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Observance of the Temple commandments and work in a temporary tabernacle built and dismantled on the Temple Mount

שו”תCategory: HalachaObservance of the Temple commandments and work in a temporary tabernacle built and dismantled on the Temple Mount
asked 3 months ago

To Rabbi Dr. Michael Avraham, Shalom Rav,
 
I would like to ask the rabbi for his halakhic opinion in the political and interfaith circumstances regarding the observance of the Temple and work commandments in the present (i.e., not “tomorrow morning” but in circumstances of years or decades to come). This is based on the premise that the feelings and sensitivities of almost two billion Muslim believers around the world and their Sharia laws must be respected accordingly (and there are also halakhic considerations of “paths of peace”).
Likewise, I do not want to dwell here on issues of the impurity of the dead, the appointment of priests, the validity of the altar, the need for a monarchy, etc. These are important and relevant issues, but this is not the halachic issue I wish to raise.
I would also like to state that from a study of the Quran, the Hadith, contemporary Sharia discourse on the laws of Waqf (Islamic endowment), as well as the statements of the Palestinian delegation to the Western Wall Conference, which was established due to the events of 1949, it became clear to me that there is no Sharia problem in principle with holding Jewish worship in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa (the Haram Al-Sharif) (and I would add that even Israeli Muslims, with whom I speak about this, did not object to the very idea of ​​Jewish worship in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa, but mainly to “Ben Gvir and the settlers,” etc.), but on the other hand, there is a Sharia problem with converting Waqf land, which was dedicated to mosques and public prayers, to another purpose on a permanent basis.
 
And now to the actual (triple) question –

  • In the opinion of the Honorable Rabbi, is it possible to fulfill all the halachic obligations associated with the Temple and its construction in a tabernacle built and dismantled for the needs of worship (times for the morning sacrifice, the offering sacrifice, lighting the menorah, the showbread, etc.) in a vacant area on the Temple Mount, which includes the location of the altar of burnt offering? (I am not aware of an approach that says that the location of the altar is where there is an existing Islamic structure.)
  • Is it correct to say that it is indeed possible to fulfill all the halachic obligations related to the Temple and its building, as mentioned above, even if that Tabernacle, when it was built, did not encompass the Dome of the Rock (let’s say the ancient Holy of Holies was inside it), as long as on Yom Kippur the order of worship is performed by the High Priest (the offering, confession, etc.) inside the Dome of the Rock?
  • Is there a halachic problem in accepting in any normalization agreement of the State of Israel with a Muslim authority or state, within the outlines of which the Tabernacle is built and dismantled, the Jewish (Israeli) demands regarding the commandment of the Temple and worship therein on the Temple Mount (even without a permanent building) end? (Or perhaps accompanied by a comment, that ‘We hope for international and religious recognition by the free will of the nations of the world in the long run when the earth is filled with the knowledge of God to allow their free will to perfect the Temple as a house of prayer for all nations.’ etc.?)

I would be happy if the rabbi would indicate the sources and halachic principles on which he will rely in his reply.
 
With many thanks in advance and immense blessings,
Ofir Eliyahu Gal-Ezer
 
P.S. I would like to point out that in my opinion, a tabernacle that is built and dismantled is more ideal for the people of Israel than a permanent temple, in light of the tendency of the people of Israel throughout the Bible to trust in the Temple, which would save them from their enemies, and the worship of the Temple as an intermediary between God and man (“Do not trust yourselves in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, is this:” (Jeremiah, 7:4)) and in the spirit of the words in 2 Samuel, chapter 7 – “5. Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord: You are the one who will build me a house, that I may dwell in it. For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even unto this day: but I have walked in a tent, and in a tabernacle. “In all that I have walked with all the children of Israel, I have spoken a word to one of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me ​​a house of cedars?'”


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