With A Little Imagination

What things could look like during the rebuilt Temple period:




Leviticus 4:

כז וְאִם-נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת תֶּחֱטָא בִשְׁגָגָה, מֵעַם הָאָרֶץ: בַּעֲשֹׂתָהּ אַחַת מִמִּצְו‍ֹת יְ -וָה, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תֵעָשֶׂינָה--וְאָשֵׁם.	27 And if any one of the common people sin through error, in doing any of the things which the LORD hath commanded not to be done, and be guilty:
כח אוֹ הוֹדַע אֵלָיו, חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא--וְהֵבִיא קָרְבָּנוֹ שְׂעִירַת עִזִּים, תְּמִימָה נְקֵבָה, עַל-חַטָּאתוֹ, אֲשֶׁר חָטָא.	28 if his sin, which he hath sinned, be known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.

Mikdash Mystery Murder

Just came across a reference to this book today:




From Gil Student's review:-

Do you believe that the Messiah will come? Can you picture it? What will life be like in the Messianic Era? How will a monarchy/theocracy function in the modern world? How will the Temple work in a world with advanced telecommunications and complex securities markets?

It's hard to visualize it.

R. Dr. Gidon Rothstein does us all a favor in presenting his vision of the transitional period at the onset of the Messianic Era in his recent book Murderer in the Mikdash. Set within the plot of an exciting murder mystery that takes place a few years after the arrival of the Messiah, while the world is still in transition, R. Rothstein's book outlines a functioning model for a benign theocratic monarchy in which the laws of the Torah are followed. Levites, trained in public relations and pedagogy, guard the Temple Mount from the impure while educating the public. The police carefully monitor infractions of Torah law, preferring counseling to punishment. Expulsion from Israel is the last resort for serious offenders. Stoning and other forms of execution are unsurprisingly absent, given the Mishnah's statement of how rare such punishments are meted out. A two-class system of citizens exist -- haverim, who have officially accepted upon themselves strict observance of all laws, and non-haverim. The limitations and privileges of priests are described, including the care they need to take in what objects they can touch, particularly when handed over by a non-haver. The finances of the Temple, in particular, are described. How is money raised for all those utensils and sacrifices? The Temple's coffers must be constantly maintained and, let's face it, many people would prefer to give money to orphans than to a Temple in Jerusalem.

...The book is written from the perspective of a non-observant Jew, a woman who recently gave birth, whose husband has been mysteriously missing for months and whose best friend recently died under suspicious circumstances. Her lack of education in Jewish matters gives the author the opportunity to explain everything properly, allowing the book to be entirely understandable to someone with little Jewish background...

R. Rothstein's fidelity to Jewish tradition has him focusing on the Messianic Era and not the personality of the Messiah himself. There is very little mention of the Messiah, which I think adds to the message of the book. We have never really cared who the Messiah will be and have, instead, focused on the society that he will create. This book is all about that society and, to my knowledge, is the only book to realistically explore how it will function.

From Josh Yuter's review:

As you might expect, Murderer in the Mikdash is your basic murder mystery. We are quickly introduced to Rachel Tucker, a non-observant new mother whose husband has apparently vanished without a trace. Further complicating Rachel's life is the death of her friend Liat, and Rachel's newswoman's instinct that Liat's natural respiratory failure was really hiding something far more sinister. The backdrop of all this is of course the third temple period and Rachel's quest for truth requires her to confront a society and its bizarre amalgam of ancient laws and modern sensibilities.

...Of course the real novelty of Murderer in the Mikdash is the portrayal of a possible third temple society. R. Rothstein chooses what could best be described as a hyper-Maimonidean approach - that the only distinction between contemporary society and the Messianic age is the subjugation of other nations (shi'bud malchiyut) (Hilkhot Melachim 12:2) 2 - but in R. Rothstein's vision, the other nations have not yet accepted the new kingship of Israel. This minor distinction is not necessarily contradictory since the process of shi'bud malchiyut could be gradual, and if anything such international skepticism is a nice touch a detail emphasizing the very natural and rational Messianic era.

R. Rothstein's rationalist approach to the Messianic age is essential to the book for several reasons. Practically, it allows R. Rothstein the freedom to tell the story in a context which can be easily accepted - or at least understood - by most readers. Even among the Jewish audience, a perfectly natural Messianic society would probably seem more credible to the widest possible audience.

Theologically, this decidedly natural perspective provides R. Rothstein the vehicle for a compelling story. If the Messianic age will be a perfect utopia with everyone living carefree happy lives, then most stories will probably be boring descriptions of what people do all day.3 Instead R. Rothstein is free to project into the Messianic era many of the unfortunate vices and shortcomings of our own society, including religious elitism and the corruption of prominent and "respected" religious figures.

...I'm not entirely sure what R. Rothstein's original intent was in writing Murderer in the Mikdash. But that he is able to explain arcane halakhot, offer a subtle social critique, while maintaining his focus on the narrative at hand is impressive, especially for a first effort.

Herzl and the Third Temple

Another topic in this novel [Altneuland] is how Herzl's copes with the question of religion in the Jewish state. It is common knowledge that Herzl belonged to that segment of intellectual Viennese Jews who were very distant from traditional Jewish observance. In his first political pamphlet, "Der Judenstaat" ("The Jewish State"), Herzl made it clear that the rabbis would have a respected status in the synagogue - but not in the political arena. In "Altneuland," however, the picture is more complex and more interesting: Although the leaders of the New Society are all individuals with modern views, one of the central scenes in the novel is a description of the Passover Seder night ceremony in Tiberias, conducted by the New Society's president.

The depiction of Jerusalem is particularly fascinating. In it, the Old City is transformed into a historical reserve whose filth has been removed and from which the authorities have now banned the beggars of all nations and faiths who occupied every open space there, and whose presence so troubled Herzl during his only visit to the country in 1898. However, in the center of the new part of Jerusalem, a glorious structure proudly stands: This is, incredible as it may sound, the Third Temple of Jerusalem "which had been totally rebuilt because the time had come for its reconstruction. It had been built in accordance with the building procedures of ancient times, that is, with hewn stone ... Once more, the pillars, cast in copper, stood in front of Israel's holiest of holies. The left column is called Boaz and the right one Yakhin. In the front courtyard were a mighty copper altar and a wide basin of water that was called `the Copper Sea,' just as in ancient times, when King Solomon ruled the land." While it may be surprising to come across such a passage in Herzl's writings, it should be pointed out that the Temple is built in the new part of Jerusalem and not in place of the mosques on the Temple Mount in the Old City. Despite the altar mentioned in the above passage, Herzl does not state that animal sacrifices have been reinstituted. The description of Friday night services at the Third Temple - where there is a separate section for women worshipers, of course - is more reminiscent of a modern synagogue service in Vienna or Budapest than a ceremony based on Talmud tractate or any other ancient rabbinical source. Alongside the Temple there is the Hall of Peace, an international center for the resolution of disputes - a sort of League of Nations at a time when no such institution existed.

Herzl's somewhat conservative liberal position is very apparent here: Religion has a respected public position in an enlightened, tolerant society.

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