The days of the Egyptians are approaching again, in which we mourn the destruction of the Temple. But in fact, the longing for the Temple's construction accompanies us every single day.
A quick glance at the Jewish calendar and prayer book immediately makes clear the centrality of the Temple in Jewish life. Three times a day, at the end of the Amidah prayers, we add and pray: "May the Temple be built quickly in our days." The Seder also ends with the call "Next year in Jerusalem," meaning that next year we will celebrate Passover in the Temple in Jerusalem.
The building of the Temple is the essence of the wishes of the Jewish people for generations. The longing for its construction focuses the expectation for the rebuilding of the Jewish nation and its return to its rightful place, and with it the Divine Presence returning to dwell in Israel.
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The place of revelation
The centrality of the Temple stems first and foremost from the many commandments associated with it. In the absence of the Temple, our Torah and mitzvot life is very partial and lacking.
It is common to speak of 313 mitzvot, but most of the mitzvot can only be observed when the Temple exists.
Judaism is not just tefillin and Shabbat, but also the daily sacrifice and the incense of the incense, the bread of the Presence and the Menorah of Light. All of these we can now only learn about and dream about.
However, the Torah is a law of life, which needs to be implemented within reality, and therefore we wait and expect its full realization, in the building of the Temple.
The Temple is also the place where God dwells and reveals Himself to His people. One of the Torah commandments is the pilgrimage – "to see the face of the Lord your God three times a year." The Sages say: 'As one comes to see, so one comes to see." In other words, just as a Jew comes to the Temple to show himself before God, so one comes to see "the face of the Lord your God" – to see the face of the Divine Presence.
The Mishnah describes the ten miracles that frequently occurred in the Temple. Every pilgrim would see the laws of nature changing. He would not need faith to recognize this – things would be visible to his eyes. Everyone would see the Divine Presence dwelling in the Temple, and from it the light would emanate to the entire world. We look forward and long for the building of the Temple, because then "our eyes will behold" the return of the Holy One to Zion.
Pray and believe
The Third Temple will be of an immeasurably higher order. Thus says the prophet: "For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Even the nations of the world will recognize its importance and centrality, and therefore the Temple will be the center of holiness and faith for all of humanity.
It is important to promote awareness of the Temple. To understand its place in the entire fabric of Jewish life. To study the issues of the Temple, its laws and the procedures for working in it. To pray a lot for its construction and the return of the Divine Presence to Zion. And to believe that we will indeed merit the construction of the Third Temple and the complete redemption "soon in our days.".
