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From: ayf@erc3ba.UUCP (A.Y.Feldblum)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: the location of the Temple Mount
Message-ID: <173@erc3ba.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Dec-85 10:02:11 EST
Article-I.D.: erc3ba.173
Posted: Mon Dec 30 10:02:11 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 31-Dec-85 05:44:18 EST
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Organization: AT&T Engineering Research Center   Princeton, NJ
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> The Book of Ezekial (Sefer Yecheskel), one of the books of the "Prophets"
> portion of the Bible, contains a long section discussing how the future
> Third Temple will be built and conducted.  In it, the prophet specifically
> says that the Third Temple will NOT be built at the site of the previous two,
> but rather at a significant distance from it(close to, but outside Jerusalem,
> I think).  Does anyone know whether or not this has generally been accepted
> at face value, whether or not it has had any halachic implications on the
> status of the old Temple site, or why it is ignored by the "zealots" who
> publicly proclaim their imminent preparation to rebuild the Temple at its
> former site?

There are several differences between what is described in the Torah
concerning the first two Temples and the laws concerning the Temple and
concerning the Priests, and what is found in Ezekial's prophecies. My
understanding is that these differences are not accepted as having
halachic validity. There is also very strong Medrashic support that the
Third Temple will not be built by human hands, but in a miraculas way by
G-d (it is supposed to last forever, and only something of divine origin
can last forever), so much of the discussion may be moot. We just have
to wait, hope and see.

Avi Feldblum
AT&T
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