lUn0(jtUf)ton * WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 20001 PAGE A15

Briefing/Middle East

Third temple a dream offuture for some JewsIsrael dismissesconstmction onloly Muslim site

By Julia Duinmr. mSHiNflfON times

JERUSALEM — Anyone wandering about the Jewish Quarterhere comes across a startlingposter displayed in various giftshops: a photo of modern-day Jerusalem with all the Muslim holy

.sites excised.The shHnes — the Dome of the

Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque — havebeen on the Ibmple Mount alongthe eastern wall of the Old City for1,300 years. Replacing them in thedoctorcd aerial view is a "thirdtemple" built on the site of Herod'stemple. Razed by the Romans in 70A.D.. it replaced the first temple —Solomon's, which was destroyed inthe 6th century B.C.

In the poster, the new, whitemarble temple is surrounded bycourtyards. One shop, Levi's GiftWorld, sells the posters for a fewdollars. Asign reads: "Buynow'be-fore the Ttemple is rebuilt andprices go up."

For many people, a third Jewishtemple ranks on the same level asthe lost continent of Atlantis:wildly improbable and almost certainly the stuff of legend. But forthe devout, the 35-acre TfempleMount on Jerusalem's easternedge is the world's most hotly debated piece of real estate, fromwhere some Jews and many Christians believe the Messiah willsomeday reign.

'Center of universe'

"This place has been sanctifiedby God from the beginning oftime," said Rabbi Chaim Richmanohlie "ftmple Institute."Thefoundation stone underneath the Domeof the Rock was the center of theuniverse. Here Jacob laid his head.Here Abraham tried to sacrificeIsaac. The heart of the Garden ofEden is here. Adam's altar was located here."

Tb this day, Jews do not walk onthe site because the Holy of Holies— the temple's inner sanctum —was there. Only the high priest wasallowed inside and the profanewere not allowed near it. Becauseno one is sure where the Holy ofHolies was located, Jewish lawbans Ihe faithful from the area, lestanyone should accidentally step onthe spot.

Muslims believe the site marksthe spot from which the prophetMohammed ascended to heavenfrom a large rock — hence thename Dome of the Rock, for thegolden dome that covers a rockyarea the size of an Olympic-sizedpool. Islamic tradition says theprophet's footprint is embeddedthere, along with the handprint ofthe angel Gabriel.

Although Israeli soldiers guardthe Mount, a Muslim political-rehgious trust called the Waqf administers the area. It allows non-Muslims there for very limitedamounts of time — mainly earlymornings — and forbids Christians and Jews to pi^ay there. TheWaqf has been accused of de-.stroying artifacts from pre-Is-lamic times.

Christians also interested

As for Christians, they believethe entire area was much loved byJesus, who frequented its precincts 2,000 years ago. The NewTtstament 'Matthew 24:15) suggests a third temple must be inplace before the Second Coming.

Barbara Ledeen, executive director ofthe Independent Women'sForum, a Washington-based neo-conservative women's organization, remembers being a staff

' writer at the Biblical Archeology

Review when the magazine published an article in the early 1980sabout the location of the Holy ofHolies. What astonished her werethe calls from Christian readers.

"I was amazed Christians wereremotely interested," she says. Sheand her husband, Michael, endedup writing more on the matter in a1984 article in the New Republic.

"What's happening is there's afight for position around the Tfem-ple Mount," she said. "Jews havebeen buying up properly from tlieArabs so their access to the Tfemplewon't be blocked. The tinderbox isright there. In order to understandwhat the fight for Jerusalem is allabout, you have to understand theTfemple Mount.

"The secular Jews aren't reliable about it, either," said Mrs.Ledeen, who attends a conservative synagogue in Chevy Chase."[Former Israeli Defense Minister] Moshe Dayan took control ofthe Temple Mount during the11967Middle East] war, but gave itto the Waqf because he's a secularJew. He didn't want to deal with it."

Earlier temples destroyedThe first Jewish temple was de

stroyed by the Babylonians on theninth day of the Jewish month ofAv, which works out to Aug. 10,586B.C. It was partly rebuilt by Jewsfrom Babylon 70 years later, starting in 516 B.C.

Another more resplendent version was built by King Herod starting in 22 B.C.Built by 10,000laborers over a 46-year period, thistemple was known for its magnificent white-marble walls and goldand silver plate exterior The glittering vision inspired worshippersarriving for the three major feastsof Passover (Pesach), Pentecost(Shavuot) and Ihbernacles {Suk-kol).

Herod's temple was destroyedby the Romans in 70 A.D.,again onAug. 10, and only one wall, thefamous "Wailing Wall" remains. Itwas renamed the "Western Wall"in 1967 when Israel seized the city,it being Ihe closest structure to thewest end of the Holy of Holies.

Every August, a two-day holiday,Tisha b'Av,marks the destruction of Ihe temple.

Boys from the Israeli city of Efrat study a model of the second temple,which once stood on the Temple Mount. A Muslim trust runs the area.

There have been attempts to occupy the site by force, includingseveral attempts in the early 1980sby extremist Jews planning toblow up the Dome of the Rock orassault the Mount itself. Followersof Islam say a Jewish takeover ofthe site would provoke a jihad(holy war) from the world's Muslims.

Israelis 'Judaize the city'"Attempts have taken place,"

said Klialid "Riraani, executive director of American Muslims forJerusalem. "This is consistent withan official Israeli policy to Judaizethe city. Native Christians andMuslims have become tourists intheir own city.

"Without a temple, Palestiniansand Christians are subjected to humiliation by the Israelis. What willhappen if they build a temple?" Mr.Hiraani asked.

Several activist groups in Jerusalem are ready to spring into action should a third temple be built.These include yeshivas said to bepreparing boys for positions as future temple priests. People withthe tribal priestly surname of Cohen and its derivatives — who livein Israel and could be called uponto do temple service, are said to bemaintained on secret databases.

Others, such as the House of

Harrari, a harp-making shop justwest of the Old City, makes cypress, rosewood, walnut, mapleand cherry instruments for templeworship. Micah Harrari, who ownsthe business with his wife, Sho-shanna. is a descendent of the Le-vites, the tribe responsible for music in the temple.

There are also efforts to breedred heifers in Israel, so they can besacrificed and their ashes used tosprinkle the high priest in preparation for temple service. As theshedding of blood is associatedwith the remission of sin in the Tb-rah — the first five books of the Old"Ifestament — the restoration ofanimal sacrifices in a properlyconsecrated third temple is crucialto some Orthodox Jews.

Activists iicid 'fringe'The official Israeli government

policy is: No future temple is in theoffing.

"They're fringe." Yaakov Levy,the Israeli government's deputy director for public affairs, said oftemple-oriented groups. "They arenot mainstream. The Israeli publicis not making preparations for athird temple in the near future." .

Although things have been relatively quiet on the Itmple Mountfor the past decaJe, plenty goes onunderneath the radar. A Web site,www.tempiemount.org, details

Phoios by KennoP) LamlMrt/The Washington TirT>9S

Rabbi Chaim Richman o(IheTemple Institute standsbeside a glasscase protecling a gold menorah intheJewish Quarter o(Jerusalem's Old City.

everything from the site's historyto prophecies of a third and even afourth temple.

In the Cardo, a shopping centerin the Jewish Quarter, the TfempleInstitute has placed a giant, 90-pound gold menorah. The menorah, said Rabbi Richman, is thefirst of its kind to be built since thedestruction of the Second Temple.

The American-born rabbi,wearing a black yarmulke andwire-rimmed gla.sses, has devotedhis life to educating the worldabout a third temple from the institute's Jewish Quarter showroomat 24 Misgav Ladach St. Threerooms are filled with huge canvases of scenes from a future thii^temple.

"Of the 613 commandments inthe Ibrah. 113 of them depend onthe existence of a Jewish temple,"he said- "We have not received acancellation order for any of thecommandments issued at MountSinai."

He insists that his organizationhas no connection with groups thatwould seize the Mount by violentmeans.

Rabbi rejects violence"People assume those who are

interested in the Tfemple are radical elements opposed to peace," hesaid. "It's the hallmark of thegreatest era known to man, so itcan't come through aggression."

Of the 93 vessels described inthe Bible, half have been recreated by the iiistitute and aredisplayed behind glass cases.Some items remain mysterious.

Things were done on a grandscale in previous temples. As manyas 120 harpists and trumpetei^swere employed to lead daily worship. The offerings were made inenormous rooms with ceilings 40to 50 feet high. Men in turbans, redbelts and white robes presidedover a multitude of sacrifices.

But the paintings at the TempleInstitute do not show the vastamount of plumbing needed towash away all the blood from thesacrifices, nor are priests shownwith bloodstained garments. Andthere are no women in these pictures, save in the outermost courts.