Longing for the Temple

The Alshich described how special it was when the משכן was completed in the desert. This took place on the first of Nissan, almost a year after the exodus.

The Mishkan symbolized that the sin of the Golden Calf was forgiven. The Divine Presence would rest on this portable Beit Hamikdash, and the entire nation would feel a special closeness to Hashem.

My dear friend, Rabbi Chaim Richman, has dedicated his life towards creating an awareness of the need to long for the construction of the Third Temple.

The “Temple Institute,” or “Machon Hamikdash” in the Old City of Jerusalem, has recreated all of the vessels necessary to be used in the Third Temple. They have even painstakingly designed the priestly garments, as well as those worn by the Kohein Hagadol.

The whole purpose of this museum like facility, is to create an awareness of what is sorely needed in the Jewish world. When the Temple existed, the Jewish people were on a much higher spiritual level.

It was so uplifting to know that sacrifices were offered daily, and even the scent of the incense filled Jerusalem and the outlying areas.

The Temple was a source of pride for all of the Jewish people. They knew their place and how special it was to be Jewish. Intermarriage and assimilation was very rare.

There truly was the fulfillment of the verse in Yechezkel, “You will be My people, and I will be your G-d. This explains why the original construction of the Mishkan, was such a joyous occasion. This also explains why we need to long for the Third Temple, when we can once again achieve that special closeness with Hashem.