6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,
7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Jerusalem is G_d's Eternal Capital City, and Israel stands because of His Strength, not the puny power of any Earthly Nation.
The Jewish Nation, Israel, is The Apple of His Eye, His Chosen, Beloved and Elect Covenantal People.
I do not cry for the temple where corrupt priests oppressed the people of Judah. I cry because the same fanatical messianists who brought about the destruction of the temple two thousand years ago are now working overtime to bring down the State of Israel.
Your understanding of Jewish history is astonishingly selective.
Jews do not mourn the Beit HaMikdash because every individual who ever served there was righteous. The Torah itself records the failures of kings, priests, and prophets. We mourn because it was the place where God’s Presence dwelled among His people, the spiritual heart of the Jewish nation, and the center of Jewish identity.
Blaming the destruction solely on “fanatical messianists” is equally simplistic. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem. They burned the Temple. They slaughtered and enslaved hundreds of thousands of Jews. Our sages engaged in profound self-reflection about the internal failures that weakened our nation, but they never absolved Rome of its responsibility.
Loving the State of Israel and mourning the destruction of the Temple are not opposing ideas. The modern State of Israel is itself the fulfillment of generations of Jews who ended every Passover with “Next year in Jerusalem.” We celebrate the miracle of Jewish sovereignty while continuing to yearn for the complete redemption envisioned by the prophets.
A people that forgets its past rarely secures its future.
The Zealots were radical anti-Roman nationalists who believed God alone was Israel’s ruler and that armed revolt was a religious duty. This ideological absolutism ensured that compromise with Rome became impossible. The Zealots seized Jerusalem and imposed violent rule, overthrew the Judean provisional government, executed moderates, and established a harsh theocratic regime.
Zealot factions fought each other—not just Rome. These factions burned each other’s food stores, causing famine during the Roman siege. Civil war raged inside the city even as Roman forces under Titus approached.
Zealots targeted anyone suspected of Roman sympathy, including other Jews. This terror fractured Jewish society at the exact moment unity was needed. This internal collapse was arguably more decisive than Roman military superiority.
The Zealots’ refusal to negotiate, combined with their purges of moderates, ensured that Jerusalem faced Rome alone and divided. When Titus breached Jerusalem’s defenses in 70 CE, famine had already devastated the population.
The Zealots did not destroy the Temple themselves—but their revolt, internal violence, and strategic failures made its destruction by Rome almost inevitable. They initiated the war, eliminated moderate leadership, fragmented Jerusalem’s defenses, caused famine by destroying supplies, and turned the Temple into a battlefield.
The lesson we must take away from that disaster has nothing to do with God. The lesson we need to internalize is that extremism begets catastrophe—because when absolutists silence moderates, fracture communities, and glorify false ideology, they create the very conditions in which destruction becomes unavoidable.
According to Jewish tradition, the Third Beit HaMikdash will stand where the First and Second Temples stood: on Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. That is why Jews have faced Jerusalem in prayer for nearly two thousand years. It is why we say, “Next year in Jerusalem.” It is why no other place has ever replaced it. The Temple was never simply relocated. It has always been awaited.
When?
Only God knows.
The prophets deliberately do not give us a date. Ezekiel describes a future Temple. Isaiah speaks of a House that will become “a house of prayer for all peoples.” Zechariah foretells a redeemed Jerusalem. But no prophet tells us to calculate the day. Throughout history, every generation that tried to predict the timing has been proven wrong.
Perhaps that is by design.
If God had given us a date, every generation before ours might have stopped longing. Instead, every generation was commanded to live as though redemption could begin in its own lifetime.
What is extraordinary is this:
For almost 2,000 years Jews prayed for three things: the return to the Land of Israel, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of Jewish sovereignty.
The first two have happened before our eyes.
The Jewish people have returned from over 100 countries.
Hebrew, once preserved in prayer, is once again the language of children.
Jerusalem is once again the capital of the Jewish people.
History has already witnessed prophecies many believed impossible.
The Temple remains the final piece of a story that is still unfolding.
That is why Tisha B’Av is so powerful. We are the first generation in nearly two millennia that can mourn the destruction of the Temple while standing in the Land our ancestors died praying to see.
Whether the Third Temple is built tomorrow or generations from now is in God’s hands.
Whether we live lives worthy of that day is in ours.
The First and Second Temples were built by Jews, but they were never built simply because the Jewish people decided it was time. They were built when God opened the door and history was ready.
From a traditional Orthodox Jewish perspective, the Third Temple is different. It is not just another building. It represents the completion of the Jewish story, the return of God’s presence to Jerusalem, and the beginning of an era of peace for the entire world.
The Talmud teaches that human history is like the six days of Creation. Six thousand years are compared to six days of work, followed by a seventh “day,” a spiritual Shabbat, an age of peace, justice, and the recognition of one God. According to the traditional Jewish calendar, we are now living near the end of the sixth millennium, what many rabbis describe as the final hours before that great “Shabbat” of history.
Think about preparing for Shabbat.
No one waits until sunset to start cooking, cleaning, or setting the table. The closer Shabbat gets, the harder everyone works to prepare.
Many religious Jews see our generation the same way.
After almost 2,000 years of exile, the Jewish people have returned to Israel. Hebrew is spoken again. Jerusalem is once again the capital of a Jewish state. Millions of Jews have come home from every corner of the world. These are events that previous generations could only dream about.
Does that mean we should start building the Third Temple tomorrow?
Not necessarily.
There are different opinions within Orthodox Judaism. Some believe the Messiah will build it. Others believe the Jewish people will build it under the Messiah’s leadership. Others believe God will play a direct role in its appearance. But they all agree on one thing:
The Temple is not just a construction project.
It is the result of a world that has become spiritually ready.
Jewish tradition teaches that the Second Temple was destroyed because Jews became deeply divided and turned against one another with needless hatred. If that is what brought destruction, then rebuilding begins by reversing it. More kindness. More unity. More justice. More honesty. More respect for one another.
So when people ask, “Why don’t the Jews just build the Third Temple?” the traditional Jewish answer is:
Because the question isn’t simply whether we can build it. The real question is whether we have become the generation worthy of it. Just as a family prepares for Shabbat before welcoming it, the Jewish people must prepare themselves morally and spiritually before welcoming the final chapter of Jewish history.
Thank you once again for your moral clarity and answering my question perfectly! I have a much better understanding, and see that us Jews have a long way to go before we are worthy!
Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord of Hosts. Amen 🙏 and amen 🙏
We mourn, with you…
And We Watch…
🕯Isaiah 62:6-7
6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,
7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Jerusalem is G_d's Eternal Capital City, and Israel stands because of His Strength, not the puny power of any Earthly Nation.
The Jewish Nation, Israel, is The Apple of His Eye, His Chosen, Beloved and Elect Covenantal People.
PERIOD
🕊 AM YISRAEL CHAI 🕊
https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/tisha-bav
🔥🙏✡️🇮🇱🕎🔥🙏✡️🇮🇱🕎🔥🙏✡️🇮🇱🕎 We pray and stay strong and united and TRUST ONLY LORD ALMIGHTY 🕎🇮🇱✡️🔥 David Melech Yisrael Chai Vekayam 🙏🔥❤️
Jonah, from your lips to the Almighty's ears. Praise of the Lord will turn tears of pain into tears of joy.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Shalom.
I read your post like I read Eicha:
both times.
I do not cry for the temple where corrupt priests oppressed the people of Judah. I cry because the same fanatical messianists who brought about the destruction of the temple two thousand years ago are now working overtime to bring down the State of Israel.
Your understanding of Jewish history is astonishingly selective.
Jews do not mourn the Beit HaMikdash because every individual who ever served there was righteous. The Torah itself records the failures of kings, priests, and prophets. We mourn because it was the place where God’s Presence dwelled among His people, the spiritual heart of the Jewish nation, and the center of Jewish identity.
Blaming the destruction solely on “fanatical messianists” is equally simplistic. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem. They burned the Temple. They slaughtered and enslaved hundreds of thousands of Jews. Our sages engaged in profound self-reflection about the internal failures that weakened our nation, but they never absolved Rome of its responsibility.
Loving the State of Israel and mourning the destruction of the Temple are not opposing ideas. The modern State of Israel is itself the fulfillment of generations of Jews who ended every Passover with “Next year in Jerusalem.” We celebrate the miracle of Jewish sovereignty while continuing to yearn for the complete redemption envisioned by the prophets.
A people that forgets its past rarely secures its future.
The Zealots were radical anti-Roman nationalists who believed God alone was Israel’s ruler and that armed revolt was a religious duty. This ideological absolutism ensured that compromise with Rome became impossible. The Zealots seized Jerusalem and imposed violent rule, overthrew the Judean provisional government, executed moderates, and established a harsh theocratic regime.
Zealot factions fought each other—not just Rome. These factions burned each other’s food stores, causing famine during the Roman siege. Civil war raged inside the city even as Roman forces under Titus approached.
Zealots targeted anyone suspected of Roman sympathy, including other Jews. This terror fractured Jewish society at the exact moment unity was needed. This internal collapse was arguably more decisive than Roman military superiority.
The Zealots’ refusal to negotiate, combined with their purges of moderates, ensured that Jerusalem faced Rome alone and divided. When Titus breached Jerusalem’s defenses in 70 CE, famine had already devastated the population.
The Zealots did not destroy the Temple themselves—but their revolt, internal violence, and strategic failures made its destruction by Rome almost inevitable. They initiated the war, eliminated moderate leadership, fragmented Jerusalem’s defenses, caused famine by destroying supplies, and turned the Temple into a battlefield.
The lesson we must take away from that disaster has nothing to do with God. The lesson we need to internalize is that extremism begets catastrophe—because when absolutists silence moderates, fracture communities, and glorify false ideology, they create the very conditions in which destruction becomes unavoidable.
When and where will the Temple be built?
Where?
According to Jewish tradition, the Third Beit HaMikdash will stand where the First and Second Temples stood: on Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. That is why Jews have faced Jerusalem in prayer for nearly two thousand years. It is why we say, “Next year in Jerusalem.” It is why no other place has ever replaced it. The Temple was never simply relocated. It has always been awaited.
When?
Only God knows.
The prophets deliberately do not give us a date. Ezekiel describes a future Temple. Isaiah speaks of a House that will become “a house of prayer for all peoples.” Zechariah foretells a redeemed Jerusalem. But no prophet tells us to calculate the day. Throughout history, every generation that tried to predict the timing has been proven wrong.
Perhaps that is by design.
If God had given us a date, every generation before ours might have stopped longing. Instead, every generation was commanded to live as though redemption could begin in its own lifetime.
What is extraordinary is this:
For almost 2,000 years Jews prayed for three things: the return to the Land of Israel, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of Jewish sovereignty.
The first two have happened before our eyes.
The Jewish people have returned from over 100 countries.
Hebrew, once preserved in prayer, is once again the language of children.
Jerusalem is once again the capital of the Jewish people.
History has already witnessed prophecies many believed impossible.
The Temple remains the final piece of a story that is still unfolding.
That is why Tisha B’Av is so powerful. We are the first generation in nearly two millennia that can mourn the destruction of the Temple while standing in the Land our ancestors died praying to see.
Whether the Third Temple is built tomorrow or generations from now is in God’s hands.
Whether we live lives worthy of that day is in ours.
Yonah, wasn’t it the Jews who built the First and Second Temple? So, why isn’t up to the Jews when to build the Third Temple?
That’s a great question.
The First and Second Temples were built by Jews, but they were never built simply because the Jewish people decided it was time. They were built when God opened the door and history was ready.
From a traditional Orthodox Jewish perspective, the Third Temple is different. It is not just another building. It represents the completion of the Jewish story, the return of God’s presence to Jerusalem, and the beginning of an era of peace for the entire world.
The Talmud teaches that human history is like the six days of Creation. Six thousand years are compared to six days of work, followed by a seventh “day,” a spiritual Shabbat, an age of peace, justice, and the recognition of one God. According to the traditional Jewish calendar, we are now living near the end of the sixth millennium, what many rabbis describe as the final hours before that great “Shabbat” of history.
Think about preparing for Shabbat.
No one waits until sunset to start cooking, cleaning, or setting the table. The closer Shabbat gets, the harder everyone works to prepare.
Many religious Jews see our generation the same way.
After almost 2,000 years of exile, the Jewish people have returned to Israel. Hebrew is spoken again. Jerusalem is once again the capital of a Jewish state. Millions of Jews have come home from every corner of the world. These are events that previous generations could only dream about.
Does that mean we should start building the Third Temple tomorrow?
Not necessarily.
There are different opinions within Orthodox Judaism. Some believe the Messiah will build it. Others believe the Jewish people will build it under the Messiah’s leadership. Others believe God will play a direct role in its appearance. But they all agree on one thing:
The Temple is not just a construction project.
It is the result of a world that has become spiritually ready.
Jewish tradition teaches that the Second Temple was destroyed because Jews became deeply divided and turned against one another with needless hatred. If that is what brought destruction, then rebuilding begins by reversing it. More kindness. More unity. More justice. More honesty. More respect for one another.
So when people ask, “Why don’t the Jews just build the Third Temple?” the traditional Jewish answer is:
Because the question isn’t simply whether we can build it. The real question is whether we have become the generation worthy of it. Just as a family prepares for Shabbat before welcoming it, the Jewish people must prepare themselves morally and spiritually before welcoming the final chapter of Jewish history.
Thank you once again for your moral clarity and answering my question perfectly! I have a much better understanding, and see that us Jews have a long way to go before we are worthy!