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Jerusalem Temple (stupid question)

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
I have a question that hopefully Jewish members will be able to help me with, or at least people who are less ignorant than me when it comes to Judaism.

I don't get the whole Jerusalem Temple thing.

I understand it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and that it was the centre of Judaism.

I get that...

But how come rebuilding it is such a big deal?

Why hasn't this been done already?

Pardon my ignorance on this matter.
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
I have a question that hopefully Jewish members will be able to help me with, or at least people who are less ignorant than me when it comes to Judaism.

I don't get the whole Jerusalem Temple thing.

I understand it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and that it was the centre of Judaism.

I get that...

But how come rebuilding it is such a big deal?

Why hasn't this been done already?

Pardon my ignorance on this matter.
Politics. According to Tacitus, the decision to destroy the Temple was made by Titus to destroy the moral of the rebellious Jews, so naturally later Flavian emperors didn't authorize the rebuilding of the Temple.
A Jewish midrashim source states that Hadrian in the early 2nd century CE had offered the Jews the chance to rebuild the Temple, but was later swayed by enemies of the Jews to change the plans drastically, in a manner problematic to the Jewish religion.
It is theorized by some scholars that during the Bar Kokhba Revolt, Jerusalem was captured by the Jews and they started rebuilding the Temple, but there is no straightforward evidence for this. Even if some version of the Temple was rebuilt, it was quickly destroyed by Hadrian shortly after. Indeed, multiple Christian patristic sources attest to Hadrian having destroyed Jerusalem whilst quelling the Revolt.

The first really serious and better-attested attempt was in the 4th century CE, when Emperor Julian decreed the Temple be rebuilt, however for reasons not entirely clear, the work was halted (sources attest some kind of supernatural fire breaking out; modern scholars think it may have been the result of an earthquake that took place in the Galilee at the time).

There were a few other attempt over the centuries, but none as close as during the time of Julian. The bottom line was that it didn't happen because the Jews never had enough power to do it, and when governments were willing at first, things quickly changed for some reason or other.

Nowadays the Temple isn't being rebuilt both because there hasn't yet been an Israeli government that was willing to do it (or interested) and because, even if there was, it would be a dangerous political decision because of the uproar that would be caused if the third most important Muslim site was taken apart by "the Jews". We need some good political maneuvering before we can start thinking about the Temple.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Thank you :)

Can I ask - would a third temple have to be on the same land as the previous temples?
"The Temple Mount is considered the holiest site in Judaism.[10][8][9] According to Jewish tradition, both Temples stood at the Temple Mount.[96] Jewish tradition further places the Temple Mount as the location for a number of important events which occurred in the Bible, including the Binding of Isaac, Jacob's dream, and the prayer of Isaac and Rebekah.[97] According to the Talmud, the Foundation Stone is the spot from where the world was created and expanded into its current form.[98][99] Orthodox Jewish tradition maintains it is here that the third and final Temple will be built when the Messiah comes."

Temple Mount - Wikipedia
 

paarsurrey

Veteran Member
I have a question that hopefully Jewish members will be able to help me with, or at least people who are less ignorant than me when it comes to Judaism.

I don't get the whole Jerusalem Temple thing.

I understand it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and that it was the centre of Judaism.

I get that...

But how come rebuilding it is such a big deal?

Why hasn't this been done already?

Pardon my ignorance on this matter.
Isn't Jerusalem Temple a Christian one rather than to be a Jewish one , please?:

Jerusalem Temple
https://jtaindy.com

Our Mission at Jerusalem Temple Apostolic Faith Assembly is to guide ... and ample opportunity to grow in your relationship with Jesus and His Church.
Address
2125 East 54th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46220
(317) 253-2276
[email protected]
OOO
Right?

Regards
 
Last edited:

RabbiO

הרב יונה בן זכריה

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
I have a question that hopefully Jewish members will be able to help me with, or at least people who are less ignorant than me when it comes to Judaism.

I don't get the whole Jerusalem Temple thing.

I understand it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and that it was the centre of Judaism.

I get that...

But how come rebuilding it is such a big deal?

Why hasn't this been done already?

Pardon my ignorance on this matter.
Judaism does okay without the temple -- we pray in lieu of sacrifices, and it works quite nicely. But it's not the ideal. Things will never be ideal for Judaism until the temple is rebuilt. And right now, that is impossible because there is a Mosque on the property.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
Judaism does okay without the temple -- we pray in lieu of sacrifices, and it works quite nicely. But it's not the ideal. Things will never be ideal for Judaism until the temple is rebuilt. And right now, that is impossible because there is a Mosque on the property.
Could there not be a fully operational temple built on some other site?
 

rosends

Well-Known Member
The temple is a focal point of Jewish faith and practice. While we have synagogues which operate as mini (local) analogs, the goal is to rebuild a prophesied temple at which we can assemble and practice. Certain laws can only take place in/at the temple so while we can replace those practices temporarily, the temple will allow us to see the fullest expression of our religion.

Because our belief teaches us that God chose the spot, that spot retains its importance so any future temple must be in that same spot. The understanding now (at least within Orthodox circles) is that the temple's being rebuilt (either via man's efforts, or divine intervention) is a hallmark of a messianic era, so the temple can't simply "be" while the world is in the state it is in (a non-messianic era). So while people can prepare items for it, or learn all about it, it isn't simply a theoretical building awaiting zoning and hiring a general contractor.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
The temple is a focal point of Jewish faith and practice. While we have synagogues which operate as mini (local) analogs, the goal is to rebuild a prophesied temple at which we can assemble and practice. Certain laws can only take place in/at the temple so while we can replace those practices temporarily, the temple will allow us to see the fullest expression of our religion.

Because our belief teaches us that God chose the spot, that spot retains its importance so any future temple must be in that same spot. The understanding now (at least within Orthodox circles) is that the temple's being rebuilt (either via man's efforts, or divine intervention) is a hallmark of a messianic era, so the temple can't simply "be" while the world is in the state it is in (a non-messianic era). So while people can prepare items for it, or learn all about it, it isn't simply a theoretical building awaiting zoning and hiring a general contractor.
So, Jews aren't too worried about it not being built because they expect it to be somehow built in the future, when The Messiah comes?
 

rosends

Well-Known Member
So, Jews aren't too worried about it not being built because they expect it to be somehow built in the future, when The Messiah comes?
We aren't "worried" but we are interested in it's happening as soon as possible. We do things to prepare ourselves and the world -- some do things that are more concrete (like preparing tools for use in the temple) and things that are more spiritual (like following commandments which, we believe, will hasten the coming of the messiah).
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
and things that are more spiritual (like following commandments which, we believe, will hasten the coming of the messiah).
That's interesting

So you believe that the timing of the messiah's coming depends on the extent to which Jews observe the various commandments?

So does this mean you believe that the messiah won't come until God thinks The Jews are ready?
 

rosends

Well-Known Member
That's interesting

So you believe that the timing of the messiah's coming depends on the extent to which Jews observe the various commandments?

So does this mean you believe that the messiah won't come until God thinks The Jews are ready?
The messiah will come when it is time for the messiah to come. There is much in the way fo religious text about this.

Here is one website's sumamry
Contradictions Resolved; The arrival of Moshiach
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
So, Jews aren't too worried about it not being built because they expect it to be somehow built in the future, when The Messiah comes?
We are not too worried about it being built in the future because right now, we have a functional religion where prayers are used in lieu of sacrifice.
 
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