01Classical interpretation: A traditional commentator's reading. Others may read the text differently.
עדן
Eden
Cherubim guard the way on the east. Commentators and scholars note parallels between the Garden and the Sanctuary.
The Houseבית המקדש
For nearly two thousand years, Jews have prayed toward Jerusalem and asked for the restoration of the Holy Temple.
What are they praying for?
Not a relic
The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE. It never left Jewish life. It is in the Torah, which commands a sanctuary, and in the prophets, who promise one.
It is in the Amidah, said three times a day toward Jerusalem. It is in grace after meals, at the Seder, under the wedding canopy and on the fast of the Ninth of Av. The law still records its measurements. Mourners are still comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Scroll, and every fragment turns toward the same place.
- AmidahThree times a day
- Facing JerusalemWhere Jews turn to pray
- Birkat HamazonGrace after meals
- MusafThe additional service
- PsalmsSongs of the Levites
- PesachThe Seder remembers
- SukkotThe water celebration
- Tisha B'AvThe day of mourning
- Wedding glassJoy remembers loss
- Next year in JerusalemSeder and Yom Kippur
A sanctuary in the centre of a people
From the Garden to a future House. Not every link has the same textual standing, so each one carries its label.
What happened here?
One day in the House, from the first light over Hebron to the closing of the gates. Choose a moment.
Before sunrise
Dawn over Hebron
A watchman calls down whether the eastern sky is lit as far as Hebron. Only then may the morning offering begin.
Open this moment in the Service ExplorerTimes are approximate. The Mishnah counts seasonal hours from sunrise, so clock times shift through the year.
Order of the day from Mishnah Tamid.
Why rebuild?
Six answers from inside Jewish tradition. None of them is a slogan, and none is only about a nation. Each rests on a text you can open.
The full why sequenceBecause the Torah commands a Sanctuary
The Torah asks for a sanctuary among the people. Rambam counts building a House for God as a standing positive commandment, not a memory.
Torah text: Stated in the Five Books of Moses.Because it was the centre of avodah
Once the chosen place is established, the Torah directs offerings there and nowhere else. The House is where the people served together.
Torah text: Stated in the Five Books of Moses.Because its loss is written into prayer
The daily Amidah asks for Jerusalem and the return of the service. The Ninth of Av mourns the destruction of both Houses.
Mishnah / Talmud: Recorded in the Mishnah or Talmud, the rabbinic texts that preserve Temple practice and law.Because the prophets describe a future House
Ezekiel sees a sanctuary set among the people for ever, and measures a Temple in detail. Isaiah and Micah see the nations streaming to it.
Tanach prophecy: Stated in the Prophets or the Writings.Because Jewish law places it within redemption
Rambam lists rebuilding the Sanctuary among the acts of the messianic king, with the ingathering of exiles and the restoration of the law.
Halachah: Rambam: Codified as Jewish law by Maimonides (Rambam) in the Mishneh Torah.Because holiness belongs in the physical world
Solomon admits that heaven cannot contain God, then asks that God's eyes be open toward this house. Holiness is given an address, not a cage.
Tanach prophecy: Stated in the Prophets or the Writings.
For Israel, and beyond Israel
וַהֲבִיאוֹתִים אֶל־הַר קָדְשִׁי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּים בְּבֵית תְּפִלָּתִי עוֹלֹתֵיהֶם וְזִבְחֵיהֶם לְרָצוֹן עַל־מִזְבְּחִי כִּי בֵיתִי בֵּית־תְּפִלָּה יִקָּרֵא לְכָל־הָעַמִּים׃
Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer; Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices Shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; For My house shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples.
Isaiah 56:7, JPS 1917
For Israel, and beyond Israel
Isaiah speaks of foreigners who join themselves to God and are welcomed on the holy mountain. The House is called a house of prayer for all peoples. The same sources also give its courts different degrees of access. A universal purpose and distinct sacred roles sit side by side.
Explore the House
The courts rise westward, each a step closer to the centre. Choose any part.
עזרה
The Azarah (inner courtyard)
The inner courtyard, 187 amot east to west and 135 north to south.
See it in the full model