Beis Hamikdash

There is no reason to believe, either from Jewish sources or contemporaneous Gentile sources, that the Beis HaMiqdash was anywhere but where the Dome of the Rock now stands. Also note that Bayis Sheini, as rebuilt by Hordus, was also bigger than Har HaBayis. That’s why he had to build the retaining wall (Kosel).

LC – They do claim that their Keilim will be used in Bais Shlishi, as otherwise it would be assur to make them because of LoSa’asun Iti – Lo Sa’asun k’dmus shamashi (R”H :כד), and making them b’tumah is not a problem because you can just be metaher them afterwords. However, their keilim are full of mistakes, and they simply don’t care – I went there with a list of 316 questions (not a typo – there really are that many problems that I noticed) on their keilim a couple of years ago, first asked the people there, then got sent to their kollel (they have a kollel, or at least they used to, upon whom they base (officially) everything they make), then to R’ Arielli (I think his name was), then said that I should give them my list of questions and they would get back to me. Eventually, they sent me responses to four questions, one of which agreed to the question, and another one which was cholek on a befarish Tos’ in Zvachim without a single Rishon to back them up. In one spot they even told me that they made it not like the gemara because, according to them, it wasn’t necessarily assur and the artists liked it more that way.

So no, I’m not exactly such a fan.

In addition, they really should have big problems with mi’illa, as a lot of the money given to them, at least by goyim, is given l’shem bedek habais. I even saw one woman give a hundred dollar bill saying that it was for “a stone for the Temple” once, and it went into the same cash register as everything else. There probably isn’t a problem to just look at their keilim though, as ein meila b’kol ubimareh, but they do other things as well, and I’m not so sure that paying would be muttar.

BaltimoreMaven, I have never heard of them making clothing for Kohanim (other than their clothing on display, in which they make plenty of mistakes, assumptions about what certain materials and processes are in which we have no mesorah and we have many, many mochlokes achronim which they paskened on their own based on practicality (or ignored outright), completely ignore the Yerushalmi in Yoma, and decided, in seven different cases, to go l’kula against the gemara’s teiku (I wonder who they decided Eliyahu haNavi is?). It really is not practical to make these begadim anyway, as they have to be perfectly, and I mean perfectly (look at the gemara in Zvachim), fitted. I also never heard of these classes, but again I wouldn’t assume that they are anything real either – they don’t exactly have a good track record.

Oh, and LC – there was a base to the menorah (I’m not exactly sure what you mean), and ny the northern wall of har habais there was (and still are remnants of, its a muslim school now but you can go there if you bribe the guard when there school isn’t in session if the police don’t catch you) a fortress on the northern wall of har habais which was first built by Yiddin but was later taken by the Romans.

It definitely did have a base, but, as far as I remember, there is nowhere in bavli, yerushalmi, medresh rabba or tanchuma, or breisa d’meleches hamishkan that says that it was semi-circular (or any other shape).

I was under the impression, as are many people I have met, that the Temple Institute believes we are allowed to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash ourselves (without moshiach).

Either they really do believe that, or they play up the misconception in their ads because they know if brings in the dough.

For those saying it was located elsewhere, those people are probably what you would call Biblical Nihilists. They base all of their theories and beliefs off of whatever is the opposite of the words of the Tanach, even if archeological evidence suggests otherwise. In secular society, as stupid as this approach is, it sells a lot of books. What I’ve always found ironic is that if you are purposely believing the opposite of what the Bible says, you’re actually STILL basing all of your beliefs on the Bible.

Har Bayis is a Mountain as the name implies. Most mountains you have probably seen look like a hump and certainly not flat on top

Originally har Bayin was not flat on top, top top was flattend by King Herod (There were actually 2 second temples, the original plain one and the Herod Temple)

On top of Har Habayit is a plaza (You can google pictures of it) it doesnt look like a mountain at all

The Kosel is the reataining wall used by herod to help make the top flat like the Plaza that it is

It’s assur, according to many shittas, to stick your fingers even inside the cracks of the Kosel.

Why should it be assur to put your fingers in the cracks – it is definitely under ground level, as bedrock continues over fifteen meters above, so at the worst it should just have a din of michilos, which don’t have kedusha?

Oh, and lesschumras (or should it be chumros?) – please stop stating things as blatant fact when they are actually speculation – there may be some supporting evidence, but it is still just speculation – in particular when, in fact, there are many rabbanim who are cholek.

Lesschumras, you seem to be misunderstanding me; let me explain what I meant: the ground level at the highest point of har habais is the lowest possible height of the kodesh hakadashim, which was not that much higher than the floor of the azara. The area underneath the floor of the azara (with the possible exception of the beis haparva according to Tosfos in yoma, but mipashtus even there Tos would agree) has a din of mechilos, which don’t have kedusha. Ergo, the inside of the walls at the current ground level of the kosel plaza (which is more than 15 meters underneath the highest point of bedrock on har habais) , as well as inside the tunnels, with the exception of the northernmost section of the western wall, the northern wall, and all but the southernmost portion of the eastern wall, should, at the worst, have a din of mechilos and not have kedusha of the azara.
I’m sorry if my behirus before caused any confusion.

In regards to which rabonim where chayish that it was a wall inside the boundries of har habais, whether of the heichal, the azara, the migdal, beis haknesses or beis hamedresh, or some other building there I’ll try and find the t’shuvos for you, there were a number of them written after 1967, as well as a couple from the times of the later achronim (although finding this kind of thing is much more up GOAN’s alley).

Oh, and it’s kind of funny that you ask if I was ever there – I’m one of the people who hang out there all the time, normally in one of the section that aren’t open to tourists… but yeah, I know what it looks like over there.