The Loss Of The Jerusalem Temple

The history of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem holds a significant place in Jewish faith and practice. The rebuilding of the Third Temple continues to be an integral part of Jewish prayer and the future of the Jewish people as a whole, as it is representative of a central place of worship and community.

The first Temple can be traced back to King David of the Old Testament, whose son King Solomon fulfilled the completion of the Temple. The building of the second Temple, which was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans, followed the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians.

History Of The Holy Temple

King Solomon built the first temple of Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE to provide a permanent place for Jewish worship and to house the ancient Ark of the Covenant containing the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. The Temple became the center of Jewish community and religious practice. As a permanent building, the Temple replaced the portable sanctuary known as the tabernacle that had previously been used by Israelites from the time of Moses. Upon the Temple’s completion, after seven years of building, King Solomon offered a prayer and sacrifice and invited others to join in worship.

The Babylonians in 586 BCE destroyed the original Temple and its contents, approximately 400 years after its construction. No definite remains of the first temple have been found.

The second temple of Jerusalem was built in 515 BCE, approximately 70 years after the destruction of the first temple, under the permission of King Darius. In 20 BCE, the Roman Emperor Herod embarked on a project to renovate the temple, and for this reason the Temple is sometimes referred to as Herod’s temple.

The Romans in 70 CE following the Great Jewish Revolt destroyed the second temple. The Revolt put an end to the province of Judea and resulted in Jerusalem’s establishment as a Roman province. The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is a remnant of this second temple, and is a place of holy prayer and pilgrimage for the Jewish community around the world.

The Third Temple: After Destruction

The destruction of the second temple in 70 CE, and the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, gave way to the development of Rabbinic order after the destruction of the Temple and the Jewish migration from the Jerusalem center of worship.

The Third Temple is a sacred and yet unrealized place of worship, for which members of Jewish sects continue to pray. The rebuilding of the Third Temple would fulfill the prophesies of the Tanakh, the sacred book of Judaism, in the Messianic era.