Monday, October 15, 2012

Praying for a third temple

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Why I pray for a third temple: In the first of a two-part series, Jewish World blogger Dr. Samuel Lebens explores his complex relationship with the Temple Mount and with those who want to rebuild the temple (Haaretz).
The desire to run up on to the Temple Mount, to demolish a mosque and a shrine, and to force our temple in to its place, is the desire to force the end; it is the desire to insert messianic notions of peace into our pre-messianic world. It can only result in evil and bloodshed and runs against the probing insight of the Talmudic sages. So, I can agree with readers of Haaretz if they conclude that Littman’s subjects are dangerous, fringe and extreme.

But I cannot agree that the very notion of a third temple is outmoded and absurd, nor is it extreme. In fact, it is mainstream. Every Jew who ever says the central Amida prayer, or recites a traditional Grace After Meals, prays for the rebuilding of the temple. To jettison the idea is to place yourself outside of the mainstream, and onthe extreme.
There is actually historical precedent for a Judean temple cult that eschews animal sacrifice. The rebuilt Judean temple at Elephantine, Egypt, was founded with such a system in the late fifth century BCE as agreed by the Persian authorities.

That said, I am opposed to any building or excavation (except future non-invasive/non-destructive scientific archaeological excavation) on the Temple Mount for practical reasons that I have explained repeatedly and at some length, if not tedium. I am also extremely wary of utopianism in any of its myriad forms.

Background here and links. Cross-file under "Politics."