The Rav of Jerusalem HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Amar published a sharply worded letter of protest against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir following his visit to Har HaBayis on Tuesday morning.
“Many approached me saying that today a minister went to daven on Har HaBayit and asked what I thought,” HaRav Amar wrote. “I was astounded and I will continue to be astounded how an Israeli minister who is Shomer Torah U’Mitvot publicly violates a P’sak Din Torah of all the chief rabbinical councils which were issued by the late Gedolei HaDor and Poskei HaDor as well as יבלחט”א those who are still with us, who ruled that according to the din of our Torah HaKedosha, it’s an issur gamur to enter Har HaBayit.”
“And it’s definitely not within our capabilities to measure the boundaries of the Bayit and the courtyards of the Beit HaMikdash (העזרות) and it may fall under the most severe issurim, Hashem should save us.”
“And I consider it my duty as the Rishon L’Tzion and the Chief Rabbi of the Ir Hakodesh and the Mikdash Yerushalayim, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days, to protest against all those who enter Har Bayis during our days and to state that there is absolutely no heter at all to enter Har HaBayis,” HaRav Amar wrote.
Chief Rabbi of Israel HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef also sent a letter to Ben-Gvir stating: “As a minister who represents the government of Israel, you must follow the instructions of the Rabbanut which for generations prohibited the ascent to Har HaBayit. Chalilah to cause a michshol in such a severe issur.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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17 Responses
Nationalist pigs like Ben Gvir aren’t truly frum. Judaism is simply a tool for them to support their nationalism. When that tool of Judaism doesn’t help that goal of nationalism, then Judaism goes out the window.
Slammed???
Have you ever learned Milchamas Hashem from the Ramban when he agues with the Baal Hamaor or when the Ramban argues with the even ezra, he also uses strong words. Kach hi dako shel torah. They are definitely poskim that are matir it., not chareidi poskim.
The Rambam (מצוה עח) writes that “the Torah commands us not to go into the Levite camp if one is impure, which corresponds to Har Habayit in our times.” He uses Mishna Kelim 1:8 as his source. He later paskened in the Mishneh Torah (הלכות ביאת המקדש – פרק שלישי) שֶׁלֹּא יִכָּנֵס טָמֵא לַמִּקְדָּשׁ… שֶׁלֹּא יִכָּנֵס טָמֵא לְהַר הַבַּיִת (“The impure may not enter the Temple…the impure may not enter the Temple Mount.”)
Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l wrote that “Entrance to the Temple Mount and the defilement of the Holy of Holies, is more severe than any of the violations in the Torah.”
Rav Hershel Schachter shlit”a (Interview with Rav Schachter on JewishPress.com, Shevat 30 5778) stated that it is forbidden to go on Har Habayit and one shouldn’t deviate from what the Rabbanut established.
Rav Kook zt”l forbade going up on the Har Ha-Bayit as well, though Baron Rothschild did not heed him. Moses Montefiore a”h pulled a stunt whereby he traversed the Har Ha-Bayit in an enclosed box. He was later beaten up by Jews in shul after he had done so.
Rabbi Ari Wasserman shlit”a gave a wonderful shiur on this topic and mentioned that going up on Har Ha-Bayit with no explicit mitzvah to fulfil (such as putting money in the pushkas that once were there for everyday visitors or for the olei regel – pilgrims on the festivals) constitutes a violation of מורא המקדש (the awe of the Mikdash), which is inviolable. Also, one must pare their nails, make sure they have no food between their teeth, make sure they have no callouses or any other physical defects before entering the Har Ha-Bayit. A zav (a man with the flux) needs to immerse in the mikvah before entering. The Chatam Sofer zt”l wrote that because we lack the knowledge of purity and impurity, one who would enter the Har Ha-Bayit would need to immerse in the mikvah and then IMMEDIATELY enter the Har Ha-Bayit without answering the call of nature in between. Etc., etc.
ujm, i assume you are God’s appointed shaliach to be bochain levovot. Or perhaps you are a navi? I despise ben gvir for his land-uber-alles philosophy; but there were many poskim who permitted going up on the Temple Mount.
There aren’t daati leumi rabbis that permit it?
Coffe Addict, yes. Rav Lior, for example. They, of course, require tevila in a kosher mikva. They believe that they know the areas where a tamei met may walk. They also think that it is necessary to express Jewish sovereignty. However, most dati leumi rabbis do not allow it. Eilu v’eilu.
Ben Gvir is a person which is looking for attention and trouble.He is a trouble maker and does not care what the rabbonim are saying. He always wants to be the middle point of everything.
It would have been nice if the article pointed out the Rabonim that are matir going to the areas where we know was never part of the Bais Hamikdosh. Extensive work mapping Har Habyis was performed based upon Mishnayos Middos using the maximum length of an Amah. If someone wished to walk in these areas Yaish Mi Lismoch Olov. I personally have not gone to Har Habayis simply because I can’t figure out if I could remotely come near the proper Kavonos but not because there is no proper authority who says one can.
First off, Ben Gvir has been going to the “Temple Mount” regularly for a while.
Second, there is No temple, and exact location isn’t exactly known. So let people be proud Jews be davening there’s. Enough already
If the psak of the rabbanut is so binding, why doesn’t Rav Amar eat a nice, juicy, rabbanut shewarma? After all, the erliche rabanut paskened that it is kosher.
hashem told Adam not to eat from the etz hadas this going to the har habayis is example of how atheist Jews can take the good that God gave them and the Torah that we have and in one hour just throw it all back in Gods face we boss and eat from this etz hadas. they want to say that now majority of Jews live in Israel and are tomeh mes but they also don’t keep shabbat so they don’t have a din of Jewish, but they are looking for a political heter for hotter milk not one that is for the sake of God
the religious Zionist say that torah has to do with ethnicity. This can make a person mad if is was true but it is crap. The Torah doesn’t stand only for ethnicity and if it did there would be many social problems. The Torah is to be like Abraham and he was a goy. But then he said let me show you my heart has this faith so I am rich. But that was before the Jewish. Same a king David this was thousands of years ago when Moses got the bible, and a long history. If moshiach did not come then we can not go to this place because of tumah and if you are going to say can go to kosher mikva and the most people have this tumah so now they can go, then you have to bring karbonos not only pray cause that you can do from a hill. So going there to say he is boss and not to bring karbonos. So almost all the rabbis say that it is kares to go there and they know that all people are tomeh mes and they bring from the reshonim it is kores even to bring a karbon pesach but the religious Zionist can become Nazir if they don’t get there ethnic girlfriend
They say that God was won with the Zionist war and that he loved the heart of the people of Israel army and now moshiach comes. What it really is asking why did these reshaim succeed in winning the Jewish people and they don’t know why themselves. But the reason is that there is going to be some big karbonos from all the people that was talked into there false pride.
Religious Zionism could be a great rabbi with good heart and not even look at any lady, but like it says in the Mishna if you have a garment made from fish then it is not tameh but if there is one thread from flax then it could become tomeh the same is the religious Zionist even if you have only one thread of atheists then you have no world to come they use Torah and it people for politics also we don’t know in our time how much tumah zava there is walking into the har habayis is like walking on the sefer Torah we should lament about it the same and the we should lament about the Zionist state that doesn’t give a dam about any of the Jewish girls that marry Arab but only its political rich
Look at what is happening in the UN! Are you blind!? Don’t you see what is happening!?
Why should the UN be concerned that one Yid (with his entorage) has ascended the Har HaBayis? It is HaShem who put it into their hearts to protest — whether or not they realize it–for the honor of the Har Habayis. If we do not protest, then He sends the goyim to do the job.
As to what some of the commenters remarked “there are matirim”, first please take the time to read through the letter of Rav Yosef, shlit”a (you will have to enlarge it to read it), where he lists all the great poskim who forbade us to go up to any part of Har Habayis. YWN, could you please print the entire text in readable form?
The IDF operates with too much constraint IYH this right wing gov will give them the tools they need to sort out terror
Ben Gvir will hopefully help stop the attacks on our brethren
However his intimidation of the Arabs
for no reason needs to be kept in check
@ Nowayjose
Thats EXACTLY the point! Because there is no mikdash and we dont kniow exactly where it is, THEREFORE, we don’t go near it. Not sure what you were thinking……..
@ doom777
he is saying EVEN the rabbanut prohibited it – not that we rely on their heterim
Avi K: I see you suggest that these rabbis need dunking in a mikveh, however no amount of dunking in a mikveh will kasher Daati leumi ‘rabbis’. If they brazenly argue with the gedolei HaTorah of our time, like Rav Elyashiv ztz’l, Rav Chaim kanievsky ztz’l and Rav Shach ztz’l -they are ‘asidin liten es HaDin’- see Chinuch mitzvah 495.
…….and that includes Rabbi Hershel Shachter……