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| Re'eih-Psalm 132: Searching for the Temple Site |
The Hidden Location
It is surprising, but the Torah never spells out exactly
where to build the Beit HaMikdash. Rather we are
instructed to build the Temple in the place that God will
choose:
Where is "the place that God will choose" for His Divine
Presence? And what does it mean to "seek out His dwelling
place"?
According to the Sifri, this is a command to discover where
to build the Beit HaMikdash using the guidance of a
prophet. The spiritual search for this holy site
was a mission that King David undertook, with the help of
the prophet Samuel.
Why didn't the Torah explicitly indicate the location where
to build the Temple? Moses certainly knew that the Akeidah took place
on Mount Moriah, and that Abraham had prophesied that this
would be the site of the Beit HaMikdash (see Gen. 22:14).
Maimonides in his Guide to the Perplexed III:45 suggested that Moses wisely chose
not to mention Jerusalem. Had he done so, the non-Jewish nations would have realized
Jerusalem's singular importance to the Jewish people, and they would have fought fiercely to prevent
it from falling into Israel's hands.
Even worse, knowledge of Jerusalem's spiritual importance could
have led to infighting among the tribes, as each tribe would
have demanded the Beit HaMikdash to be located in its
territory, similar to the rebellion against the priesthood that was instigated by Korach.
Maimonides reasoned that this is why the Torah commands that a king be appointed
before building the Beit HaMikdash — so that the decision regarding the
Temple's location would be in the hands
of a strong central government, and not subject to tribal conflict and rivalry.
"Between His Shoulders"
David, in any case, did not know where the Beit HaMikdash was to be built.
According to the Talmud in Zevachim 54b, his initial
choice fell on Ein Eitam, a spring located to the south of
Jerusalem. Ein Eitam appeared to be an obvious choice since
it has the highest altitude in the entire region. This
feature corresponds to the Torah's description that "You
shall rise and ascend to the place that the Eternal your God
will choose" (Deut.17:8).
However, David subsequently meditated on another verse that
alludes to the Temple's location. At the end of his life,
Moses hinted at the place of God's Divine
Presence — "He dwells between his shoulders" (Deut. 33:12).
This allegoric description suggests that the
Temple's location was meant to be not at the highest point,
but a little below it, just as the shoulders are
below the head. Accordingly he determined that Jerusalem,
located slightly lower than Ein Eitam, was
the site where the Beit HaMikdash was meant to be built.
Doeg, head of the high court, disagreed with David; he
supported the original choice of Ein Eitam as the place to
build the Temple. The Sages related that Doeg's jealousy of
David was due to the latter's success in discovering the
Temple's true location.
The story of David's search for the site of the Beit
HaMikdash is intimated in one of David's 'songs of
ascents' — chapter 132 of Psalms. The psalm opens with a
plea, "Remember David for all his trouble" (Ps. 132:1). What
was this trouble that David felt was a unique merit, a
significant life-achievement for which he wanted to be remembered?
The psalm continues by recounting
David's intense efforts to uncover the place of the Temple.
David vowed,
David and Doeg
What was the source of the disagreement between David and
Doeg? Why was Doeg of the opinion that Ein Eitam was the
correct choice?
Doeg reasoned that the most suitable site for the Temple is
the highest point. Such heights are only accessible to the
select few, those who are able to truly grasp the purest levels of
elevated enlightenment — the kohanim and the spiritual
elite.
David, on the other hand, understood that the Temple and its
holiness need to be the inheritance of the entire people of
Israel. The kohanim are not privy to special knowledge;
they are merely messengers who extend the Temple's holiness
to the people and elevate them. The
entire nation of Israel is described in the Torah as a "kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6).
The Waters of Ein Eitam
Even though Ein Eitam was never sanctified, it still
retained a special connection to the Beit HaMikdash:
its springs supplied water for the Beit HaMikdash. The
Talmud relates that on Yom Kippur, the high priest would
immerse himself in a mikveh on the roof of the Beit HaParvah
chamber in the Temple complex. In order for the water to
reach this roof, which was 23 amot higher than the
ground-floor of the Temple courtyard, water was diverted from the
springs of Ein Eitam, which were at the same exact height.
What is the significance of this connection between Ein
Eitam and the high priest's purification on Yom Kippur?
Rav Kook explained that while the Beit HaMikdash itself
needs to be accessible to all people, the preparation of the high priest and
his purification must emanate from the highest
possible source. The purity and
atonement of Yom Kippur originates in the loftiest realms,
corresponding to the elevated springs of Ein Eitam.
(Adapted from Shemu'ot HaRe'iyah (Beha'alotecha), quoted in
Peninei HaRe'iyah pp. 273-274,350-351; Shemonah Kevatzim
I:745)
Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison
"But only to the place that the Eternal your God will choose
from all your tribes to set His Name there — you shall seek
His dwelling place and go there." (Deut. 12:5)
"That I will not enter the tent of my house, nor will I go
up to the bed that was spread for me; I will not give sleep
to my eyes nor rest to my eyelids — until I find the place
of God, the dwellings of the Mighty One of Jacob." (Ps. 132:
3-5)