AboutRabbi Barry Dov Lerner Expertise Write to me with questions about Jewish customs and law, history,
philosophy and tradition for answers from a Conservative perspective or conversion. I am a graduate of The Jewish Theological Seminary and a member of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. Having served in congregational pulpits since 1970, I now am President of the Foundation For Family Education, Inc. a non-profit educational endeavor. I established it to create new formats of hands-on programs and provide free educational downloads at www.jewishfreeware.org. In addition to general informational questions I welcome your questions about programs for social action, outreach to dual-faith families, inter-faith clergy projects, healing services, education for conversion, adult education for the congregation and the community. If you have questions about Informal and Formal Education I am ready to share my extensive experience with Youth Activities, Camping and Religious School/Hebrew High School on a congregational, community and national/international level.
Experience I have served on the National Youth Commission for more than 25 years and serve on the Boards of the Conservative Zionist movement MERCAZ and the World Council of Synagogues. I have always dual-families and taught candidates for conversion with a great sense of fulfillment. I am very proud of 25 years on the Jewish camping staff of Camps Ramah. My greatest source of pride is my family! Ask me about them, please!:-)
I have read Christian articles stating that Israel was preparing to rebuild the temple. They also are in the process of establishing the Priesthood again in preperation for this event. It is a Christian Teaching on the last day's that a 3rd Temple must be built.
Is any of this true?
Thanks
Murel
Answer Dear Murel,
In no way is the Israeli government nor the majority of Israel's Jewish population interested in or planning to rebuild the Temple - for many reasons.
There is practically no way it can be rededicated according to Jewish law and no matter how hard a fringe group try to raise funds and make these claims - it isn't going to happen.
Period.Jewish World Review April 30, 2009 / 6 Iyar 5769
A Chilling Effect on U.S. Counterterrorism
By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart of Stratfor
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Over the past couple of weeks, we have been carefully watching the fallout from the Obama administration’s decision to
Christians have to come to grips with the fact that neither Jews nor Israel are going to do so.
Whether Christians would be permitted to come to Israel and instigate the building of the Temple I seriously doubt if only because only Jews can rebuild the Temple, Israelis are unprepared to go to war with the entire Moslem world to rebuild it by destroying the structures on the Temple Mount and the world's entire Christian community is unprepared to join in a war with Islam to do so.
I am going to stick my neck out and say the following: if Christians want to have the Temple rebuilt, first let them "fight it out" with Islam - in another barren part of the world - NOT Israel or even nearby. My son serves in the Israeli army and I don't want him to even have to consider the possibility of warfare for such an archaic religious matter.
Maimonides and others - a thousand years ago - really expressed their belief that the Temples were a concession to the primitive nature of early Jews. Now that after 2000 years we have institutions of atonement, a religious structure that has replaced animal sacrifice and Temple owrship, verbal prayer rather than sacrifices, etc. - we don't need or even want another Temple.
