This Chol Hamoed—The Trip Of A Lifetime

Thousands to Experience the Incredible Beis Hamikdash Virtual Reality Tour

It has been described as a transformative experience for both young and old. Now thousands more children will get to enjoy the renowned Beis Hamikdash Virtual Reality Tour this Chol Hamoed as the MikdashVR visits our communities. Everyone will get to experience firsthand the life-changing tour and imagine what Pesach was like for Yidden in the time of the Beis Hamikdash.

Standing Inside the Beis Hamikdash

When I met with the founder of MikdashVR, Rabbi Yochai of Elad, it was nearly midnight. We were both at the end of a long day’s work and we wanted to get the interview done as quickly as possible. “Here, before we even start talking—take a look,” he said to me. He pulled out a set of 3D goggles and a pair of large headphones and fixed them on my head. “Just hang on to the chair and don’t let go, so you don’t get lost on me.”

I try to recall the last time that anybody asked me to hang tight to any object for fear of getting lost, and in the living room of a four-room apartment no less. Meanwhile, Yochai set up the program, and suddenly I heard a pleasant voice from behind me, “Shalom. I am Yehoyada HaKohen. Come along with me for a tour of the Beis Hamikdash.”

I wait for Yehoyada HaKohen to appear on the screen in front of me, but all I see are large red curtain. The voice of Yehoyada can be heard in the background and I realize that the tour is about to begin. I turn my head and, ah! There he is. He was behind me. Now the tour begins.

After a few minutes of following Yehoyada around, I find myself being drawn into a magical yet realistic world. Now I understand Yochai’s warning about getting lost, because the only thing I want to do right now is run all around the expanse of the Har HaBayis and the Beis Hamikdash

“I wanted to come up with the most sensory experience possible,” Yochai explained to me afterward. “The more tangible something is made to be, the more people will long for it. This is not like telling a story or learning something and relying on the person’s imagination. When you make it more real it comes alive and a lot easier to relate to, and thus to anticipate and hope for it.”

For Yochai, the subject of the Beis Hamikdash has been a strong passion for many years, and today his project has taken the Jewish world by storm. It is a 3D virtual tour of the Beis Hamikdash in 360 degrees.

For those not familiar with latest cutting-edge technologies, a virtual tour uses special sealed goggles which are strapped onto the head alongside a pair of headphones. Both do not allow any extraneous sounds or sights to interfere with what is coming through the devices. The entire program was created in 3D and it swivels to a full 360 degrees, portraying the Beis Hamikdash in the most realistic form possible. When the viewer lifts his head, he sees the sky or a roof above, and when he lowers his head he sees the ground at his feet. Similarly, turning your head around will show you what is happening to your side and behind you, just as it would in real life

“I Discovered That I Knew Nothing”

The tour takes the viewer through the entire expanse of the Beis Hamikdash. You enter through the massive gates into the halls and courtyards, circle around and over the Mizbeiach, watch the choir of Leviyim singing and playing music, and see the sacrifices. On your visit into the Heichal it is possible to stand next to the Kohen while he is lighting the Menorah and arranging the Lechem Hapanim, and end off by entering the Kodesh HaKadashim and seeing the Aron and Kruvim up close.

As Yochai tells me: “Once, at the end of the program, an older Jew approached and said to me, ‘I feel like I just left the Kodesh HaKadashim, and now I must make a Seudas Hoda’ah for having exited in peace.”

Yochai’s connection to the Beis Hamikdash began many years ago. The one who ignited his passion was his former study partner in kollel. “He got into it in a big way. One day I was sitting with him and he began to ask me questions about the Beis Hamikdash. I discovered that knew nothing. I grew up and was educated in yeshivos, and after that l sat for years in kollel. The topic of the Beis Hamikdash was not foreign to me, but I suddenly realized that I could not answer basic questions about it. I began to study the subject in depth.”

Soon after he began Yochai was already an expert on the topic and he even gave classes on the subject. However, there was always a sense of mission nesting in his heart. “I am not a theoretical person; I’m a man of action. I felt a strong sense of disappointment at the thought of how many distinguished young scholars, not to mention bachurim and children, who were raised in frum institutions have no idea of the most basic of basics.” That’s how the first production was born. Together with another friend he produced a stunning film on the Beis Hamikdash which is distributed on social networks.

From Film to a Multi-Sensory Experience

“We started exploring the VR technology that was really new, and there was no one who worked with it.” Since then the device was released for sale in a commercial version. The reactions were very enthusiastic and the project took the Jewish world by storm.

Today the project is presented in schools, summer camps and adult groups. It is reaching out all over and bringing consciousness of the Beis Hamikdash to more and more Yidden. “Our main goal now is to make the program accessible to the general public, and to reach more and more audiences. Every Yid should know about the Beis Hamikdash.”

This Chol Hamoed your children can also taste the virtual reality experience that is taking the Jewish world by storm. Treat them to the trip of a lifetime—a trip to the Beis Hamikdash. You know they will come home changed.