Page 23 - HaMizrachi #10 Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot 5779

Ohad Tal
OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT
letters: ...‫ ִל ְיה ּו [ ֶּבן] ִא ֵמר‬, “lihu [son of] them from the time of the Second
Imer.” The name Imer is known
as belonging to a family of priests
from the time of the First Temple.
In Jeremiah (chapter 20) it mentions
Pashhur, son of Imer HaKohen, who
was “the governor’s clerk in the house
of G-d.” This stamp is the first Hebrew
inscription from the First Temple
period, found on the Temple Mount.
This unequivocally attests to Jewish
activity on this site.
SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD (516 BCE–70CE)
Many treasures have been discovered
from the Second Temple period,
including evidence of the large
construction projects, primarily King
Herod’s expansion of the Temple
Mount and his rebuilding of the
Temple.
Additionally, they have found an
abundance of sheep, goat and cattle
bones, many of which were charred.
The strong presumption is that these
are the remains of korbanot (sacrifices)
offered upon the altar when the Beit
HaMikdash was active.
But that’s not all.
For the first time, sifters discovered
actual floor tiles from Herod’s Temple!
The tiles were decorated with various
colors of imported stones arranged
in a variety of geometric patterns. In
his book “The Jewish War,” Josephus
referred to these stones: “The
uninhabited courtyard was paved with
stones of different types and colors.”
Recently, the project’s researchers have
suggested a variety of patterns for how
this paving may have been laid in the
Beit HaMikdash.
To date, more than 6,000 ancient
coins have been discovered, many of
Temple. One of these coins even bears
the image of Antiochus IV Epiphanes,
“Antiochus the Evil” from the story of
Chanukah.
However, the coin that aroused the
most excitement was none other than
a “half-shekel” coin minted in 66-67
BCE (about three years before the
destruction of the Second Temple).
The coin is made of pure silver and
bears the Hebrew letters ‫ְיר ּו ׁ ָש ֵלם ַה ְּקד ֹו ׁ ָשה‬ Jerusalem: ‫ִּכי ָרצ ּו ֲע ָב ֶדי ָך ֶאת ֲא ָב ֶני ָה ְו ֶאת‬
– Holy Jerusalem and ‫ – ֲח ִצי ַה ׁ ּ ֶש ֶקל‬half
a shekel. This is the first time such a
coin has been found on the Temple
Mount and the implications are, of
course, significant to say the least.
THE LATE ROMAN PERIOD (324–70 CE)
Among the interesting finds from this
period are numerous figurines, pawns
and many dice that were probably
used by soldiers of the Roman Legion
who destroyed the Temple. Among
them is also a “cheater’s die” which
may explain the words of the Sages
‫ – ַה ְּמ ַ ׂש ֵחק ְּב ֻק ִּב ָּיה ָּפס ּול ְל ֵעד ּות‬we
reject the testimony of
those who gamble with
dice.
LOOKING FORWARD
The weakness of Israeli
governments over the years
regarding issues of sovereignty over
the Temple Mount has become a great
tragedy, not only for the Jewish people
but also on a universal level – the
wanton destruction of one of the most
important historical sites in the world.
However, through the Temple Mount
Sifting Project, we have tried to at
least correct some of the damage. In
doing so, we have been blessed with
some astonishing glimpses of Jewish
history and the discovery of myriad
treasures hidden for thousands of
years underneath the site of our Beit
HaMikdash.
King David, the Psalmist who brought
the city of Jerusalem fully into the
Jewish consciousness1, describes the
need for the people of Israel to be
partners in the process of Redemption
by literally probing the earth of
‫ ֲע ָפָר ּה ְיחֹ ֵננ ּו‬, “Your servants take delight
in its stones and cherish its dust”
(Psalms 102:15).
This process of digging in the dirt is
one stage of the Redemption process
and in the very next verse, the
Psalmist describes the result:
‫ְו ִייְרא ּו ג ֹו ִים ֶאת ׁ ֵשם ה’ ְו ָכל ַמ ְל ֵכי ָה ָאֶרץ ֶאת ְּכב ֹו ֶד ָך‬
‫ ִּכי ָב ָנה ה’ ִצ ּי ֹון ִנְר ָאה ִּב ְכב ֹודו‬, “The nations
will fear the name of the L-rd, all the
kings of the earth, Your glory. For the
L-rd has built Zion; He has appeared
in all His glory.”
We pray that through this
project and others we will
continue to discover the
unequivocal evidence of
our unbreakable bond to
our eternal capital and to
the Temple Mount. Another
milestone in the ongoing process
of our people’s Final Redemption and
the revelation of the full glory of our
G-d-given homeland.
1 See Rav Rimon’s article on page 10.
Ohad Tal is Deputy Chief Executive of World
Mizrachi and former Head of the Temple
Mount Sifting Project
•| 23