# Why don't the Jews build another Temple? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444 "2016-07-20T19:37:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/21 "2016-07-21T01:31:48Z")
You do know it’s dinner time on the West Coast, right? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/22 "2016-07-21T02:31:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Question about that Red Heifer business - if a suitable red cow is ever discovered (in itself an event of low probability) is it even possible these days to find enough people of sufficient ritual purity to perform the sacrifice and make the water/ashes to use for Ultimate Ritual Purification? Suitable red heifers have, in fact, popped up from time to time, giving some trivial encouragement to the Temple movement. [Here’s a story from 2014.](http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/perfect-red-heifer-discovered-us-sent-israel-purify-coming-third-jewish-temple/) (Understand, the people who want to build a new Temple are about as influential as the people who thought the world was going to come to an end in April of 2012. Not very!) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/23 "2016-07-21T03:04:30Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > If the Third Temple was built, then wouldn’t Jews have to follow all the mitzvot. I’m scanning through Wikipedia’s article [“613 Commandments”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_commandments) which has the claim “Many of the mitzvot [commandments] cannot be observed now, following the destruction of the Second Temple, although they still retain religious significance.” > > This is all news to me, so please fight my ignorance … Jews like me, him, and Everybody since the Temple was destroyed are and are-not followers of the same Judaism when the Temple was up and running. The mitzvoth of Temple service, and the like, are “newly” observed the same way the sacrifices and the very structuring of the religion was continued back when: transvaluation, by study and liturgical adaptation. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/24 "2016-07-21T03:05:37Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > … > > (Understand, the people who want to build a new Temple are about as influential as the people who thought the world was going to come to an end in April of 2012. Not very!) From your lips to God’s ears… ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/25 "2016-07-21T03:25:06Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Yes, they’d have to resume observing the mitzvot that only apply when a Temple is available. > > (Technically, they still have to follow all the mitzvot - just that in the absence of the Temple, NOT doing those things is in fact the mitzvah.) For the uninitiated, what are we talking about, here? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/26 "2016-07-21T04:39:47Z")
One example is slaughtering animals for food. Back in the day of the Temple, that had to be done at the temple. The trouble is, who is going to march their cattle so many dozen or hundred miles for ritual slaughtering? It wasn’t really practical then, and far less now. Modern Israel has a much larger population – of people and of farm animals – than Judea before the Romans stuck their oars in. Nowadays, Jews can slaughter their food animals where they raise them, without having to go through too much hassle. They invite in a Rabbi (double-checking spelling this time) to certify that they’re doing it right, but they don’t have to haul the animals to the Temple to have it done there. There were other ceremonies and rites that could only be done at the temple. Today, that would be a big logistical nightmare. (The Mormons, at least, have the luxury of a Temple in each of 150 different cities.) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/27 "2016-07-21T06:06:07Z")
Trinopus: > [@](#): > > One example is slaughtering animals for food. Back in the day of the Temple, that had to be done at the temple. The trouble is, who is going to march their cattle so many dozen or hundred miles for ritual slaughtering? It wasn’t really practical then, and far less now. Modern Israel has a much larger population – of people and of farm animals – than Judea before the Romans stuck their oars in. > > Nowadays, Jews can slaughter their food animals where they raise them, without having to go through too much hassle. They invite in a Rabbi (double-checking spelling this time) to certify that they’re doing it right, but they don’t have to haul the animals to the Temple to have it done there. Not quite. Jews could, even in Temple times, slaughter animals for personal consumption locally. What they couldn’t do, in Temple times, was offer sacrifices anywhere but the Temple. A more accurate example answer to this post: > [@Ethilrist](#): > > For the uninitiated, what are we talking about, here? would be that the firstborn of sacrifice-eligible animals (cows, sheep and goats) in Israel, in Temple times, needed to be sacrificed at the Temple (the meat to be eaten by the priests and their families). Now that there is no Temple, and offering sacrifices without one is forbidden, Jews fulfill that commandment by leaving those firstborns to live out their natural lives, because sacrificing with no Temple would be sinful. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/28 "2016-07-21T06:14:44Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > . . . Not quite. Jews could, even in Temple times, slaughter animals for personal consumption locally. What they couldn’t do, in Temple times, was offer sacrifices anywhere but the Temple. . . . I may be completely wrong, then, and this would be little surprise to anyone…but wasn’t there a controversy over that, where some supported the Temple in its bid to be the sole slaughterhouse for all food, and others wanted local authority for non-sacrificial slaughtering? I know I read about this somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/29 "2016-07-21T07:39:19Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Or is it theological? Among many, probably most, Orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews, there is a pretty strong theological belief that the Temple can only be rebuilt when the Messiah comes. And since he ain’t here yet, then there’s no reason to get too concerned about rebuilding it right now. And then there’s also a minor issue of practicality: that attempting to rebuild it right now would start World War III 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/30 "2016-07-21T09:54:43Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > And then there’s also a minor issue of practicality: > that attempting to rebuild it right now would start World War III 🙂 It would cause a wave of terrorist attacks and probably cause Hamas and Hizbollah to launch new Intifada’s but it wouldn’t cause WW III. Israel beat the surrounding nations 6 to 1 once already. Jordan and Egypt is not going to invade, Syria is no condition to do anything. There would be outrage but really could it get much worse than what ISIS is already trying to do? The current situation is ridiculous, Israel should partition it off into Muslim and Jewish sections and let Jews prey there at the very least. It was a Jewish holy place 1000+ years before Islam came along. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/31 "2016-07-21T12:12:47Z")
A truly unfortunate typo. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/32 "2016-07-21T12:26:12Z")
Not if it’s where all the domestic animals go to be slaughtered! ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/33 "2016-07-21T13:57:12Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > It would cause a wave of terrorist attacks and probably cause Hamas and Hizbollah to launch new Intifada’s but it wouldn’t cause WW III. Israel beat the surrounding nations 6 to 1 once already. Jordan and Egypt is not going to invade, Syria is no condition to do anything. There would be outrage but really could it get much worse than what ISIS is already trying to do? > > The current situation is ridiculous, Israel should partition it off into Muslim and Jewish sections and let Jews prey there at the very least. It was a Jewish holy place 1000+ years before Islam came along. And it’s been a Muslim holy place more recently and for 1400 years… Really, there’s no polite solution to the issue, especially in the current climate. Another thing I read said that some Jewish groups believe it would be inappropriate to wander the temple mount since they don’t know precisely where the sanctuary was and since that area is forbidden to anyone but the high priest - best to avoid violating the prohibition by staying off the Mount. Others think otherwise, which creates provocation (and of course, seems to be deliberately provocative to the Muslims). ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/34 "2016-07-21T14:06:03Z")
Trinopus: > [@](#): > > I may be completely wrong, then, and this would be little surprise to anyone…but wasn’t there a controversy over that, where some supported the Temple in its bid to be the sole slaughterhouse for all food, and others wanted local authority for non-sacrificial slaughtering? I know I read about this somewhere… Not entirely sure what you’re thinking of. During the First Temple period there was the matter of private altars (Bamos, in Hebrew) which were (legally) in wide usage before Solomon’s Temple was built but should have stopped being used after that, but it wasn’t until Hezekiah that the practice was stamped out, but that was about offering sacrifices outside the temple, not slaughtering ordinary food. Deuteronomy 12 is clear about the distinction between sacrifices and ordinary food, that the latter can be slaughtered anywhere, and only the former needed to be brought to the designated place (centuries later revealed to be Jerusalem): > [@](#): > > 20 When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want. 21 If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want. 22 Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat…26 But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the Lord will choose. 27 Present your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/35 "2016-07-21T14:16:05Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > The current situation is ridiculous, Israel should partition it off into Muslim and Jewish sections and let Jews prey there at the very least. It was a Jewish holy place 1000+ years before Islam came along. > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > A truly unfortunate typo. Emphasis added. Do we have an SDMB typo of the year award? ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/36 "2016-07-21T14:27:37Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > (However, this is an issue that might be addressed in the near future. Once the full extent of the Western Wall is excavated, we’ll know exactly how long a cubit is, because we know that it was 500 cubits long.) This seems to be burying the lede. I thought the exact value of the cubit was one of those “necessary for many things, including rebuilding the temple, but was lost to time” things. Now this seems to imply that the cubit’s exact value will become known in the near future? Wouldn’t this be quite the boon to both theologians and archaeologists? Why isn’t this a bigger deal and what’s taking so long to finish the excavation? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/37 "2016-07-21T14:42:25Z")
Setting aside the Temples in Jerusalem and pre-Jerusalem Tabernacles (e.g. at Shiloh in Israel) what other Jewish Temples have there been? Is not [the Temple at Elephantine](http://arthistory.wisc.edu/ah505/articles/Rosenberg,_The_Jewish_Temple_at_Elephantine.pdf) the only one? > [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Didn’t the Ark go missing way back at the time of the destruction of the First Temple, and the Babylonian Exile? I’m pretty sure there was no Ark in the Second Temple. Or, more likely, _before_ said destruction. There is strong evidence that the Ark was missing by the reign of Josiah (though little Doper enthusiasm for this fact when I mentioned it in an earlier thread). ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/38 "2016-07-21T14:53:48Z")
yellowjacketcoder: > [@](#): > > Now this seems to imply that the cubit’s exact value will become known in the near future? It could be. As I said, it’s known that each wall of the Temple Mount was 500 cubits in length. If we can determine the precise length of the Western Wall - and archaeologists have long since found the southern end, and progress is being made toward the northern end - then we can divide that by 500, and we’ll know the exact length of the cubit as used in Temple construction. > [@](#): > > Wouldn’t this be quite the boon to both theologians and archaeologists? Why isn’t this a bigger deal and what’s taking so long to finish the excavation? It’s certainly a big deal, but Jerusalem is a heavily populated city, and archaeology in the Old City can be both practically difficult and politically sticky. Not to mention hat archaeology by its nature is a slow science because care needs to be taken not to destroy artifacts. But make no mistake, it is proceeding. septimus: > [@](#): > > Or, more likely, before said destruction. There is strong evidence that the Ark was missing by the reign of Josiah (though little Doper enthusiasm for this fact when I mentioned it in an earlier thread). The Talmudic opinion is that it was actually hidden by Josiah himself, and that this is what’s meant in 2 Chronicles 35:3 - “He said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord: “Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.” - that this is Josiah commanding the Levites to put the ark in a secret hiding place within the Temple (as there’s no indication before this verse that it wasn’t in the Holy of Holies in the Temple all along). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/39 "2016-07-21T15:54:53Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Wouldn’t that require building it on the Temple Mount which is currently controlled by Muslims? Nitpick - the Temple Mount is under Israeli _control_, and Muslim _administration_. That said, Israeli authorities strictly forbid any Jewish religious worship on Temple Mount. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444/40 "2016-07-21T16:36:38Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That said, Israeli authorities strictly forbid any Jewish religious worship on Temple Mount. Without straying into GD territory… how does that not inspire massive protest from the religious community? Or, has that happened in the past and pretty much played itself out? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-jews-build-another-temple/760444.md?page=3)