Tolna Rebbe: Why We Won't Be Able To Build The Third Bais Hamikdash On Our Own

Jerusalem - A recent mussar shmooze in Yidish given by the Tolna Rebbe of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yitzchok Menachem Weinberg, discusses with a sense of humor why Chazal tell us, (Jerusalem Talmud, Megillah 1:11) that the third Bais Hamikdash will descend from the heavens, fully built.

As audio tape posted by by Israeli news site, B’Chadrei Chareidim, (http://bit.ly/1obPbHk) the Tolna Rebbe describes what will happen in the times of Moshiach:

“My sons, Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows his yidden.  Imagine for yourselves that Moshiach is coming.  Let’s try to picture for ourselves that we are standing now on a Motzei Shabbos and we all hear the sound of the shofar. Moshiach is here.

“The first thing that we need to do is to rebuild the Bais Hamikdash.  We all know how the chareidi world operates, Baruch Hashem.  Picture for yourselves how this Bais Hamikdash will be built.  Let me tell you what is going to happen.

“The first ones who will enter the picture will be Agudas Yisroel who will say ‘Of course we are the ones who will build the Bais Hamikdash.  We are the ones who worry about all the needs of the chareidi community. Is there any doubt that we should be the ones in charge?’  They will convene a whole assembly of gedolim in order to decide what needs to be done.

“Meanwhile, R’ Meir Porush will come and say, ‘And what about me?  The Agudah represents everyone?  I want this to be under my auspices.’  And then there will be a second group of Rabbonim discussing how to build the Bais Hamikdash.

“The Litvaks will come next and they will start to scream. ‘Gevald! The chasidism should build the Bais Hamikdash?  They will all be dancing because they don’t know anything about the actual halachos of building the Bais Hamikdash.  They will offer to find one Kohein who actually knows the halachos of the avoda. But they will tell us:  “for this part, you are going to need the Kollel Chazon Ish.  For that part you are going to need the avreichim in Brisk.”  What are you, crazy?  We will build the Bais Hamikdash.’

“Then will come Satmar, from both sides, and they will say, ‘You are all Zionists!  You are unfit to build the Bais Hamikdash.’

“The Chabadniks will also get involved.  ‘You are all crazy!  Moshiach is ours!  It is our Rebbe, our Moshiach, what are you talking about the Bais Hamikdash?  You are all insane.’

“You understand that Moshiach will come and, nebuch, it will be another long galus just until we can all agree who will build the Bais Hamikdash.

Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu has made the decision for us saying, ‘Listen to me, my children. It is enough for me that you will come to the Bais Hamikdash.  I will build it on my own, because there is no other way the Bais Hamikdash could ever be built.’”

The Tolna Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchak Menachem Weinberg, is a noted Scholar, leads the Tolna community in Jerusalem and is a sought after lecturer.

May God Perform miracles; May God Perform miracles for us as He did for our forefathers in those days at this time.

Still in the Planning Stage

ISRAEL MATZAV: What's wrong with supporting the Third Temple?

In the summer of 1990, before we made aliya, Mrs. Carl and I and the then-three children spent half a day with an organization that was creating the priestly garments and the vessels for the Temple - may it be restored speedily and in our time. The highlight of the day (for us) was when they showed us a model of the wash-basin and asked who knew how the Kohain (priest) stood when washing from the wash basin. Son # 1, child # 2 - then just short of 5-years old - immediately reached down and grabbed his ankles with his hands. We snapped a picture, and it instantly became the talk of the pre-1A class at YKP, where he went to school at the time.

The place we visited that day is known as the Temple Institute. On Sunday morning, the Leftists at Army radio (yes, even IDF radio is dominated by the Left) reported with horror that the Temple Institute is receiving government funding. No, it's not a huge amount, but it's enough to set the chattering classes into a tizzy. Fortunately, the government agencies in question aren't saying 'we didn't know.' Instead, they are defending the funding. For now.

The Education Ministry responded to the Army Radio report, saying: “The nonprofit meets criteria for receiving subsidies that go toward instructing students who visit the institute, and this has been the case for over 10 years now.”

“The Temple Institute deals with research, and it is supported by the ministry in accordance with professional criteria that has nothing to do with directly supporting the individual who heads it,” a Culture and Sport Ministry spokesperson said in response.

“Thus far we have found nothing that would raise suspicions of incitement or anything unusual as it relates to the temple. In light of the Army Radio report, it is the ministry’s intention to bring this matter to the attention of our legal department.”

The Temple Institute responded:

“For over 25 years the Temple Institute has stood at the forefront of research, education and preparation towards the time of the rebuilding of the Holy Temple,” a spokesperson for the Temple Institute told The Jerusalem Post. “The Institute's efforts have been recognized and awarded by Israel's Ministry of Education. Its trailblazing educational materials and scholarly publications have revolutionized these difficult areas of Torah knowledge for young and old alike.”

“Over one million people from all over the world, of every background and religion, have visited the Institute's exhibition located in Jerusalem's Old City," the spokesperson said. "The Temple Institute's website is the most popular and educational web site on the subject of the Holy Temple in the world."

"The rebuilding of the Holy Temple, called by the prophet Isaiah a 'house of prayer for all nations,' is a positive commandment, and the vision of the Temple's rebuilding, which will usher in an unparalleled era of world peace and harmony, is the central theme of the entire Torah. The Temple Institute is proud to represent the concept which has been heartfelt prayer of the Jewish people for two millennia.”

Any Jew who goes to synagogue prays for the restoration of the Temple. Orthodox Jews pray for it at least three times a day. As far as I know, prayers for the restoration of the Temple continue to appear in prayer books of the Conservative movement as well. While the Reform movement originally removed all references to the Temple, that was part and parcel of their removing the land of Israel (pre-state) from their prayers. But the land of Israel was restored to the Reform prayer book many years ago and I believe that the Temple was restored then too (caveat - I have not seen conservative or reform prayer books in recent years).

Let's be honest with ourselves. When the Temple is rebuilt, it is going to be rebuilt on the very same mountaintop where the dome of the rock and the al-aqsa mosque sit today. By definition, the rebuilding of the Temple, which is something we pray for every day, means no more false religions on the Temple Mount. And while no one is suggesting that we send the IDF to clear the Temple Mount tomorrow morning (maybe we should), we should not fool ourselves that we are praying for something else when we say in our prayers, "And may our eyes see when You return to Zion with mercy."

If the Israeli government cannot support an organization that is educating people about Jewish belief in our future, I have to wonder by what right the Israeli government calls itself a Jewish government.

Kiyor Nechoshes Set in Place for Exhibition

As the HaMikdash Institute prepares for a new exhibition, a large כיור נחושת was transported to the exhibit location, a delivery that required considerable care as those involved faced many logistical issues. The new kiyor is equipped with a system that eliminates fears of the Halachic inyan of ‘לינה בכלי שרת’.

According to Machon HaMikdash officials, the new kiyor is 2.5 meters high and its diameter is 2.8 meters, making a sizable heavy object, with officials pointing out it is kosher for use in the Third Beis HaMikdash and it can serve 12 kohanim simultaneously.

Visualizing the Beit HaMikdash How would the Beit HaMikdash fit into the landscape of the Old City? By: Jameel@Muqata

Tisha b'Av and the Third Beit HaMikdash - תשעה באב ובית המקדש השלישי