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Tisha B’av, the day the Second Temple was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago. by Yehudah Lev Kay (IsraelNN.com) The Temple Institute began work on the sacrificial altar
Thursday, Tisha B’av, the day the Second Temple was destroyed almost
2,000 years ago.
The Temple Institute has already built several of the Temple vessels
such as the Ark and the menorah, and has now embarked on an ambitious
project to build the altar, which will ultimately measure 3 meters wide
by 3 meters long and 2 meters tall. During Thursday’s ceremony, which took place in Mitzpe Yericho just east
of Jerusalem, the Temple Institute laid the cornerstone for the altar
and demonstrated how tar will be used to cement the stones together. The
Institute plans on bringing the altar to its proper place on the Temple
Mount when the Temple is rebuilt. “Today, Tisha B’av, is not just a time to mourn the destruction of the
Temple,” said Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the head of the Temple Institute. “It
is also a time to build.” Rabbi Ariel thanked the more than 100 people who came to the event
despite their fasting for Tisha B’Av, and despite the hot weather. The
main force behind the construction of the altar, Yonaton Tzadok, was
also on hand to explain why its stones were taken straight from the Dead
Sea. “The altar is supposed to represent going back to our roots, to the time
of creation when everything was pure,” he said. “We took rocks from the
Dead Sea, where it is likely that they were never touched by human hands.” During the ceremony, many people who came to watch were surprised when
they were invited to take part and pour tar onto the cornerstones. Rabbi
Ariel first asked if there were any Kohanim (priests) in the crowd, and
asked them start. When a woman requested to join in, Rabbi Ariel said
"of course" and emphasized that women are commanded to build the Temple
as well. With the sun setting, Tzadok asked for volunteers to come back another
day to help build the altar. “Carrying rocks and pouring tar is a lot of
work,” he said. “We could use a few hundred people to help.” More
information on the Temple Institute is available at
http://www.templeinstitute.org/main.htm.
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