Arch of Titus

 IDF Chief in Rome: Israel Lives 2,000 Years After Temple Razed

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I visited the Arch of Titus years ago and spat at it (general direction). Later I found out that Titus was actually reluctant to destroy Jerusalem but clearly it was God's will.

No Israeli official should be in Rome during this time unless it is to make demands for the Temple treasures to be restored to Jerusalem where they belong.

Will the pope act like Belshazzar or Cyrus?

The Vatican Must Return the Temple Treasures

Furthermore, Am Israel Chai - the Nation and People of Israel lives - not because of the IDF but because of the tender mercies of God.


Among the Mysteries of the Menorah is this fact: "Studying the image on the arch, one can discern dragons or sea serpents adorning the steps of the pedestal—just the sort of pagan art that Jewish sages singled out as associated with idolatry. “If one finds vessels,” we are told in the Talmud, “upon which are the forms of a sun, or a moon, or a dragon, let him throw them into the Dead Sea.” Pillars decorated with dragons virtually identical to those on the menorah’s pedestal have been discovered in the Roman temple at Didyma in southern Turkey. It beggars belief that the Temple candelabrum would have incorporated such a fundamentally pagan aesthetic."

Half the Public Wants to See Holy Temple Rebuilt

 by Hillel Fendel
www.IsraelNationalNews.com

Half the Israeli public wants the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) to be rebuilt. This is the main finding of a poll commissioned by the Knesset Television Channel and carried out by the Panels Institute.


The poll was taken in advance of this Tuesday’s national day of mourning, known as Tisha B’Av, on which the two Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, 2,000 and 2,500 years ago, respectively.

Forty nine percent said they want the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, while 23% said they do not. The remainder said they were unsure.

The public is about evenly split on whether they believe it will happen, with a slight edge – 42% to 39% – to those who believe the Third Holy Temple will be rebuilt.

Should the State of Israel take active steps towards the reconstruction? Forty-eight percent said no, while 27% said yes.

The complete results of the poll will be broadcast on Channel 99, the Knesset channel, on Monday night at 9:30 P.M., right after the traditional evening prayers and mournful recitation of the Book of Lamentations in synagogues throughout the country.

Given the current political climate, the onset of construction of the Beit HaMikdash, and possibly even a poll on the subject, is not likely to go over quietly in the Islamic world, which currently has day-to-day control over the Temple Mount. A mere visit to the holy site in the year 2,000 by then-Opposition Leader Ariel Sharon is blamed by Arabs for having sparked the Oslo War, a terrorist onslaught that claimed nearly 1,000 Israeli lives in just over four years – although in truth, the war was planned by leading Palestinian Authority figures for months beforehand.
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Half the Public Wants to See Holy Temple Rebuilt

Charlie Harary film on the Meaning of TIsha B'Av

The meaning behind the tears.

This Place: The Place of the Holy Temple

"But you did not want to go up, and you rebelled against the commandment of HaShem, your G-d."
(Deuteronomy 1:27)
Av 4, 5770/July 15, 2010

We begin this Shabbat the fifth and final book of the five books of Torah known in Hebrew as the Chumash, (literally, "five"), the book of Deuteronomy. In Hebrew it is simply called Devarim, (words), as it relates the words which Moshe spoke to the children of Israel over the final thirty seven days of his life on earth. One of the first incidents Moshe recalls is also one of the most painful in Israel's history, the incident of the twelve spies who went up to the land of Israel and returned to the nation with an evil and discouraging report.

Moshe rebukes his people yet again concerning this most unfortunate matter, and, in fact, sheds much new light on what really transpired. But why is he telling all this to the nation now? After all, the contemporaries of the spies have all, by now, died in the desert, their reward, as it were, for their lack of faith in G-d. The adults whom Moshe is now addressing were mere children when the spies returned from Israel on the ninth of Av thirty-nine years earlier. And as for the youngsters, the story of the spies must have sounded like ancient history to them. Why rebuke and exhort a people for a crime committed by a generation now deceased?

The Torah reading of Devarim is always read each year on the Shabbat preceding Tish'a b'Av, the 9th of Av. And for all of us who read it today, the aforementioned question demands to be asked even more emphatically. Not only did we read about the spies a mere six weeks ago, (parashat Shlach), but the incident of the spies truly is ancient history, having happened over three thousand years ago.

Truth be told, the retelling of the story of the spies who entered the land, saw its goodness, yet lost heart and spread their defeatism to the entire nation, is a story that has never concluded, an open wound upon the soul of Israel. This upcoming Tuesday, July 20th, is the 9th of Av, the anniversary of the return of the spies. It also marks the precise date of the destruction of both the first and second Holy Temple, as well as many other subsequent tragedies in the history of the Jewish nation. When G-d told Israel that the unprovoked tears that they shed over the land on that 9th day of Av in the desert would be repaid by a real reason to weep on the ninth, He meant what He said.

The name given to the three week period of mourning which we observe over the destruction of the Holy Temple, (beginning with the 17th of Tammuz and concluding with the 9th of Av), is known as bein hametzarim, literally between the narrow places. But it can also be understood as bein haMitzraim, between the Egypts, that is, between the exile and bondage which is imposed upon us from without, by our oppressors, and the exile and bondage that we impose upon ourselves from within, through our own fear and weakness, our own lack of faith in ourselves and in G-d.

The story of the spies remains crucial and relevant to us today, and, in fact, more so today than ever. For the first time in two thousand years the nation of Israel is in the position to finally put an end to the day of weeping incurred by the sin of the spies. For the first time since the Romans destroyed the Holy Temple in the year 70 CE and the long night of exile began, Israel is poised to right the wrong, to rebuild the house that G-d instructed us to build, so that He may dwell amongst us, and to serve, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, as a light to the nations.

Resigning ourselves to an annual day of mourning for the Holy Temple, and absolving ourselves of the imperative to build it, today, is not merely a prolongation of the tragedy of the spies, but a reenactment of the sin. In the words of Moshe:

"And I said to you, 'Do not be broken or afraid of them. HaShem, your G-d, Who goes before you He will fight for you, just as He did for you in Egypt before your very eyes, and in the desert, where you have seen how HaShem, your G-d, has carried you as a man carries his son, all the way that you have gone, until you have come to this place.'" (ibid 1:29-31) "This place" - the Hebrew word hamakom - when used in Torah is understood by our sages to always refer to the Holy Temple. We who dwell in the land today must not be afraid, for G-d will surely assist and assure our success, if only we make every effort to leave the house of mourning, and to build the house of G-d. In this place. Today.

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk as Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven discuss the concept of "baseless love:" What does it really mean, and how do we use it as a means for building the Holy Temple? Unity and a longing for the Holy Temple were prominently evident in this week's Sivuv She'arim, Encirclement of the Temple Mount Gates procession in honor of the new month of Av, which attracted 12,000 people. The same message was on everybody's lips: Stop mourning already! What are we waiting for? Build!

The Temple Institute is very pleased to announce that members and supporters of the Temple Institute may now make (USA) tax deductible donations via PayPal. To go directly to the PayPal page, please click here. To see other donation options, please click here.

Sivuv She'arim: Pledging Our Loyalty to the Temple Mount: On Rosh Chodesh Av, (the first day of the month of Av), a record crowd of over 12,000 Jewish souls arrived outside the Temple Mount to celebrate the new month and to express their yearning for the Holy Temple. The gathering marched around the circumference of the Temple Mount, stopping before each of the gates which lead up to the Mount. Outside the Mercy Gate, (Sha'ar HaRachamim), on the eastern retaining wall of the Mount, the people assembled and made a special declaration of loyalty to the Temple Mount and the Holy Temple. Click here to view photographs and to learn more.

This week features the new Bat Melech video teaching with Rabbanit Rena Richman, entitled, "The Hidden Light of the 9th of Av: The darkest day on the Hebrew calendar, the day marking the destruction of the Holy Temple, is also the brightest, most intense point of light, through which we can emerge from the darkness and reunite with G-d's presence." Click here to view.

Today also features the new Light to the Nations teaching by Rabbi Chaim Richman, entitled, "Reflections on the 9th of Av: The destruction of the Holy Temple is a manifestation of G-d's rebuke, our Father's chastisement of His children. But like any earthly father, our heavenly Father desires only that we repair our way, and return to Him, fulfilling our potential by by rebuilding the Holy Temple, today." Click here to view.

Moshe rabbeinu rebukes his generation for their failures, but at the same time states, "you are today as the stars of the heavens." (Deut. 1:10) While our transgressions are of the moment, our good deeds and achievements are lights that will shine like the stars, enlightening others for generations to come. Click here to view Rabbi Richman's short teaching on parashat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22).

Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem,

  Yitzchak Reuven

  The Temple Institute

Help us build the future.
Click here.

THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE

PO Box 31876

Jerusalem, Israel 97500

www.templeinstitute.org

Crowd of 10,000 Declare: The Temple Mount Belongs to Jews

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

A huge crowd of 10,000 Jews gathered at the old gates of the Temple Mount Monday night and declared their allegiance to the holy site, which rally organizers said is being separated from Jews by discriminatory practices by the police.

The “pledge of allegiance” to a Jewish Temple Mount and a united Jerusalem was part of the monthly “March around Old City Temple Gates,” a colorful event featuring the recital of Psalms at various closed gates around the Temple Mount.

The monthly march usually attracts 2,000-3,000 people, but organizers successfully brought out thousands more Monday night as Jews around the world marked the beginning of the Hebrew month of Av. The Ninth of Av is marked every year as the day when foreign invaders destroyed the First and Second Holy Temples.

The marches feature music and dancing and are peaceful, but police have barred several of the monthly prayer rallies during the past year because of fears of Arab violence.

National Union Knesset Member Uri Ariel told the crowd that deterioration in security and the increasing discrimination against Jews in Jerusalem prompted the unusually large turnout. In his speech he described the “surrender of Jerusalem to Arabs,” the worsening security in several Jewish neighborhoods, disturbances by anarchists and the discrimination by police who severely restrict the ability of Jews to ascend the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem council member Aryeh King reminded the crowd that the Temple Mount site is closed to Jews most of the time while police allow non-Jewish tourists to freely visit the holy site.

Israel accepts Muslim rules that forbid a Jew from praying out loud or even carrying a prayer book when ascending the Temple Mount.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138560 

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I was unjustly deported from Israel for writing an article highlighting the plight of the Temple Mount suffering under Nazi Muslim occupation: how both Christians and Jews suffer hateful discrimination daily and Israel shamefully looks the other way and/or aids and abets the Arab terrorists.

I love Jerusalem, Jews and Israel!

A House of Prayer For All Peoples?

Jews Must Demand Rights to Temple Mount

Restore Israeli Sovereignty Over Temple Mount

Abortion is still murder!

WAKE UP AMERICA! Another victim of "CHOICE" taken at the Clinton inauguration January 20, 1997.

SEE NO EVIL? Police stand shoulder to shoulder to block the "Abortion President's" view of peaceful pro-life demonstrators at the Clinton Inauguration Janury 20, 1997,



Abortion: Blood of Innocents

Hitler will judge us!

Women preachers are in rebellion

I just read an abominable article written by a proud and stubborn woman attempting to justify rebellious women doing what only God has ordained men to do: preach from the pulpit as ordained ministers.


God Doesn't Ordain Women Preachers!

A Jewish Homeland

Weren't the Jews prophesied to return to Israel? Are the Jews ethnic Jews or merely converts? How should Israel treat their resident Arabs? Why does the world focus on Jerusalem?

A Jewish Homeland 

Vision of the Kingdom of God

If I may, as God is my Witness and Judge, when I was only 17 years young, God UNEXPECTEDLY gave me a VISION while I was in prayer. I was within that vision as a glorified Spirit-Being, whiter than glistening snow and like a brilliant white cloud with the sun shining on it, appearing smooth, dressed in a white robe - even my hair was that brilliant white - holding a Book in my hands and teaching two flesh and blood mortals who were sitting on the ground, in an outdoor setting like a park or meadow.)

Sneak Preview of the Kingdom of God

A Vow to HaShem

"If a man makes a vow to HaShem or makes an oath to prohibit himself, he shall not violate his word... "
(Numbers 30:3)
Tammuz 26, 5770/July 7, 2010

The book of Numbers chronicles the many tumultuous events that occurred during Israel's forty year sojourn in the wilderness. It is worthwhile to note that each event was preceded or precipitated by the words uttered by one protagonist or another. Korach very skillfully chose his words with the intention of manipulating his fellow Israelites for the cynical purpose of self aggrandizement. By using his G-d given power of speech to try to lift himself up above others, he was justly rewarded with a deathless entombment deep within the bowels of the earth.

Bilaam, the heathen prophet, attempted with a persistence that otherwise might be deemed admirable, to use his power of speech in a grandiose ploy to manipulate G-d's wrath against the children of Israel. For his pernicious efforts, he was killed in the very war which he himself masterminded.

The tribal heads of Israel allowed themselves and their brethren to be tripped up by their own words, as they spoke evil against the land of Israel. Their careless words testified to their lack of faith in G-d, lack of love for the land of Israel, and lack of trust in themselves. Their reward? They, and the entire generation that they ensnared were to die in the desert, never setting foot in the land that G-d had promised them.

Even Miriam, the prophetess, spoke ill of her brother Moshe, and was duly punished with a case of the leprous tzarat. Despite the fact that Miriam's intentions were only for the betterment of Moshe, she too had to pay the price for her ill chosen words.

And, of course, Moshe himself was punished most poignantly for his own misappropriation of the gift of speech. First he hit the rock, when he was commanded by G-d to speak to the rock, and then he spoke harshly against Israel, calling his thirsty kinsmen "rebels."(ibid 20:10) Moshe, too, would never enter his beloved Israel.

It is only fitting that the final double Torah reading of the book of Numbers, Matot-Masei opens with the laws concerning any man or woman who utters a vow, or takes an oath. Our words cause and shape our actions and define who we truly are. Words spoken carelessly will in time catch up with us. We reap what we say. And we are in constant peril of being led astray by the words of others when we allow ourselves to fall under their influence.

Torah takes our words very seriously, and, this is to say, takes us very seriously. We are what we speak. The midnight exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, receiving Torah at Sinai, the building of the Tabernacle, and forty years in the wilderness later, and Torah's message to us all, as we are perched upon the banks of the Jordan, moments from entering the land, is crystal clear: Measure your words. Your word is your bond. Your word is sacred.

Entering the land of Israel marks the fulfillment of G-d's word, His promise to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Now is the time for us to keep our word: To settle that same land, to love and to nurture it. To do all this, and to build the Holy Temple is not merely to fulfill G-d's aspirations for each of us. It is to keep our word with G-d, to state unequivocally that we are worthy of the gift of speech with which he bequeathed us, worthy of His love, worthy of being called G-d's children.

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk as Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven, reunited at last, discuss the Rabbi's experiences in America, and the incredible people he encountered on his travels. Traveling, and the things we all go through as we travel through this world, is also one of the themes of this week’s double Torah portion of Mattot and Masei, with which we conclude the book of Numbers. Parshat Masei opens with the concept of the power of a vow... ummm, like the one Prime Minister Netanyahu made to the people of Israel that he would not extend the draconian building freeze in Judea and Samaria past the deadline. But this week as he travels to Washington to meet with US President Obama, speculation abounds that Obama will pressure Netanyahu to break that promise.

The eternal boundaries of the Land of Israel are also featured in this week’s Torah reading, another subject that’s bound to come up on the agenda of our leaders. But who sets those boundaries… the G-d of Israel, or other elements?

The three week mourning period for the Holy Temple is once again upon us. How do we free ourselves from the seemingly endless cycle, year after year, of mourning for the Holy Temple? Does anyone actually think the situation could change?

This week features the new Light to the Nations teaching by Rabbi Chaim Richman, entitled, "True Service of G-d: We serve G-d by drawing near to Him, and making Him present in every aspect of our lives, from our most sublime moments to our most mundane. To do so, our relationship with G-d must be a living relationship, in accordance with Torah, and expressing the unique qualities of our own souls." Click here to view.

On the evening of June 17th, 2010, Rabbi Chaim Richman spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in Houston, Texas. For nearly two hours the Rabbi held the audience spellbound as he brought to them his unique message of the immediacy of Torah in every man's life, weaving together the timeless message of Torah with the prophetic events taking place today. If you couldn't be there, or if you want to hear it again, please click here: Part 1; Part 2

International See and Say Only Good Things about the People of Israel and The Land of Israel Month: Spiritual and Practical Goals for the Month of Tammuz, a message from Rabbi Chaim Richman. Click here.

The two Torah portions, Matot and Masei, which conclude the book of Numbers are read together as one. What is the true connection between Matot, which begins with the laws concerning the responsibility of taking upon oneself a vow, and the opening verses of Masei, which describe the journeys of Israel in the wilderness? Taken together, they provide for us a key and a map to our own life's journey. Click here to view Rabbi Richman's short teaching on parashat Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2-36:13).

Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem,

  Yitzchak Reuven

  The Temple Institute

Help us build the future.
Click here.

THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE

PO Box 31876

Jerusalem, Israel 97500

www.templeinstitute.org

Speaking of Colossians 2:16

It's ironic that those who would foolishly condemn keeping the biblical festivals are steeped in the whitewashed paganism of the Babylonian Mystery Religion (with its baptized paganism, its hollow daze) and refuse to see anything wrong with their spiritual adultery and idolatry!

"[Paul] warned the brethren not to be intimidated by some who were questioning their manner of keeping God's feasts, as well as the Sabbaths, new moons, and eating and drinking. He said, "So let no one judge [criticize or condemn] you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come . . . Let no one cheat you of your reward ..." (Colossians 2:16-18).

Paul was combating a group of ascetics who were introducing several strange doctrines, including worshiping angels (verse 18) and abstaining from wholesome food and drink (verse 21). He told the brethren to ignore them and continue observing what he had taught (and he certainly taught keeping the Passover, as we have seen). Regrettably, the Colossian brethren had been cowed by these self-righteous intruders and were starting to shy away from observing these feasts.

So Paul mentions how important they are, as foreshadowing coming events in God's plan for mankind. These events have not been completely accomplished so far, and many are still in the future."
-
The Biblical Festivals That Teach Us About Jesus Christ


Colossians 2:16-17: Are God's Laws Obsolete?


Colossians 2:16-17 by Larry J. Walker

Colossians 2:16 Shows Gentile Christians Kept the Holy Days

Obama's driven to destroy America

"Whom God would destroy, He first sends mad." The United States elected a lie, clearly under strong delusion, and are now suffering the consequences for refusing to hear or believe the plain truth about the light-skinned soap opera black (that New Age Oprah cast her spell for over her touchy-feely audience and cursed America by promoting Obama's books - undoubtedly ghost-written - and now many are crying).

It was a sin to vote for Obama. In light of the dark days the United States has experienced under the president usurper, the fraud and foreigner, the con man from Kenya, the bastard from Africa - Obama/Soetoro/Obama -enabled by conservative cowards to occupy the Oval Office and pollute the White House, it's befitting to review and reflect upon the self-evident truths BLACK DAY IN AMERICA: Obama Wins, America Loses -

What nation in its right mind, after 9/11, after Osama (at least his collaboration with the powers that be on it), after our alleged war on terrorism, would elect a questionable and dark character who is pro-Muslim, raised during his influential years in Muslim countries, has attended a hateful Afro-racist congregation that preaches anti-American and anti-white sermons typical of Black Liberation Theology, is endorsed by avowed Black racists and rabid Nazi Muslims, etc. would let Barack Hussein Obama even entertain the notion of running for president for a second? It certainly appears America is under a curse and those who treacherously voted for that fraud and foreigner are helping to make Marxist Jeremiah Wright’s wish come true that God damn America. Shame!

Jeremiah Wright, Al Sharpton, Barack Obama, Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and others all represent the curse of reverse discrimination, the tail wagging the dog, the animals running the farm, the serious consequences for White Israelite disobedience to God.

Deuteronomy 28:43
43 “The alien [Gentile] who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.

Deuteronomy 17:15
15 ...you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your [white Israelite] brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
 

We've failed to learn from history and have an illegitimate president elect; we've been deaf, dumb and blind to the two witnesses of raped Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ruins) and besieged South Africa (that testify against our madness); and we've rejected common sense. Now we'll have hell to pay for it! God save us all!

"I will say, then, that I AM NOT NOR HAVE EVER BEEN in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the black and white races---that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with White people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the White and black races which will ever FORBID the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the White race."

- Abraham Lincoln

An Eternal Covenant of Priesthood

"An eternal covenant of priesthood."
(Numbers 25:13)
Tammuz 19, 5770/July 1, 2010

 

"Pinchas the son of Eleazar the son of Aharon the priest has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me (kin'o et kin'ati) among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal (bekin'ati)." (Numbers 25:11) The Hebrew word kin'a is used three times in the verse in which G-d describes to Moshe Rabbenu, (Moses our Master), just what has taken place before his very eyes. But if Moshe himself witnessed Pinchas' act of zeal, why is G-d explaining it to him? Our sages teach us that G-d is testifying on Pinchas' behalf, as there were those among the children of Israel who questioned his motivation as being perhaps less than pure. After all, on one side his grandfather was an alleged idolater with bloodthirsty tendencies. Perhaps violence was just an ingrained part of Pinchas' nature. But G-d, by tracing Pinchas' lineage to Aharon the High Priest, who was known and revered universally by all of Israel for his steadfast outpouring of love and kindness for his brethren, puts an end to the evil speculation. Pinchas acted, as G-d bears witness, not out of violence, but out of an overwhelming love for his fellow Israelites. For by avenging G-d he removed G-d's wrath from the children of Israel, a wrath that would have proven far more difficult to endure.

But by mentioning kin'a - defined by Rashi as veangence - three times, G-d is also paying testimony to the entire tribe of Levi, of which Pinchas is a scion. In three different generations the tribe of Levi is described by Torah as having stood up and taken an unequivocal stand for Israel and for G-d. The first time takes place in the book of Genesis, chapter 34, in which Dinah, the daughter of Yaakov and the sister of Levi, is violated by Shechem, the prince of the city of the same name, who then approaches Yaakov to arrange for Dinah's hand in marriage. Yaakov and his sons work out an agreement with Shechem and his father Chamor, but Levi and his brother Shimon are left seething. Secretly they plot to avenge their sister's honor, and they do so, slaughtering the men of Schechem and taking Dinah back.

The second incident mentioned by Torah is the debacle of the golden calf, around which the children of Israel were frolicking when Moshe returned from the mountain with the two tablets of Torah in his hands. After Moshe cast down the two tablets and broke up the wicked assembly, he called "'Whoever is for HaShem, [let him come] to me!' And all the sons of Levi gathered around him." (Exodus 32:26) So for the second time, in a moment of national crisis, when cool, not hot-headed thinking was required, it was Levi who acted without hesitation.

And now for the third time in Israel's history, a son of Levi measures up to the moment, where the fate of the entire nation is hanging in the balance, and does what needs to be done to assuage G-d's wrath and to return honor to G-d and dignity to His people.

Little wonder then, that G-d declares for all Israel to hear, "I hereby give him My covenant of peace." (Numbers 25:12) For Levi has thrice proven his devotion to G-d. And furthermore, this devotion, while three times being expressed in seemingly violent acts, is understood by G-d, as explained above, as being rooted in loving-kindness - chesed. And it naturally follows that G-d reconfirms that "It shall be for him [Pinchas] and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of priesthood, because he was zealous for his G-d and atoned for the children of Israel." (ibid 25:13) For who would better serve as a mediator between G-d and His children than a bloodline defined by their love for their people and the gentleness of their character.

Throughout the entire book of Leviticus, which describes in detail the various types of offerings to be offered in the Holy Temple and the manner in which they are to be offered, the four letter name of G-d, the tetragrammaton, is used exclusively. This four letter name always denotes G-d's attribute of chesed - loving-kindness. How odd, we may think, after all, isn't there a fundamental element of cruelty embodied within the service of the offerings, and yet the name of G-d denoting His loving-kindness is being invoked? On the contrary. Not only is the avodat ha korbanot - the service of the offerings in the Holy Temple, rooted solely in G-d's expression of loving kindness towards His creation, but only the sons of Levi, who have three times proven that they act exclusively out of loving kindness, can be entrusted with the performance of the Divine service in the Holy Temple, meriting the "eternal covenant of priesthood." (ibid)

 

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk as Yitzchak Reuven, on his own again for the last time, and observing the 17th of Tammuz fast day, points out that the annual three weeks of mourning for the Holy Temple that begins today, could end tomorrow if we only had the gumption to make a real change in the world. The Bnei Yissaschar reveals the vast potential for spiritual loftiness and liberation that is hard wired into the very fabric of the two months of Tammuz and Av. We're running out of excuses for our inaction. Perhaps it's time to up the dose of our anti-passivity, anti-complacency and anti-sense-of-helplessness three-week inoculation, and do today what shouldn't be put off till tomorrow. Pinchas, a man whose every cell in his body was flowing with loving kindness, nevertheless, did what had to be done, slaying Zimri and Cozbi. Can this generation measure up to the moment?

Next Week on Temple Talk: The return of Rabbi Chaim Richman.

 

This week features the new Light to the Nations teaching by Rabbi Chaim Richman, entitled, "Inside the Holy of Holies: Rabbi Akiva said, the entire Tanach, (Scripture) is likened unto the Kodesh, (Sanctuary of the Holy Temple), and the Song of Songs is likened unto the Kodesh Hakedoshim, (The Holy of Holies). The Holy of Holies is the spot of the most intimate aspects of the relationship between G-d and man." (This LTTN teaching was originally webcast in June, 2009.) Click here to view.

 

Who was Pinchas? Where did he come from? What was he made of? Was his act of zealotry a true "Jewish" reaction? Was his ability to act in the moment to defend G-d's honor, to assuage G-d's anger a true "Jewish" response? Absolutely! Click here to view Rabbi Richman's short teaching on parashat Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1).

 

Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem,

  Yitzchak Reuven

  The Temple Institute 

 

Help us build the future.
Click here.

 

THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE

PO Box 31876

Jerusalem, Israel 97500

www.templeinstitute.org