Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
as Machon HaMikdash (), is an organization in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and the
Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
focusing on establishing
the Third Temple
The "Third Temple" (, , ) refers to a hypothetical rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. It would succeed the First Temple and the Second Temple, the former having been destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in and the latter having bee ...
. Its long-term aims are to build the third
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
on the
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
—the site occupied by the
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock () is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the List_of_the_ol ...
—and to reinstate ''
korbanot
In Judaism, the (), also spelled or , is any of a variety of Sacrifice, sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah. The plural form is , , or .
The term primarily refers to sacrificial offerings given from humans to God f ...
'' and the other rites described in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Jewish legal literature. It aspires to reach this goal through the study of the previous Temples' construction and rituals and through the development of Temple ritual objects, garments, and building plans suitable for immediate use in the event conditions permit the Temple's reconstruction. It runs a museum in the
Jewish Quarter Jewish Quarter may refer to:
*Jewish quarter (diaspora), areas of many cities and towns traditionally inhabited by Jews
*Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem
*Jewish Quarter (), a popular name ...
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. It was founded and is headed by
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
Yisrael Ariel. Its current director-general is Dovid Shvartz. New York billionaire Henry Swieca has supported the Institute. The Israeli government has also provided funding.
Activities
Building of Temple ritual items
The Temple Institute has been preparing ritual objects suitable for Temple use as part of its ongoing effort to prepare for a future rebuilt Temple. The Temple Institute has made many of the over ninety ritual items to be used in the Temple.
As of June 2008, a major project of the Institute was the creation of the sacred uniforms of the ''
Kohen Gadol
In Judaism, the High Priest of Israel (, lit. ‘great priest’; Aramaic: ''Kahana Rabba'') was the head of the Israelite priesthood. He played a unique role in the worship conducted in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem, ...
'' (the High Priest) and ordinary
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
s. This project, the culmination of years of study and research, had already been underway for several years. The High Priest's ''
Hoshen
The priestly breastplate or breastpiece of judgment ( ''ḥōšen'') was a sacred breastplate worn by the High Priest of the Israelites, according to the Book of Exodus. In the biblical account, the breastplate is termed the ''breastplate of jud ...
'' (breastplate) and ''
Ephod
An ephod (; or ) was a type of apron that, according to the Hebrew Bible, was worn by the High Priest of Israel, an artifact and an object to be revered in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracular practices and prie ...
'' have been completed. The '' Tzitz'', the High Priest's golden crown, was completed in 2007. The Temple Institute is designing the garments for the lay priests intended for purchase by ''
Kohanim
Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakhically required, to be of direct patriline ...
''.
Levite
Levites ( ; ) or Levi are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew definite article "" ''Ha-' ...
singers also sing on the Temple Mount.
Silver trumpets for use on the Temple Mount have also been made.
Red heifer
In addition to a variety of items required for service within the Temple, the Institute has attempted to locate a ''parah adumah'' (
red heifer
The red heifer () was a reddish brown Cattle, cow sacrificed by Temple priests as a ritual purification, purification ritual in biblical times.
Ritual in the Torah
The red heifer offering is described in Book of Numbers, Numbers 19. The Tora ...
) consistent with the requirements of
Numbers
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
19:1–22 and
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
Tractate
Parah
Parah () is the name of a treatise in the Mishnah and the Tosefta, included in the order Tohorot. The Pentateuchal law ( Num. ) decrees that a red heifer, "wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke," shall be burned and her ashes mix ...
for purposes of '' taharah'' (purification) necessary to enter the Temple sanctuary proper in most circumstances. Previously, the institute identified two candidates, one in 1997 and another in 2002.Red Heifer born in Israel Temple Institute, 8 April 2002 The Temple Institute had initially declared both
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...
, but later found each to be unsuitable. More recently in September 2022, 5 perfect unblemished red heifers were brought to Israel from the USA and found to meet the qualifications after being inspected by rabbis. The heifers will be fed and cared for until the time that they can be slaughtered and used to create the necessary ashes for purification. The five red heifers in Israel are no longer fit for sacrifice.
Controversies
Rebuilding a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount
Although
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...
generally agrees that the
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
will and should be rebuilt, there is a substantial disagreement about whether this should occur by human hands rather than divine will. The Temple Institute interprets the opinion of the Rambam (
Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
) as saying that Jews should attempt to build the Temple themselves and that it is a ''
mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew language, Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment Divine law, from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of disc ...
'' (obligation) to do so if they can. However, Rambam's opinion is controversial and has aroused substantial opposition.
Maimonides scholars do not universally accept the Temple Institute's interpretation of his thought. According to seventeenth-century rabbi Yom-Tov Lipman Heller, in his commentary on tractate Yoma, the Rambam did not say that Jews can build the future Temple without the guidance of the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
.
Ascending the Temple Mount
The rabbis associated with the Temple Institute hold—also following the Rambam—that, under certain conditions, it is permissible under
Jewish law
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...
for Jews to visit parts of the
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
and periodically organize groups to ascend and tour the Mount. The view that Jews may ascend the Temple is controversial among Orthodox rabbis, with many authorities completely prohibiting visiting the Mount to prevent accidental entrance into and desecration of the
Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies ( or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also ''hadDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah (God in Judaism, God's presence) appeared. According ...
or other sacred off-limits areas.
The Temple Institute conducts ''aliyot'' (literally, "ascending" or "making a pilgrimage") to the Temple Mount.