DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM

TNDL: Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by Francesco Hayez

Orthodox Judaism believes in the rebuilding of a Third Temple and the resumption of Korban (sacrificial worship), although there is disagreement about how rebuilding should take place. Orthodox scholars and rabbinic authorities generally believe that rebuilding should occur in the era of the Jewish Messiah at the hand of Divine Providence, although a minority position, following the opinion of Maimonides, holds that Jews should endeavour to rebuild the temple themselves, whenever possible.[1] Orthodox authorities generally predict the resumption of the complete traditional system of sacrifices, but Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist authorities disavow all belief in the resumption of Korban. This belief is embedded in Orthodox Jewish prayer services. Three times a day, Orthodox Jews recite the Amidah, which contains prayers for the Temple's restoration and for sacrificial worship's resumption, and every day there is a recitation of the order of the day's sacrifices and the psalms the Levites would have sung that day.
The generally accepted position among Orthodox Jews is that the full order of the sacrifices will be resumed upon the building of the Temple. Maimonides wrote in his great philosophical treatise, "A Guide for the Perplexed", "that God deliberately has moved Jews away from sacrifices towards prayer, as prayer is a higher form of worship". However, in his Jewish legal code, the "Mishneh Torah", he states that animal sacrifices will resume in the third temple, and details how they will be carried out. Some[who?] attribute to Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook the view that animal sacrifices will not be reinstituted. These views on the Temple service are sometimes misconstrued (for example, in Olat Re'ayah, commenting on the prophecy of Malachi ("Then the grain-offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to God as in the days of old and as in former years" [Malachi 3:4]), he indicates that only grain offerings will be offered in the reinstated Temple service, while in a related essay from Otzarot Hare'ayah he suggests otherwise).
Role in prayer
Orthodox Jewish prayers include, in every prayer service and at the times when corresponding sacrifices would have been offered in the Temple, a prayer for its reconstruction and resumption of sacrifices. The morning prayer service also includes a study session of the daily Temple ritual and offerings as a reminder, including detailed study of the animal sacrifices and incense offerings. The service also contains the daily and special-occasion psalms the Levites used to sing in the Temple. Following the weekday Torah reading there is a prayer to "restore the House of our lives and to cause the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) to dwell among us", and the Amidah contains prayers for acceptance of "the fire-offerings of Israel" and ends with a meditation for the restoration of the Temple, "And may the grain-offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing, as in former days and ancient times" (Malachi 3:4). In addition, the theological and poetic language of Hebrew is filled with words with dual connotations, which are both literal references to elements of Temple architecture or ritual, and also have metaphorical theological and poetic meanings regarding the relationship between the worshipper and God. Translations and commentary on prayers with this language tend to discuss both meanings in Orthodox Judaism. (Examples of dual-meaning words: deshen refers to both the ashes left after a burnt-offering, and also means "acceptance with favor"; kodesh refers to "the Holy", i.e. the Sanctuary portion of the Temple, and also means "holy" generally; and chatzrot refers to the courtyards of the Temple, and also connotes nearness to God; "korban" means both "sacrifice" and "drawing near".)
Preservation of rules of tumah
Main article: Tumah and taharah
The Temple had elaborate rules of ritual purity forbidding entry to people with tumah, ritual impurity, arising from contact with the dead, seminal emissions and menstrual blood, contact with non-kosher (unclean) animals, certain diseases, and a number of other sources. While many of the original purification ceremonies involved (such as the red heifer ceremony) became impossible in the absence of the Temple and its rites, Rabbinic Judaism, and later Orthodox Judaism, considered Jews obligated to observe such laws of ritual purity as are possible, and retained a large number of the rules as principles for ordinary life. The laws of "family purity" are directly based, in function and terminology, on the Temple rules. A number of other requirements, such as the practices of immersing in a mikveh before Yom Kippur, washing the hands in the morning, before meals, and after a funeral, derive from these principles. Many contemporary and seemingly unconnected rules for ordinary living are intimately linked with these Temple rituals and rules. For example, the Shema Yisrael prayer is said at the time of day when Kohanim (priests) who were tamei (impure) completed a portion of their purification ritual, and the kind of plant material that can be put on the roof of a contemporary Sukkah (booth) is the kind that is not susceptible to tumah (impurity). In addition, authorities who permit Jews to ascend the Temple Mount require observance of a larger set of ritual purity rules than have been retained in daily life, such as a requirement of immersion following a seminal emission.
Attempts to re-establish a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount
In August 1967, after Israel's capture of the Mount, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, the chief rabbi of the IDF (and later chief rabbi of the State of Israel), began organizing public prayer for Jews on the Temple Mount. Rabbi Goren was also well known for his controversial positions concerning Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount.