Orot's Model of the Temple

Rabbi Yosef Antman

We mention Jerusalem and the Temple in all of our prayers and blessings, on every occasion of joy as well as during our periods of mourning. From the blessing after our meals – “He Who rebuilds Jerusalem in His mercy” to the promise “I shall raise Jerusalem above my highest joy”, the Jewish people have always accorded Jerusalem its special status of sanctity.

This hope and longing to behold the rebuilding of the Temple grows stronger in the generations of redemption, and has intensified through our proximity to the Temple Mount and our physical contact with the holy stones surrounding it. We can almost glimpse it “looking through the windows” and “peeping through the lattice”, as described in Shir ha-Shirim. Moreover, we are called upon to involve ourselves in matters pertaining to holiness and the Temple – to learn about the Temple, to understand its various aspects, and to become familiar with its structure and the foundations of the Temple service. Through this we are strengthened in our prayer “that the Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days”.

A decade ago, the founder of Orot Israel College – Rabbi Yehuda Felix shlita , together with the former director of the College library – Mrs. Sara Mallis and her husband, Avraham z"l, decided to create a study model of the Second Temple in its final form, following the renovations and extensions of King Herod and based on the descriptions and measurements set down in the Mishna, Talmud, and other sources. The Mallis family dedicated the model to the memory of their parents on both sides of the family (Mallis and Freunlich). The model was built by Mr. Michael Osnis, a master stonemason from Kedumim. Following his adoption of a religious lifestyle and his aliya from Russia, he decided to devote himself to recreating very accurate models of the Temple with guidance from the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. Mr. Osnis’ models are regarded as extremely reliable representations, and others like the one at Orot College, can be found in various locations in Israel and worldwide. He builds his models with materials resembling as closely as possible the original building materials, down to the tiniest details.

The model was built on a scale of 1:100 (for instance, the ‘azara of the Temple – whose breadth measured 135 cubits, or 70m, is represented in the model by an area measuring 70cm across), without a roof and with walls extending only part of the way up, to facilitate detailed and in-depth survey and study. The model is located in a special room of the library building, and is open for viewing by students and visitors. Study of texts pertaining to the Temple accompanied by a guided tour of the model, provides a very real sense of the structure and the sacrificial service in all its complexity.

For the past few years, the standard policy at Orot College initiated by the President of the College, Rabbi Neria Guttel shlita, requires that every student, during the course of her studies, participates in a workshop/tour of the model, led by expert lecturers. (In addition, I give a year-long course on “The Temple in halakha and Jewish thought”, as part of the “Haye Olam” studies.) Although the tour itself takes only an hour and a half, it arouses great interest among the students and gives rise to questions relating to its physical structure as well as surrounding issues such as permission to enter the Temple Mount, the place of women who bring an offering after childbirth, the place where a ‘nezira’ offers her sacrifice and whether a woman places her hands upon the animal she brings as a korban.

May it be Hashem’s will that the answers to all of the questions surrounding the Temple and its service may be implemented in practice, speedily in our days, Amen.