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The Jewish people have a mitzva to build a Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to house the Divine Presence. The Temple gives expression to a broad range of divine values and provides the Jewish people and the entire world with inspiration. As it says, “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).
First, the Jews built a temporary Tabernacle, which traveled with them through the desert. When they reached the Land of Israel, they set it up in Shiloh. However, God had commanded them to build something more permanent once they had established themselves in the Land and defeated their enemies (Deuteronomy 12:9-11). And this is what happened. After King David’s conquests, his son Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, which stood for 410 years. Unfortunately, on account of our sins, the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple . About seventy years later, the Jews returned to the Land and built the Second Temple. It stood for 420 years. Unfortunately, since most of the Jews remained in exile, the Divine Presence was not manifested as clearly in the Second Temple as it had been in the First. Due to our sins, the Second Temple too was destroyed, at the hands of the Romans. We pray daily for the rebuilding of the Temple, speedily and in our days.
