Q&A: Are You Interested in the Building of the Temple?
Are You Interested in the Building of the Temple?
Question
In the kinot we long for the rebuilding of the Temple. But in the past, when we were among the nations and had no Jewish political entity in our homeland, the desire for rebuilding the Temple was intertwined with the desire for all the above. Today, however, what we are really asking for is the rebuilding of the Temple alone. I don’t understand why the Temple is supposed to matter to me and make me mourn and cry in anticipation of it. Quite apart from Maimonides’ view that the Temple is a kind of weaning program, even if we don’t go that far, why should the Temple matter to me? Because of the commandments that are fulfilled there? I haven’t seen people long like that for the commandment of tekhelet, for example (at least before the discovery of the murex). True, the Temple fascinates and intrigues me (among other things because of my involvement in the Talmudic topics), but if we’re already talking about interesting objects, I’d rather pray for the recreation of the T. rex speedily in our days. So tell me, do you agree that there is no reason to mourn the destruction of the Temple?
P.S. I should note that I do find meaning in the kinot about the national suffering and the expulsion from the homeland, but not in the parts about the destruction itself.
Answer
Maimonides’ view in the Guide seems completely implausible, and it is fairly clear that he himself did not believe it either, at least not in its plain sense. If that is how one understands the sacrifices, one does not go on to write the sections on Temple service and sacrifices, a monumental work on the laws of sacrifices and the Talmudic passages that deal with them. It seems to be part of his esoteric writing (and the contradiction with what he writes in the laws of misuse of consecrated property is well known. I have also discussed all this on the site).
Beyond that, I have already mentioned here the dispute between Maimonides and Nachmanides regarding the role of the Temple (a house of worship or a house for the Divine Presence). And Rav Kook’s well-known remarks in his “Vision of Vegetarianism” about the sacrifices eventually being abolished are also relevant.
I also explained here in the past that my feeling is similar to yours, but I am aware that it is a product of the circumstances of my life. I have never experienced the meaning and impact of a Temple and Temple service on our religious lives. Perhaps when I do experience it, I will understand it, as those who have experienced it testify.
Discussion on Answer
I didn’t understand the question. In any case, it has nothing to do with mysticism. There are things you cannot understand without experiencing them directly. That is true even of yellow light. As long as you have not experienced it, you do not know what it is.
So you accept the plausibility of the Temple as a mystical event? Because there is no need to experience it; there is reasoning and life experience.