7 Things Every Jew Should Know About the Temple

1. The Temple

The First Temple was built by King Shlomo over a period of 7 years. King David purchased the Temple site from Araunah the Jebusite. This location was chosen to be the site of the Temple forever and was sanctified with eternal holiness.

The First Temple stood for 410 years and was destroyed on the ninth of Av 3338 by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, due to three serious sins: sexual immorality, bloodshed, and idolatry.

70 years later, in the year 3408, the Second Temple was built by a group of Jews who returned from Babylon. It was destroyed after 420 years in the year 3829 by Titus, the Roman emperor, because of baseless hatred.

The entire design of the Temple and its measurements were given to King David in writing, in a scroll passed to him by the prophet Shmuel. Shmuel received the scroll from the elders, the elders from Yehoshua, Yehoshua from Moshe, and Moshe from Hashem. For this reason, it is forbidden to add or take away any elements of the building, though in the Second Temple period, they added several elements similar to what Yechezkel prophesied about the Third Temple.

2. Reverence for the Temple

It is a positive commandment to show reverence for the Temple, as derived from the verse: "You shall revere My sanctuary." This commandment includes both acts that are forbidden on the Temple Mount itself and acts that are forbidden anywhere, since they express or evoke disrespect or frivolity toward the Temple. The laws of reverence for the Temple remain in effect even when the Temple is destroyed. The Sages emphasized: "It is not the Temple you fear, but the One who warned about the Temple."

3. Har Habyit (The Temple Mount)

Har Habayit is the holiest site in Judaism. Har Habayit is "the place that Hashem will choose" which is mentioned many times in the book of Devarim. Both the First and Second Temples stood there, and the Third Temple will hopefully soon be built there.

According to halacha (Jewish law), it is absolutely forbidden to enter the Temple Mount. One reason is that we do not know the exact location of the historical Temple Mount, or the exact location of the Temple's courtyard, and there is concern that one may mistakenly enter an area where one who is ritually defiled since he came in contact with the dead is forbidden to enter. Nowadays, nearly the entire community has been in proximity to human bones, or was in a building where there was a deceased person, and is therefore considered ritually defiled. Purification from this genre of impurity requires the ashes of a red heifer, which is not available nowadays, and a Jew who knowingly enters the forbidden area when he is ritually defiled commits a serious Halachic transgression that is punishable by spiritual excision.

4. Kohen Gadol (The High Priest)

The kohen gadol, the head of all priests, was anointed with anointing oil and appointed to his position by a court of 71 judges. The kohen gadol must be greater than his fellow kohanim in appearance, strength, wealth, wisdom, and form.

The kohen gadol has a deputy who always stands at his right and assists him, and the deputy himself has two deputies.

In the First Temple, 18 men served in the position of kohen gadol. They were all righteous, and each served for many years. In contrast, in the Second Temple, there were more than 300 men who served as kohen gadol since most were not righteous and died before serving for a full year.

5. The Ketoret (Incense)

The ketoret is a mixture of spices that the kohanim were commanded to burn twice each day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The ketoret was burned on the golden altar in the Temple sanctuary.

Additionally, the kohen gadol would burn ketoret once a year on Yom Kippur in the kodesh hakadashim (Holy of Holies).

The ketoret is made from 11 ingredients: nataf (balsam), shechelet (onycha), galbanum, frankincense, myrrh, cassia, spikenard, saffron, costus, aromatic bark, and cinnamon. A specific amount of each of these ingredients was added to the mixture. The ketoret also included other ingredients that didn't have specific weights: Sodom salt, Jordan amber, and another herb that produces smoke, which was known only to a select group of individuals who passed down the information from person to person.

The Midrash extols the greatness of the ketoret and states: "Hashem said of all the offerings you bring, none is as dear to Me as the ketoret. Know that all the other offerings are for the needs of Israel. How so? The sin offering was brought for sin. And likewise, the guilt offering. The burnt offering was brought for the thoughts of the heart. The peace offerings are only brought for atonement, as they come for positive commandments. But the ketoret is not brought for sin, nor for transgression, nor for guilt, but for joy. Thus, 'Oil and incense gladden the heart.'"

6. Mourning the Temple's Destruction

There is a collection of laws that mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples and reinforce our anticipation for building the Third Temple. These regulations limit complete joy during lifecycle celebrations, such as building a house, conducting festive meals, and wedding celebrations.

• The Sages require one to leave a one-cubit by one-cubit section of the wall unplastered in his new home as a reminder of the Temple's destruction. It became customary to place this cubit opposite the entrance so that its presence would be noticeable.

• When a woman adorns herself with jewelry, she leaves off one of her ornaments. Unlike other mourning rituals, this is observed even on Shabbat, since refraining from wearing a piece of jewelry is not conspicuous.

• The Sages instituted several regulations to limit joy and remember Jerusalem during wedding celebrations, such as placing ashes on the groom's head at the place where he wears tefillin.

• Weddings held in Jerusalem shouldn't have more than one musical instrument during dancing. (This is an Ashkenazic custom.)

• The Sages mandated that a person should not laugh excessively: "A person is forbidden to fill his mouth with laughter in this world, as it is said (regarding the future): 'Then our mouths will be filled with laughter and our tongues with joy.'"

• One who sees the cities of Yehudah in a state of destruction should say: "Your holy cities have become a wilderness" and tear his garment. One who sees Jerusalem in its destruction should say "Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation" and tear his garment. One who sees the Temple in its destruction should say "Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid waste" and tear his garment.

• In addition to the permanent mourning customs, four fasts were established to commemorate the Temple's destruction: the Fast of Gedaliah, the Tenth of Tevet, the Seventeenth of Tammuz, and the Ninth of Av.

7. The Third Temple

The Third Temple will be built in the future on Har Habayit, as discussed in Yechezkel's prophecy that notes that the Temple will be rebuilt where the First Temple stood. Since the Temple that was built by the Jews who returned from Babylon in the time of Shivat Zion did not follow this plan, this and other prophetic visions will be fulfilled at the time of the complete redemption.

When the Temple is rebuilt, the service will be conducted there once again. Beyond this, other things that were present in the Temple will also be reinstated (such as the Sanhedrin which convened in the Chamber of Hewn Stone).

The term "Third Temple" does not appear in Tanach, even though many prophecies mention that the Temple will exist once again at the time of complete redemption, the ingathering of exiles, and the end of days. Thus, for example, in Yeshayahu's prophecy: "It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of Hashem's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many peoples shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of Hashem, to the house of the God of Yaakov; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."