Jews.

In 1996, two ancient undergroundstructures, in the southeastern corneof the Temple Mount were converteinto a huge mosque. The two struc-tures, dating from the Second Tempperiod, were Solomons Stables and Eastern Hulda Gate passageway, nei

ther of which had ever previously beused as mosques. The new mosqueextends over an area of one-and-a-haacres, and accommodates 10,000 woshippers; it is the largest mosque in State of Israel. In 1997, the Arabs coverted the Western Hulda Gate pas-sageway, which is situated below theEl_Aqsa mosque, into yet another

Summer 5762/2002 JEWISH ACTION


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Early Second Temple Period (6th century BCE)

Hasmonean Period (2nd century BCE)

Late Second Temple Period (20 BCE-70 CE)

Islamic (7th century CE and later)

Current Construction area

1. Western Wall Plaza

2. el-Aqsa Mosque

3. Stables of Solomon and Eastern Hulda Gate passageway

(Underground structures, recently converted to a mosque)4. Western Hulda Gate passageway

(Underground structure, recently converted to a mosque)

5. Golden Gate

6. Dome of the Rock

7. double Hulda Gate

8. triple Hulda Gate

1

2

3

7

8

4

5

6

All rights reserved to Dr. Eilat Mazar

Historical Monuments of theTemple Mount of Jerusalem(looking northwest)

mosque, conveniently naming it theoriginal El-Aqsa mosque.

In the meantime, the Arabs beganto clamor that the huge mosque struc-ture in Solomons Stables was unsafe,since there wasnt a fire or emergencyescape route. Instead of immediatelydeclaring the building unfit for use,and closing it off, the Israeli authori-ties approved opening an emergencyexit. The Arabs took complete advan-tage and in a 72-hour period, dug an

enormous holeas much as 36-feetdeep in placescovering an area of18,000-square feet. Thousands of tonsof fill from this site were dumpedunsupervised into the Kidron Valley.

In February and March of 2001,bulldozers razed an ancient structurebuilt against the Eastern Wall of theTemple Mount enclosure in order tofurther enlarge the emergency exitfrom the mosque in Solomons Stables.

During all this time, building mate-

rials were taken into the TempleMount with no supervision, and hun-dreds of square meters were paved

with tiles and declared open-air(roofless) mosques.

More recently, it has become knownthat the Arabs plan to import sacred

water from the ZamZam fountain inMecca, and mix it with water on theTemple Mount. This will upgrade thesanctity of the Temple Mount inMoslem eyes, and make it a destina-tion for pilgrimage almost as desirableas Mecca itself. In preparation for this,

the Arabs are engaged in cleaning andclearing various underground vaults onthe Mount.

The Jews and theTemple Mount 3

Shortly after the miraculousredemption of Jerusalem in the SixDay War, leading rabbis representingthe various factions of the observantcommunity in Israel issued a ruling

prohibiting entry into any and allparts of the Temple Mount. To unde

stand the basis for this ruling, it is nessary to understand that halachahdivides the Temple Mount enclosureinto two distinct zones: zone one, thCamp of the Shechinah (which isroughly equivalent to the site occupiby the Temple); and zone two, theCamp of the Levites (which is roughthe rest of the Temple Mount enclo-sure, outside the Temple). It is unanmously agreed that a tamei metis forbidden to enter the Camp of theShechinah. Likewise, it is unanimouagreed that a tamei metis permitted enter the Camp of the Levites. Sinceall persons today are presumed to hatumat met, and since this tumahcanonly be removed through use of theashes of the no longer extantparahadumah(red heifer), it is clear thatentry into the Camp of the Shechinais forbidden. At the same time, hower, it would seem equally clear that



4/5Summer 5762/2002 JEWISH ACTION

tumat metshould not be an obstacle toentry into the Camp of the Levites.4

Why then did the rabbis issue a strin-gent ruling?

The answer is that the preciselocation of the Temple structure with-

in the Temple Mount is not known.Consequently, the precise boundariesbetween the Camp of the Shechinahand the Camp of the Levites are notknown. Since permitting entry intothe Camp of the Levites runs the riskof violating the sanctity of the Campof the Shechinah, the rabbis saw fit toissue a blanket prohibition, therebyinsuring that nobody would inadver-tently enter the forbidden zone.

To buttress this approach, it was pointedout that the Torah (Leviticus 19:30)demands especial reverence for the holyplace. If a person willfully enters an area onthe Mount that might be part of the for-bidden Camp of the Shechinah, this is anact of irreverence that constitutes a viola-tion of the command to be especially rev-erent; an especially reverent person wouldnot risk even a questionable illegal entry.Consequently, entry ought to be forbiddeneven to areas with an uncertain status.5

The result of this approach has beenthat by and large, observant Jews whomight have been expected to covet theTemple Mount more than any others,have completely avoided entering thearea, and have thus effectively aban-doned it to the Arab waqf.And asdescribed earlier, this abandonmenthas led in recent years to an active

Arab attempt to change the characterof the Mount.

Notwithstanding the aforemen-tioned rabbinic edict, during theapproximately 40 years since the SixDay War, there have been observant

Jews (some of them prominent rabbis)who have made a point of entering theTemple Mount. The halachic counterar-gument to that presented above is sim-ply that even though the precise bound-aries within the Camp of the Shechinah

are not yet known, there are neverthe-less definable areas within the Mountthat were certainly not part of this extra-holy zone. Entry into those parts doesnot involve any irreverence to the Campof the Shechinah, and therefore, afterfollowing the appropriate halachic direc-tives,6 entry into such areas should be

permitted.7

[Editor: However, it shouldbe noted that most leading halachicauthorities do not permit entry.]

In recent years, with the accelerationof the Arab attempt to convert theentire Temple Mount into an open-airmosque, the movement towards per-mitting entry into specified areas ofthe Mount has gained popularity invarious rabbinic circles. The Counselof Yesha Rabbis issued a lenient rulingin this vein, and even the Chief

Rabbinate of Israel, while not veeringfrom its earlier stringent ruling, hasnonetheless appointed a committee tostudy and investigate the possibility ofconstructing a synagogue on the per-mitted area of the Temple Mount.

Undoubtedly, if more Jews were toenter the Mount, the ability of the

Arabs to engage in illegal constructionand destruction would be severely ham-pered. However, during the last year and

a half, even those who follow the lenientrabbinic rulings have been deniedaccess. Because for the last year and ahalf, the Arab waqfhas prevented allnon-Muslims from entering the Mount.Thus, the question arises: Given a situ-ation in which most observant Jewsare reluctant to enter the TempleMount, and in which in fact, no Jewscan enter, what can be done to stemthe Arab conquest?

Changing Our FocusAn unfortunate side effect of the

perception of the Temple Mount asbeing off limits to Jews, is the widelyquotedbut completely erroneousdepiction of the Western Wall as theholiest site in Judaism. If only tocombat this blatant distortion of thetruth, it would seem that all Jews, eventhose who are not prepared to enterthe Mount, must do things that indi-

cate the true focus of our prayers.A number of activities can be und

taken. Foremost among these is partipation in the monthly circling of thTemple Mount. For several monthsnow, following an ancient tradition,hundreds of Jews gather on the eve oRosh Chodesh, and follow a route

around the outside of the TempleMount that includes stops oppositethe various gates to the Mount, wheancient prayers, which were composfor this purpose, are recited. The mopeople participate in this activity, thclearer it will become that our yearning is for the Temple Mount and nofor the Western Wall plaza.

Secondly, the area of the

Hulda gates deserves special atten-tion. There is still an undergroundpassageway, between the double anthe triple gates that has not beenovertaken by the Arabs. Accordingto halachah, such passageways arenot endowed with sanctity, and it permitted to enter them even without immersion in a mikveh.8 Ifaccess to this passageway could bearranged from the outside, it wouenable a Jewish presence within th

walls of the Temple Mount, in amanner that would not raise anyhalachic objections. However, inorder to gain such access, enormoupublic pressure on the Israeli gov-ernment is needed. If enough lette

were written to Police Minister UzLandau and Prime Minister Sharoabout this, some progress mightactually be made.

Even if the government authoritie

are not prepared to authorize such amove, one may still demand that areoutside the Temple Mount walls, onthe southern and eastern sides, be deignated as permanent prayer zones. Athings stand at present, the southern

wall Hulda Gates are part of an archological park to which there is accesonly after paying an admission fee. Wshould demand that the area at the tof the ancient steps leading to thetriple gates be designated as a praye


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spot. Similarly, on the eastern slope ofthe Mount, there are places that canserve as prayer areas. If in addition tothe minyanimat the Western Wall,constant minyanimwere to assemble atthese spots and pray in the direction ofthe Mount, it would become apparentthat the holy site for Judaism is the

Temple Mount, not the Western Wall.(The same idea could in theory beimplemented on the northern side,but because of the demographics onthat side, security might be a problem.On the southern and eastern sides,however, security would not be asmuch of an issue.) Pressure brought tobear on the minister of tourism as wellas Minister of the Environment TzachiHanegbi should suffice to arrange foradditional spots around the walls ofthe Temple Mount to be officially rec-ognized as synagogue prayer areas.

And while on the topic of letterwriting, it might not be a bad idea towrite to Minister of Religious AffairsAsher Ohana. At present, the TempleMount is not included in the State ofIsraels list of Jewish holy places.Inclusion of the Temple Mount mightprevent future disgraces such as theburial of Faisal Husseini, a senior offi-

cial of the PLO, within the Mount.For those who are unaware, Husseini

was interred in a chamber carved outof the northern part of the Western

Wall. The chamber can be accessedonly from within the Temple Mount(contrary to official claims otherwise)and effectively amounts to this enemyof the Jews having been buried on theMount. Arguably, if the TempleMount were listed among the Jewish

holy places, such a desecration couldhave been avoided.

For those whose rabbinic authori-ties permit entry into certain parts ofthe Mount, it is obvious that a Jewishpresence on the Mount will go a long

way to slow down, if not entirelyarrest, the Arab conquest of the site.However, even those who are hesitantabout entering the Temple Mount can

still decry the grotesque discriminationexercised by the Israeli authorities overthe years. Currently, no Jews at all areallowed entrance to the TempleMount; but even when this was per-mitted, a Jew whose tzitzitshowed wasordered off the Mount; tefillinwereforbidden; and anyone suspected of

uttering a Jewish prayer was immedi-ately surrounded and forced off theMount by Israeli police officers accom-panied by waqfofficials.9 Surely, any-one who cherishes the democraticprinciple of freedom of worship mustbe horrified by such behavior. Heretoo, if public protest were to be heard,headway might be made.

It is sad that after some 54 years ofthe State of Israel, and 35 years afterthe liberation of the holy city of

Jerusalem, the Jewish hold on theTemple Mount is possibly more pre-carious than it has been for hundredsof years. If my description of the hor-rible plight of the Temple Mount rais-es the awareness of some of the read-

ers, and more so, if it moves them t

undertake some of the suggestions

proposed above, then maybe the day

when things look up again will be

closer. Let us hope and pray that tha

day is not too far off.

Notes

1. Midrash Shmuel31:4, quoted by Radon II Samuel 24:25. See also Ramban

Numbers 16:21.

2. The factual information for this secti

was provided by the Committee for t

Prevention of the Destruction of

Antiquities on the Temple Mount. Fo

more detailed information, visit the w

sitewww.har-habayt.org.

3. An excellent survey of the rabbinic a

tude to the Temple Mount can be fou

in Nadav Shragai, Har HaMerivah

(Jerusalem: Keter, 1995).

4. The tumahof a baal keriis not an

obstacle to entry, since this can be

removed even today by immersion in

kosher mikveh.

5. Representative responsa which reflect

this approach can be found in: Minch

Yitzchakvol. 5 no.1; Yabia Omervol.

Yoreh Deahno. 26, and Tzitz Eliezerv

10 no. 1. See also Rabbi Bezalel Zhol

Torah Shebeal Peh (Mossad HaRav

Kook) vol. 8, 39-45.6. E.g., immersion in a kosher mikveh.

a clear, practical survey of all the app

able laws, see Rabbi Yossi Peli and

Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira, El Har HaM

(Jerusalem, 5757).

7. For a lucid presentation of this view

point, see Rabbi Yitzchak Sheilat,

Techumin, vol. 7, 489-512. An English

version of Rabbi Sheilats article appea

in Crossroads, vol. IV, 183-217. See als

Rabbi Zalman Koren, Chatzrot Beit

Hashem(Jerusalem, 5737). [ThoughRabbi Koren permits entry, he does so

in situations involvingpikuach nefesh.

For an early proposal to build a syna-

gogue on the Temple Mount, see Rab

Y.M. Tokechinski, Ir HaKodesh

VehaMikdash(Jerusalem, 5730), vol. 5.,

8.Avnei Nezer, Yoreh Deahno. 450.

9. Many such incidents are documented

the publications of the Tenua LeKinu

HaMikdash: Yibaneh HaMikdashand

Gebini Karoz.

Rabbinic edit, issued after the Six Day War,prohibiting entry into the Temple Mount.Signatories include: Rabbi Shlomo Zalman

Auerbach, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, RabbiYosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rabbi Eliezer

Waldenberg, and Rabbi Tzvi YehudahKookamong others.

JA

CourtesyofRabbiZalmanKoren


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Temple Mount by Rabbi Mordechai Rabinovitch