Temple in Jerusalem

According to the Hebrew Bible, the First Temple was built in the 10th century BCE, during the reign of Solomon over the United Kingdom of Israel.

The Temple Mount is home to two monumental Islamic structures, the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, which date to the Umayyad period.

Jewish rabbi and philosopher Maimonides gave the following definition of "Temple" in his Mishne Torah (Hil.

They are [also] enjoined to make a different partition surrounding the Sanctuary, distant from it, similar to the screen-like hangings of the court that were in the wilderness.

[10] According to the Book of Deuteronomy, as the sole place of Israelite korban (sacrifice),[11] the Temple replaced the Tabernacle constructed in the Sinai under the auspices of Moses, as well as local sanctuaries, and altars in the hills.

[c] According to the Book of Ezra, construction of the Second Temple was called for by Cyrus the Great and began in 538 BCE,[14] after the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire the year before.

This date is obtained by coordinating Ezra 3:8–10[17] (the third day of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the Great) with historical sources.

[21] After Jerusalem came under Seleucid rule, Antiochus III attempted to introduce the Greek pantheon into the temple.

When Antiochus IV Epiphanes assumed the Seleucid thrown he immediately attempted to enforce universal Hellenization once again.

During this time, several incidents considered offensive under traditional Jewish practice occurred in the temple, to include erecting a statute of Zeus and the sacrifice of pigs.

After the rebels successfully overthrew Seleucid rule, Mattathias' son Judah Maccabee re-dedicated the temple in 164 BCE, giving rise to the celebration of Hanukkah.

The Trumpeting Place inscription was found at the southwest corner of Temple Mount, and is believed to mark the site where the priests used to declare the advent of Shabbat and other Jewish holidays.

On the south side, beginning with the southwest corner, there were four gates: On the north side, beginning with the northwest corner, there were four gates: The Hall of Hewn Stones (Hebrew: לשכת הגזית Lishkat haGazit), also known as the Chamber of Hewn Stone, was the meeting place, or council-chamber, of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period (6th century BCE – 1st century CE).

[46] She also made a golden plate on which was written the passage of the Pentateuch[47] which the Kohen read when a wife suspected of infidelity was brought before him.

Blessed is He who receives the service of His people Israel with favor" (similar to what is today the 17th blessing of the Amidah), and the Priestly Blessing, and on the Sabbath they recited one blessing; "May He who causes His name to dwell in this House, cause to dwell among you love and brotherliness, peace and friendship" on behalf of the weekly Priestly Guard that departed.In addition to the sacrifices, the Temple was considered a special location for prayer to God: When Your people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, when they sin against You, if they turn again to You, and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this house - may You hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.

If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there be; whatever prayer and supplication be made by any person of all Your people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house - may You hear in heaven Your dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart You know.

[49]Seder Kodashim, the fifth order, or division, of the Mishnah (compiled between 200 and 220 CE), provides detailed descriptions and discussions of the religious laws connected with Temple service including the sacrifices, the Temple and its furnishings, as well as the priests who carried out the duties and ceremonies of its service.

Three other minor fasts (Tenth of Tevet, 17th of Tammuz, and Third of Tishrei), also mourn events leading to or following the destruction of the Temple.

The Temple Mount, along with the entire Old City of Jerusalem, was captured from Jordan by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day War, allowing Jews once again to visit the holy site.

[55][better source needed][56] Jordan had occupied East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount immediately following Israel's declaration of independence on May 14, 1948.

[citation needed] The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, based in Jordan, has administrative control of the Temple Mount.

Traditionally referred to as the "Farthest Mosque" (al-masjid al-aqṣa' literally "utmost site of bowing (in worship)" though the term now refers specifically to the mosque in the southern wall of the compound which today is known simply as al-haram ash-sharīf "the noble sanctuary"), the site is seen as the destination of Muhammad's Night Journey, one of the most significant events recounted in the Quran and the place of his ascent heavenwards thereafter (Mi'raj).

There are over forty hadith about Al-Aqsa Mosque and the virtue of visiting and praying in it, or at least sending oil to light its lamps.

Another hadith compiled by imams Muhammad al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud expounds on the importance of visiting the holy site.

[62] First, Muhammad (and his companions) prayed facing the Temple in Jerusalem (referred to as "Bayt Al-Maqdis", in the Hadiths) similar to the Jews before changing it to the Kaaba in Mecca sixteen months after arriving in Medina following the verses revealed (Sura 2:144, 149–150).

Imam Abdul Hadi Palazzi, leader of Italian Muslim Assembly, quotes the Quran to support Judaism's special connection to the Temple Mount.

Furthermore, the complicated political status of Jerusalem makes reconstruction difficult, while Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock have been constructed at the traditional physical location of the Temple.

In 363 CE, the Roman emperor Julian had ordered Alypius of Antioch to rebuild the Temple as part of his campaign to strengthen non-Christian religions.

German journalist Dirk-Martin Heinzelmann, featured in the film, presents the point of view of Prof. Joseph Patrich (the Hebrew University), stemming from the underground cistern mapping made by Charles William Wilson (1836–1905).