Thinking of Ascending the Temple Mount? Read This Investigation and Beware of the Serious Prohibition

A special investigation by the 'Bkehila' newspaper indicates that even the first military rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, and other rabbis relied on by those ascending the Temple Mount, are strongly opposed to massive ascension.

During the midst of the fast of Tisha B'Av, the headlines cried: "Record high of all times in ascending the Temple Mount". Indeed, according to data flowing towards the end of the day, 1264 Jews ascended the mountain. 1264 potential violators of severe prohibitions, according to the rulings of the great scholars of the generations. On a day when the people of Israel mourn the destruction, this added a sorrow over the destruction of the holy site. The members of 'Temple Mount Faithful', conversely, struggled to hide the great joy that was in their hearts.

To understand this joy, one must go slightly back. Every Jew knows that the dreams of the Jewish people flow like streams to the mountain. The hope for the coming of the Messiah and complete redemption is based on the aspiration to see the building of the third temple in its place, soaring high on the Temple Mount and declaring the correction of the world under the kingdom of heaven. Simultaneously, throughout the generations, care was taken not to mix nationalist elements into these dreams. The path leading from Jewish nationalism and identity to extreme nationalism is sometimes short, requiring maximum attention not to deviate from one path to another.

Rabbi Goren's Son: 'Father Permitted Ascension to a Very Limited Area'

Conversations with rabbis and leaders in the religious community suggest the matter is not simple. Everyone can say, even in sleep, that the rabbis permitting the ascension, like Rabbi Yisrael Ariel or Rabbi Dov Lior, base the 'permission' on the words of Rabbi Shlomo Goren. It seems so simple that he has become the figure most associated with the Temple Mount. Said ascension, said Rabbi Goren.

This myth is what his son, Attorney Rami Goren, seeks to shatter. It turns out that the character the ruling of his father has taken is entirely different from what was originally issued. Indeed, he was the first to give a halachic approval for ascension, and for that, the great sages of that time were furious with him. However, in a time when the ascension movement is raising its head, it is imperative to state clearly: even those granting permission based on his directive are wrong and misleading.

Here is a significant historical correction as presented to 'Bkehila' by the son of the former chief military rabbi, "My father wrote a book on the subject in which he reviewed the opinions of all the early authorities," Goren begins before explaining the entrenched misunderstanding about his father's view, whether intentionally or not. "There are disagreements about the stone in the Dome of the Rock – whether it is the Foundation Stone. My father believed it was not the Foundation Stone, if only because the stone was supposed to be deep in the ground, as the ark was placed upon it. The mountain, in general, is made of historical layers, and we are standing today on something like eighty meters above the layer from that period."

Goren recalls the day after the conquest: "On the 29th of Iyar, I came to the mountain with my father, we entered from the mosque direction. The whole mountain was still in war and under sniper fire, my father showed me the stone and explained his approach about the location.

"I spoke with a rabbi, one of my father's students, who permits entering a broader area of the mountain. I asked him, my father explicitly prohibited, his allowance was for a far more limited area. That rabbi explicitly replied to me: 'my permission is due to conquest'."

If we wish to enter the depths of the halachic discussion, we would need a much broader canvas, but even without doing so, according to Goren's testimony, his father permitted entry only to a very limited area – which was strongly opposed by the great sages of Israel. The widespread permission as accepted today was also forbidden by Rabbi Goren himself. "My father sent a team of engineering corps surveyors there the next morning, during the war, and based on their conclusions my father formed his position," Rami Goren tells 'Bkehila'.

Goren continues to attack those falsely attributing permissive rulings to his father's opinion: "I was there with my father several times. He never actually entered the Temple Mount area itself. According to my father, the Holy of Holies is located northwest. He would not let us venture outside the pillar area, we walked in a very limited space where he allowed walking. He believed that outside of that – it was already the Temple's court area."

"On the twentieth anniversary of his passing, they wanted to conduct an ascent to the Temple Mount in his memory. The one organizing this ascent was Arnon Segal, a well-known activist for Temple Mount ascension, I refused to participate as their ascent contradicted my father's view. As a result, they changed their planned ascent."

These statements do not prevent the temple mount advocates from cynically and viciously exploiting Rabbi Goren's directive. They point to him and those comprehensive checks he conducted on-site as an authorization for their ascent, while it wholly contradicts his opinion: "My father was very strict about not going up just for tourism, and certainly not to forbidden areas. At that time, he had people positioned at the gates, they were called the Temple Mount officers, and they were in charge of stopping Jews from entering forbidden areas according to his opinion. It ended when the mount was handed over to the Waqf. If my father saw what is happening today, he would be appalled and react with great severity."

The Great Sages of Israel After the Conquest of the Mount: "We Warn Against Entering Any Part of the Temple Mount"

Anyone not seeking halachic acrobatics will find a clear reason in a ruling published by the great sages of Israel in the month of Elul 5727, a few months after the mount's conquest: "We warn and refrain from entering any part of the entire Temple Mount for fear of inadvertently committing a severe sin by desecrating the sanctity of this holy site."

"Moreover," the great sages add reasoning. "Over the years, the exact location of the temple has been lost to us, and anyone entering the Temple Mount might unknowingly enter the area of the Temple and the Holy of Holies, and then they will inadvertently commit a severe sin requiring punishment."

The letter is signed by the then-chief rabbis: Rabbi Yitzhak Yehuda Unterman and Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim, and they are joined by great sages from all sects and communities, including the decisive rabbis of that time – Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, and Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky, may their memory be blessed.

This cross-sectoral letter appeared as mentioned after the conquest of East Jerusalem and in response to the growing phenomenon of those ascending the mount. But even long before this, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, of blessed memory, had warned: "Warning the public of the severe prohibition of entering the temple's site and the Temple Mount." What would they say, those who pretend to walk in his light?

Even his son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, held a firm position on the matter, as testified by his student Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, head of 'Merkaz Harav' yeshiva: "I am not a ruler, and my personal opinion is not important," the rabbi modestly tells 'Bkehila', "but we requested one of our educators to publish a halachic booklet, not only on the question of whether it is allowed or not, but also to explain that those permitting certain boundaries enter into a dispute, as it depends on the opinions of the early authorities, and one cannot ignore that it is a doubtful severe prohibition.

From the statements, it emerges that the permissions relied upon by those ascending the Temple Mount are greatly disputed in halacha, and even the permitting rabbis did not allow broad ascension to the entire area of the mount, and one who cares for their soul should distance themselves from the holy site and not lead themselves into uncertainty and severe prohibitions.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, extensively reviews the prohibition of ascending the Temple Mount - click here.

Rabbi Zamir Cohen on Ascending the Temple Mount: