Notable Sephardi posek HaGaon HaRav Meir Mazuz Shlita has announced a psak halacha permitting one to visit Har Habayis if done within the confines of halacha. The rav’s ruling appears on the Kisei Rachamim website, responding to a question if one is permitted to visit the holy site.
The psak halacha appears in the daily Maariv, which also states the ruling is contrary to the piskei halacha of Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L regarding Har Habayis.
It must be noted that according to the Poskei Hador one is absolutely forbidden to visit the Har Habayis, and there is an Issur Kares for one that goes there.
Five years ago on Sukkos, President Shimon Peres paid a visit to the Sukka of Maran HaGaon Rav Elyashiv ZATZAL, where Rav Elyashiv called on the President to prevent Jews from visiting Har Habayis, stating it is an act that that is viewed as extremely provocative by the goyim. Maran stated everything possible must be done to avoid a religious war, and the provocateurs are playing with fire.
Maran is quoted as explaining to the president that Halacha forbids going onto Har Habayis but today, it is more than this, it is an act that may lead to a religious war and bloodshed.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
“according to the Poskei Hador one is absolutely forbidden to visit the Har Habayis, and there is an Issur Kares for one that goes there.”
Not to the entire Har HaBayit, only to the azarah.
“it is an act that that is viewed as extremely provocative by the goyim”
The “goyim” in question view the very existence of a Jewish state as being provocative. Should we abolish the Knesset, the Cabinet, the Chief Rabbinate, the IDF, and the Supreme Court and put ourselves at the mercy of the Arabs?
Baruch Hashem! Finally some can recognize that HaRav Ovadia zt”l was not the only Sepharadi Posek! He prohibited it, but many of our Rabbanei HaMaarav permitted it!
“Not to the entire Har HaBayit, only to the azarah.”
You need a mikva thats kosher for dioraysa, and all the dinei tevilah that go with that. Not so simple.
“Should we abolish… and put ourselves at the mercy of the Arabs?”
I think you answered your own silly question. What have we got to lose by not going on har habayis other than the risk of kares?
Those who go up to the Har Habeit are making a serious mistake. Their heart is in the right place but not their head. There is a type of Yetzer HaRa that leads people to believe that some how they are smarter than all of the Talmedei Chachamim that have preceded them and the ones in their own generation as well. We have a system as to how to determine Halacha. It is not whimsical or based on political ideologies. A fundamental principle is that the Halacha goes according to the majority of the Chachamim. This is based on the logic that the majority of experts in a field are more likely to be right than the minority. In the case of the Har Habeit, the overwhelming majority say not to go there. This has been consistent through out all the generations.
We know that to sit in the Sanhedrin, one needed to know all 70 languages. That was in order for a judge to understand and be able to communicate directly with a witness and not through an interpretor. Today we understand this as meaning that a judge or Chacham who must interact with the public needs to know how to understand and talk to the general public. Do you think that the Treif Bird would have been moved to act because of the Torah? Maran HaGaon Rav Elyashiv ZATZAL spoke to him in a language he could understand.
There’s a sign saying “here was the azarah”?
And there are different levels of provocation.
charliehall – I certainly hope you are a little more intelligent than that.
1. Even according to HaRav Meir Mazuz Shlita it is (only) if done within the confines of halacha. The problem is that most people that would go on to the Har Habiyit right now are laymen and quite likely they won’t be careful not to walk where they are not allowed Al Pi Halacha and will cause themselves Death! Being that a lightning bolt doesn’t just come down and strike them dead, it is easy to understand that they will convince themselves that they didn’t violate the Halacha and will never do Teshuva on it. It’s not a great idea when you keep in mind that if it becomes excepted non-religious Jews will still practicing to walk on the Har Habiyit and kill themselves.
2) Don’t you understand the difference between “Hatred” and “Provocation”?
#5 – “This has been consistent through out all the generations.”
Unless “all generations” means the last 1-2 centuries you are wrong, the Ramban visited Har HaBayit approx. 850 years ago, the Radbaz visited Har HaBayit approx. 500 years ago to name some great names.