G-D'S PROMISE TO TEMPLE PILGRIMS: "IF YOU COME TO MY HOUSE, I WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE!"
In just over a week Pesach (Passover) will be upon us, one of the three pilgrimage festivals established by Torah. One of the purposes for which the Holy Temple was built was for the three yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Maimonides (Beit HaBechira 1:1) writes: “It is a positive Torah commandment to build a house for G-d for the purpose of bringing offerings, and for celebrating there three times a year.” The commandment of Aliya L’regel - making the pilgrimage - unites the people of Israel around the Holy Temple, and distinguishes it as the nation that fulfills its mission as a “kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6).
Imagine the scene of Aliya L’regel: The people of an entire nation leave their homes, and make their way through the hills and plains to Jerusalem; entire villages and towns empty out of their inhabitants. This is why the Torah makes sure to promise us that our property will be protected by the Creator of the World and Master of the Universe: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Master, the G-d of Israel... and no one will covet your land when you ascend to see Hashem your G-d three times a year” (Exodus 34:23). G-d is described here as the “Master,” teaching us that there is a Master over the Land of Israel guarding and protecting it when Israel ascends to Jerusalem.
The Midrash teaches:
“No man will covet your land” – The Torah here addresses itself to man’s evil inclination: Israel should not say, “How can we leave behind our land, our homes, our fields and orchards and ascend to Jerusalem? Perhaps others will come and take everything!” G-d therefore gives His guarantee that this will not occur, nor will other forms of harm befall their property. There was once a Jew who left his produce to go up to Jerusalem, and when he returned, he found lions protecting it! This is in fulfillment of “No man will covet your land.” (Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Exodus 34:24)
Similarly, those pilgrims who came with their entire families, including children, women, and elderly, were promised that they would complete the trip safely and without harm. The Talmud (Pesachim 8b) teaches: “Those who are sent to perform a mitzvah are not harmed, neither when they go nor when they return [as is written:] No man will covet your land, teaching that your cow will graze in the meadow and no wild beast will hurt it; your fowl will go scratching in the dungheap and no weasel will injure it. And if these will suffer no harm, though it is their nature to be hurt, how much more so for human beings, for whom it is not natural to be hurt!”
Hillel the Elder viewed this as compensation from G-d to the pilgrims, and would say (Avot DeRabbi Natan 12): “If you come to My house, I will come to your house – This refers to those who leave their silver and gold and go to Jerusalem to greet the Divine Presence in the Divine Temple; G-d watches over them in their camps, as is written, “No man will covet your land.”
Making the pilgrimage to the Holy Temple in modern times will be much easier due to modern transportation and new technological developments. More than ever, it will soon be possible for everyone to reach Jerusalem easily and quickly, find spacious lodgings, and observe the festival joy in sanctity and purity in rebuilt Yerushalayim!
Rebuilding the Holy Temple and once again making the pilgrimage festivals to Jerusalem is a 2,000 year old dream. It is a dream that we share with the Creator, and if we do all we can to make the dream a reality, HaShem will see to it that our shared dream comes true. We at the Temple Institute work day and night to spread the excitement and promise of the Holy Temple, and leave no stone unturned in making preparations for the longed for day. Join us! Be a part of the excitement! Be a part of prophecy! Support the work of the Temple Institute!
THE TEN CROWNS OF THE MONTH OF NISAN!
The month of Adar is a magical month topped off with the Purim celebration on the 14th and 15th, the reading of the four special Torah readings of Shkolim, Zachor, Para and HaChodesh, the collecting of the half shekel offering, (not too late!) and the preparations to be made in anticipation of Passover. But we are just getting started! Monday evening begins the month of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew year! The first day of Nisan was the day of the dedication of the desert Tabernacle, which we read about this Shabbat, (parashat Shemini), a day which earned Nisan ten crowns!
Crown #1: The dedication of the Tabernacle took place on the first day of the week!
Crown #2: The first of the twelve tribal leaders brought gifts and offerings to the Tabernacle!
Crown #3: the first day of Aharon's official service in the Tabernacle, beginning a priestly heritage that continues to this day!
Crown #4: The first day of the Tabernacle/Temple offerings!
Crown #5: The first time fire descends from heaven consuming the offerings placed upon the altar!
Crown #6: The first time that sacred foods were eaten by the kohanim in the Tabernacle!
Crown #7: The first time that the Divine Presence (Shechinah) rested amidst the people!
Crown #8: The first day the kohanim blessed the people with the priestly blessing!
Crown #9: The first day it became forbidden to perform offerings to HaShem outside of the Tabernacle/Temple!
Crown #10: It was the first month of the new year!
Nisan is known as the month of our ge'ula - the month of our redemption! Not just our redemption from Egypt on the 15th of Nisan, but our future redemption, may it be soon!
The verse from Psalms 96:11, "The heavens will rejoice and the earth will exult" is related to Nisan, as the first letters of each of the four Hebrew words in the verse spell out the ineffable name of HaShem!
The name Nisan is related to the Hebrew word nes - which means miracle. And no wonder - Nisan, the month of firsts, the month of ten crowns, the month of the exodus and the Passover festival and the pilgrimage of all Israel to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and the month of our past and future ge'ula, is truly a month of miracles! May we merit witnessing many miracles this Nisan. Many miracles and glad tidings!
Be part of the excitement -Support the work of the Temple Institute!
SILVER TRUMPETS FOR OUR HEROIC SOLDIERS!
Play A Part In Israel's War Against Evil!
"If you go to war in your land against an adversary that oppresses you, you shall blow a teruah with the trumpets and be remembered before HaShem your G-d, and thus be saved from your enemies." (Numbers 10:9)
Israel is at war with an enemy that sorely oppresses us with terror but our soldiers are filled with purpose and faith in HaShem, and firm in the knowledge that "it is Hashem, your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to deliver you!" (Deuteronomy 20:4)
Social media has been filled these past weeks with photos and videos of Israeli soldiers preparing for battle with prayer, with song, with reading from Torah and with sounding the shofar. We are witnessing with our own eyes that HaShem, indeed, is going with our troops "to battle your enemies for you to deliver you!"
It is a Torah commandment to prepare for battle by sounding silver trumpets, the same silver trumpets sounded by the kohanim in the Holy Temple, so that we should "be remembered before HaShem your G-d, and thus be saved from your enemies."
The Temple Institute has begun manufacturing silver trumpets to distribute to the IDF rabbis so that they can be sounded by our soldiers as they make their way to battle. Two trumpets are required to be sounded simultaneously, and each one needs to be produced from a single piece of silver. The cost of each trumpet is significant and every donation toward producing the trumpets will be gratefully accepted! We are calling upon friends of Israel around the world to play a true Torah role in Israel's war against today's Amalek, the villainous tribe who "happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear G-d." (Deuteronomy 25:18)
Please designate "vessels" in your donation!
LEVITICAL CHOIR PERFORMS AT THE SOUTHERN WALL OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT!
Last week, during the intermediate days of Sukkot, the Temple Institute's Levitical Choir joined dozens of other musical Levites in a festive performance of Psalm 27. The Temple Institute's Levitical Choir performers can be recognized by their Levitical uniforms, and, of course, the silver trumpets are those reproduced by the Temple Institute. The concert was a joint production of The Temple Institute, the East Jerusalem Development Company, the Municipality of Jerusalem, and others.
The performance took place on the steps leading up to the ancient Hulda Gates on the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount, the gates through which thousands of pilgrims once ascended from the City of David to the Holy Temple.
"One thing I ask of HaShem, that I seek - that I may dwell in the house of HaShem all the days of my life, to see the pleasantness of HaShem and to visit His Temple all the days of my life."
WATER LIBATION REENACTMENT NISUCH HAMAYIM) 5784/2023
This year's annual Water Libation Reenactment featured the premiere performance of the Temple Institute's Levitical Choir. Learn more about the festival of Sukkot and the Water Libation ceremony!
TEMPLE TALK: IRANIAN MISSILE ATTACK & THE OUTSTRETCHED ARM OF HASHEM!
IN EVERY GENERATION...
DUTIES OF A KOHEN
Early Sunday morning Israel repelled, with the help of HaShem an aerial bombardment by Iran consisting of more than 350 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and suicide drones. What will Israel's response be? Parashat Metzora is one of the most difficult sections of Torah for us moderns to wrap our minds around, and Passover, the Festival of Freedom is just around the corner!
Remember: Helping to make HaShem's dream of a Sanctuary in which His Presence can dwell amongst us, is the work of the Temple Institute! Join us in our efforts!
WEEKLY TORAH STUDY: TAZRIA/תזריע
Unique in G-d's creation, human beings contain within themselves inclinations toward good and also toward evil. In light of this reality the kohanim are entrusted with the responsibility of diagnosing the skin ailment known as tzar'at, an ailment which is a direct manifestation of an individual's mastery, or not, over their inclination toward lashon hara - gossip and evil talk.
Tazria (Leviticus 12:1 - 13:59)
Parashat Tazria is read on Shabbat:
Nisan 5, 5784/April 13, 2024
TISH'A B'AV: BUILD A HOUSE FOR HASHEM!
"Be strong and have courage! Build a House for HaShem!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, the prophet Samuel charges King David with the task of building the Holy Temple!
TISH'A B'AV: THE GLORY OF THIS LAST HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FIRST!
"The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, Zerubavel from the house of David and Kohen Gadol (High Priest) Yehoshua consult with the prophet Haggai who instructs them to waste no time in rebuilding the Holy Temple!
THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE: BRINGING THE HOLY TEMPLE TO LIFE!
"Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering..." (Ex. 25:2)
Thus begins Terumah, this week's Torah reading, in which HaShem reveals His desire that Israel "make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst." (Ex. 25:8)
The Temple Institute is dedicated to making the Holy Temple a reality in our day, and toward this end, the Temple Institute has, for 36 years, been building and planning and researching and teaching and sharing with you our reconstructed sacred vessels and priestly garments, our books and paintings, our red heifer candidates, our teachings and insights and our love for HaShem and the Holy Temple!
It is only through the generosity of your hearts that we are able to continue our important work. Only together can we build for HaShem a sanctuary and "a house of prayer for all nations!"
THE RED HEIFER!
The ashes of the red heifer, essential for the renewal of the Divine service in the Holy Temple, is one of the Torah's most fascinating and mysterious commandments. In our brand new in-depth entry, learn what constitutes "a perfectly red unblemished cow," how the ashes are made and how they are applied, the history and the mystery of the red heifer, and current efforts to raise a red heifer. Beautifully illustrated and extensively footnoted!
INTRODUCING THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE'S LEVITICAL CHOIR ACADEMY
In yet another major step toward preparing for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the renewal of the Divine service, the Temple Institute has established the Levitical Choir Academy, dedicated to teaching today's descendants of the tribe of Levi the Levitical songbook - the songs that are sung by the Levitical Choir in accompaniment to the Daily offerings and the Additional Festival offerings performed in the Holy Temple. Levi'im from all across Israel have already responded to the Temple Institute's initiative, and as these video clip show, are already honing their skills as a proper Levitical Choir. Levitical garments are currently being designed for the choir to be worn during their service in the rebuilt Holy Temple.
BLUE, PURPLE & CRIMSON: THE COLORS OF THE TABERNACLE!
In the book of Exodus we read of the building of the desert Tabernacle, the Sanctuary in which G-d will dwell amongst His people. We learn of the beautiful fabric dyed sky blue and royal purple and crimson red. We learn that the Israelites, inspired by G-d with wisdom, understanding and knowledge, produced these colors. But Torah doesn't reveal the secret, how? In our day these ancient, long forgotten arts and sciences have been rediscovered here in Israel. Enjoy this glimpse into the fascinating renaissance of biblical dye-making, filmed in the re-established town of Shiloh, at the site of the ancient Tabernacle.
JUDITH ABRAHAMS, THE MASTER WEAVER WHO WOVE THE HIGH PRIEST'S ROBE
Judith Abrahams is a master weaver who was commissioned by the Temple Institute to weave the me'il techelet - the all blue tunic of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), which can be seen at the Institute's Jerusalem exhibition. In this beautiful documentary, which was filmed by Graham and Ronit Humberstone in 2020, Judith shares her personal journey and enlightens us with her passion for weaving which has led her to study traditional Navajo weaving with the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, and then, employing the "chochmat lev - wisdom of the heart" (Exodus 35:25) that she accrued, to weave the High Priest's robe. Judith now sets her sights on weaving the Parochet, the massive curtain which separated the Temple Sanctuary (Kodesh) from the Kodesh HaKodeshim (the Holy of Holies). The Temple Institute thanks Graham and Ronit for allowing us to present their video on our YouTube channel, in order to share Judith's story with a wide audience. And, of course, great thanks and appreciation to Judith Abrahams, for blessing us with her talents and her inspiration.
"And all the skilled (chochmat lev) women spun with their own hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen. And all the women who excelled in that skill spun the goats’ hair." Exodus 35:25-26)
On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality.
We invite you to join us in our worldwide effort to produce the longed-for ashes of the red heifer!