Secular Pam, modern Orthodox Tzippi and haredi Danit answer your questions on percolating issues in Israel’s complicated social and religious fabric.
By THREE LADIES, THREE LATTESUpdated: NOVEMBER 12, 2015 18:29A view of Temple Mount(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)Hi – I’m a reader in my late 30s from Toronto. I visit Israel whenever I can, have cousins there and love the country a lot. I am secular, but live a traditional lifestyle and my kids go to a Jewish school.I try to keep up with the news, but the question of the Temple Mount has me stumped. What is going on? Do you three agree/disagree on this particular issue? Can you clarify?Tzippi Sha-ked:OK, here’s a quick primer on this explosive topic from a religious Jewish perspective. The Temple Mount is not merely important; it is central to Judaism. The Temple and accompanying holy vessels are mentioned over 1,000 times in the Torah, testifying to their centrality for Jews and Jewish history.This is the “holy of holies,” the holiest turf for religious-Zionist Jews, who want access to it for purposes of prayer. Palestinians and the global media depict this as an act of treason, of bullying, and even as stealing a Muslim holy site.Many entities police the Mount. A political status quo leaving it under the administration of the Wakf Muslim religious trust leaves Jews out in the cold. For security reasons, Israeli law also limits Jewish access. Ultra-Orthodox Jews refrain from visiting, due to their interpretation of Jewish law.Muslims prohibit Christians and Jews from prayer, song or any religious displays while visiting.Jews “apparently brandishing” books of Psalms and mumbling prayers are strangely perceived as murderous extremists who somehow “license” radicalized Muslims to stab Jews throughout Israel. Even Jews boarding a bus in Tel Aviv or walking downtown in Jerusalem become fair game.Is it unreasonable to want to pray at the Temple Mount? No. I’m against Palestinian whitewashing/revisionism that excludes all Jewish claims and relationship to the Mount. Religious Jews haven’t asked for exclusive appropriation of this site; we are prepared to share the spirituality of the sacred space. Unfortunately, the Palestinians won’t do the same.Pam Peled:Bizarrely, in a rare consensus with the Muslims, many ultra-Orthodox eschew the Mount, lest they tread on the holy of holies, whose exact spot is unknown. Other religious Jews ache to pray on the Mount, explaining that we’ve begged the Lord our God thrice daily, since talmudic times, that the “holy Temple be rebuilt, speedily in our days.”Yet, as Amotz Asa-El pointed out in his opinion piece “The Temple as idolatry” (The Jerusalem Post, October 30), this is not only where our ancestors flocked to hear the Torah reading, carry tithes to the priests, give charity to the poor and condolences to the bereaved, and query the sages. The magnificent building was also where power elbowed spirituality and piety gave way to corruption, violence and fanaticism. Asa-El notes that Jeremiah was tortured for speaking the bitter truth about the Temple, and the prophet Isaiah proclaimed God’s displeasure with the animal sacrifices there.This viewpoint not only presents the Temple as corrupt, it also highlights the danger in enshrining a place instead of being loyal to the land. Overzealousness leads to destruction: When Titus arrived in Jerusalem, he found Jews in the Jewish Quarter, others in the Temple and the holy of holies – all killing each other.It’s worth looking hard at what this ancient structure came to symbolize, before we risk blowing up our fragile peace to visit it again. Let’s first sort out our own corruption, power struggles and mess. When we’ve built a heaven here in the Holy Land, we can start dealing with this holy site.Danit Shemesh:We Jews are terribly homesick. Home is a core feeling of belonging, one that we felt deeply in the Temple. Since the Temple was destroyed and we were dispersed, we’ve been travel- worn. The balm to our sore body and spirit is the concept of home: the people of Israel living in the Land of Israel with the God of Israel, observing the Torah of Israel.Historically, the Temple Mount witnessed our most precious, intimate, defining moments, including the near-sacrifice of Isaac and Jacob’s dream. King David knew it was the center of the world, the zenith, and therefore built the Temple there.The kabbalistic perspective considers it a celestial porthole, a nexus of the metaphysical with the physical. All the prayers of the world pass through this holy place. The Temple defines “sacred”; without it, “holy” is a meaningless memory. The Temple is the epicenter of concentric circles, Jerusalem but another concentric circle surrounding it.Today, we’re not primed for that level of holiness; we’re suffering the dust of our Diaspora. Only God can prepare us to know Him intimately once again; only God can invite us into His court. For now, it’s off-limits for Jews. When the Messiah comes, a return to that level is promised.Physically living in Israel is only the beginning. For now, the Temple Mount represents our vision of a glorious future Temple, when all our people come home and we again visit our holiest place. We must have faith, observe the rules and wait until summoned.Comments and questions: 3ladies3lattes@gmail.com. Three Ladies, Three Lattes is available at: http://www.ktav.com