July 2012: An appeal has been filed with the High Court for the immediate suspension of Muslim work on the Foundation Stone, the holiest place on the Temple Mount, the holiest Biblical site in the world. The Stone is considered the place where Adam, Noah and Abraham carried out their sacrifices and it is the location where the Israelite High Priest (Kohen Gadol) entered the Holy of Holies just once a year, on Yom Kippur.
The Muslim Waqf, has violated all previous bonds of propriety and erected scaffolding on the Rock itself, known in Hebrew as the Even HaShtia (pronounced EH-ven HaShtee-AH). The Waqf is carrying out construction on the Dome of the Rock [non-Biblical mosque], which was built over the Foundation Stone.The Islamic Waqf has desecrated “the heart of the heart of the Temple Mount and has damaged the sensitivities of the Jewish People,” the petition stated. Quoting a poet, “There are people with a heart of stone and there are stones with the heart of man.”

The question arises as to whether Muslim Waqf is attempting to destroy all traces of the Temple Mount Biblical documentation and including the presence of the Divine Authority [God] in this Holy Place?

The sages of Israel teach that ten miracles were continuously in effect, and visibly discernible, in the Holy Temple. These miracles are recorded as follows:

No woman ever miscarried from the aroma of the burning offerings;
The sacrifices themselves never became offensive;
No fly was ever seen where the offerings were prepared;
The High Priest never experienced a defilement on Yom Kippur;
Rains never extinguished the altar fire;
The altar smoke always rose to heaven in a straight line;
No disqualification was ever found in the barley offering, twin loaves and showbread;
All would stand compact together in the Courtyard -
Yet when it came time to bow prostrate, all would have ample space;
No snake or scorpion ever caused harm in Jerusalem;
…and not one man ever said to another: “Jerusalem is too crowded for me to find lodging overnight.”
(Chapters of the Fathers 5)

The presence of these miracles indicates the constant Divine Providence over Israel and Jerusalem – in itself a miracle of unparalleled proportions. This special relationship with G-d made itself felt in the spiritual realm as well. The Second Temple period saw the rise of a chain of great Jewish leaders, and the wise men of the Sanhedrin who dwelled in the Temple. Among their numbers were such luminaries as Shimon ben Shetach, Shemaya and Avtalyon, Hillel and Shammai, Yonatan ben Uziel, R. Yochanan ben Zakkai and many more. The learned men of the Sanhedrin, housed in their Temple chambers, served as the eyes of the nation, and many foreign kings and wise men visited the rabbis of the Sanhedrin to debate matters of faith.

Thus Torah and wisdom flourished around the Second Temple. The House of G-d properly served as the center of wisdom and guidance for the non-Jew as well, from both neighboring countries and distant lands.

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