The rebuilt Temple is not the same with the Ark of the Covenant missing. by Rabbi Ken Spiro

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1 2008 The rebuilt Temple is not the same with the Ark of the Covenant missing. by Rabbi Ken Spiro The re-building of the Temple was completed and re-dedicated in 352 BCE. But it was not the same. The intense spiritually of the First Temple cannot be compared to the Second. The constant open miracles were gone. Prophecy was rapidly disappearing, and it would soon be gone. The Ark of the Covenant was also gone, and although there was a Holy of Holies, it stood empty. The Ark the special gold-lined cedar chest which had contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments was the place where the Shechinah, the Presence of God, descended from heaven between the outstretched 1

2 wings of the two golden cherubs. What happened to it? The Talmud talks about it and relates two opinions. 1 One opinion states the Babylonians took it into captivity. The other opinion states that it was hidden by King Josiah who had anticipated the impending invasion and destruction (as we mentioned in class #22). There s a well-known story told in the Talmud of a kohen, a priest, who found a loose stone on the Temple Mount and realized that is where the Ark is hidden. On the way to tell others about it, he died. 2 The point of the story is that the Ark is not meant to be found. Not yet. Ezra and Nechemiah The Jews who rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem were faced with many challenges and difficulties. Strong leadership would be essential for them to re-establish a strong community. Two individuals played a critical role in this task. The first was Ezra. A scribe, scholar and a Jewish community leader in Persia, Ezra, a kohen, heard that the Jewish community in the Holy Land was floundering with neither king nor prophet. So, he took with him 1,496 well-chosen men with leadership abilities and came to the rescue. Ezra is so well thought of in the Talmud that it is written of him that the Torah could have been given to Israel through Ezra, if Moses had not preceded him. 3 This high praise goes to Ezra for the spiritual rebuilding of the Jewish people and his efforts to reinstate Torah law in the land. Among his most dramatic reforms was his war against assimilation and intermarriage. Indeed, the Book of Ezra condemns and gives the names of 1 Talmud, Tractate Yoma 52b-53b. 2 Mishnah, Shekalim 6:2 3 Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 21b. 2

3 all the men living in Israel who had married non-jewish wives all 112 of them. 4 You might ask: What s the big deal? After all, only 112 guys strayed. Today, millions of Jews are intermarrying the intermarriage rate in America is over 50%. The difference is that 2,500 years ago, even one Jew intermarrying was an outrage. Now society accepts it as normal. So-called progressive congregations in America are even shopping for rabbis who will officiate at mixed marriages to lend legitimacy to something which the Bible repeatedly condemns and which spells the death of the Jewish people. Through Ezra s efforts, these mixed marriages were dissolved. All the people then gathered in Jerusalem men and women from all over the country and the Torah was read out loud to all. At the end, all present pledged not to intermarry, but to uphold the Torah and strengthen themselves spiritually. 5 The other major personality dominating this period was Nechemiah, a leader of the Jewish community in Babylon and an official in the court of the Emperor Darius II. While Ezra had succeeded in spiritually strengthening the returnees, Jerusalem remained un-walled and unprotected. Thirteen years after the arrival of Ezra, Nechemiah arrived, having been appointed governor by Darius. After surveying Jerusalem he announced: Come, let us build the walls of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be an object of scorn. 6 Despite the efforts of the surrounding peoples to hinder construction, the walls were completed. Spiritually and physically fortified, Jerusalem could prosper and its population expand. Of course, neither the city nor the Temple were as splendid as what had been destroyed. But the returnees from Babylon did not have the resources of King Solomon. Eventually (circa 18 BCE), the Temple would be rebuilt 4 Ezra 10: Nechemiah 10: Nechemiah 2:17. 3

4 again by Herod the Great, and made into a spectacular structure, but although it would be physically beautiful, it would be spiritually empty and even the institution of the priesthood would become corrupt. According to the Talmud, during the First Temple period of about 410 years, there were only 18 High Priests. During the Second Temple period of 420 years, there were more than 300 High Priests! 7 We know that the first three High Priests of the Second Temple held their position for a total of 130 years Jonathan was High Priest for 80 years, Simon was High Priest for 40 years, and Ishmael ben Pabi was High Priest for ten years. That means in the remaining 290 years there were at least 300 High Priests one every year or so. What accounts for that? The Talmud tells us that the Holy of Holies was forbidden ground, except on Yom Kippur. On that one day only, the High Priest entered to perform special rites before God. But if he himself was not spiritually pure, he would not be able to stand the intense encounter with God and would die on the spot. We know that during the Second Temple period a rope had to be tied to the High Priest, so that in case he died, he could be pulled out of the Holy of Holies. Because the whole priesthood was a corrupt institution for most of the Second Temple period, the High Priests died or were replaced every year. And yet people clamored for the job, which went to the highest bidder. So the question has to be asked: If he was going to die on Yom Kippur, who would want the position? One possible answer is that many of the candidates strongly believed that their violation of the Temple service was actually the correct way to do it. 8 That is how bad things got. 7 Talmud, Tractate Yoma 9a. 8 See Talmud, Tractate Yoma 19b, for an account of a Sadducee High Priest who died due to his improper actions while in the Holy of Holies. 4

5 Loss of Prophecy Why did things get so bad? Because prophecy disappeared from the land and strong central authority was largely lacking. When the prophets were around and leadership was strong, heresy was much more difficult. A prophet talked to God and he d straighten a heretic right out. No one could deny basic tenets of Judaism in the face of prophecy and open miracles. In the period of the Judges and the First Temple, an individual could always make a free-will decision to reject Judaism, worship idols and even use the impure spirituality of idolatry to perform magic and divination, but the presence of prophets and strong leadership made it virtually impossible to undermine the philosophy and practices of Judaism itself. But when prophecy disappeared and central authority was weakened, it became easier for people to stray and for various holy institutions (like the priesthood) to become corrupt. Prophecy disappeared because the Jewish people had damaged their relationship with God. They were spiritually weaker and could not do the same intense spiritual work required to achieve the high level of communication with God that defined prophecy. 9 According to Judaism, prophecy is not just the ability to predict the future; it is a state of transcendence of the physical world. This means the prophet has entered such a high plane of understanding that he or she is able to communicate with God and access information and understanding inaccessible to a normal person. As we saw in class #11, Moses was the ultimate prophet that is, he reached the highest level of prophecy that is humanly possible. But there were many others who achieved lesser levels of prophecy. In class #16, we talked about how the Jewish people consulted the prophets on everything, 9 See Rashi on Shir HaShirim 6:5. 5

6 including lost objects. But that phenomenon disappeared during the early years of the Second Temple. Says the Talmud: After the later prophets, Haggai, Zecharia, and Malachi, had died, the prophetic spirit disappeared from the Jewish people If anyone is interested in how to become a prophet there is an instruction book available. It called The Path of the Just, and it was written in the 18 th century by the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, also known as the Ramchal. This is a guidebook on how to get complete control of yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually so you can transcend this world and become a prophet. In another of his books, The Way of God, Rabbi Luzzatto clearly defines the concept of prophecy: The main concept of true prophecy is, therefore, that a living person achieves such an attachment and a bond with God. This in itself is certainly a very high degree of perfection. Besides this, however, it [prophecy] is often accompanied by certain information and enlightenment. Through prophecy one can gain knowledge of many lofty truths among God s hidden mysteries. These things are perceived very clearly... Part of a prophet s career may include being sent on a mission by God. 11 But even if you master both these books, you will not be a prophet. Why not? Because the gates of prophecy are closed to us. And why is that? Because prophecy is only possible if the rest of the Jewish people are also spiritually elevated. As an individual you can reach a tremendously high level but you can only reach so high. To get all the way to the top and break through the threshold, you ve got to stand on the shoulders of the Jewish people because there has to be a minimum level of spirituality of the entire nation in order for you to reach the level of prophecy. If the nation drops below that level, that threshold, it doesn t matter how much you stand on your tippy-toes and reach up, you re not going to succeed. 10 Talmud, Tractate Yoma 9b. 11 Derech HaShem (The Way of God) Part III, 3:4 and 4:6. See also Talmud, Tractate Nedarim 38a. 6

7 During the Second Temple period, we re going to see the Jewish people dropping below a certain threshold of spirituality which they re never going to attain again. As we saw from the Purim story, by the time we arrive at the period of the Second Temple, God s presence is hidden, the Ark of the Covenant is hidden and so is prophecy. The Talmud says there were definitely individuals living at this time, who, had they lived earlier, would most certainly have been prophets: There is one among you who deserves that the Shechinah (Divine Presence) should rest on him as it did on Moses, but his generation is not deserving. 12 The door to prophecy had been slammed in the face of the Jewish people. And we are told that it will not be opened again until the Messianic Era. PROPHETS AND PROPHETESSES OF ISRAEL 13 (In alphabetical order. Major prophets in bold.) Abigail Elkanah Jahaziel Nathan Abraham Esther Jehu Neriah Aaron Ezekiel Jeremiah Obadiah Ahijah Gad Joel Oded Amos Habakuk Jonah Pinhas Amotz Haggai Joshua Samuel Azariah Hanani Malachi Sarah Baruch Hannah Mehseiah Seraiah David Hosea Micah Shemaiah Deborah Huldah Michaiah Solomon Eli Iddo Miriam Urijah Eliezer Isaac Mordechai Zechariah Elijah Isaiah Moses Zephaniah Elisha Jacob Nahum 12 Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 11a. 13 These 55 names are recorded in the Hebrew Bible, although it is known that there were many more prophets in Israel, perhaps as many as a million, according to the Talmud. (See Tractate Megillah 14a.) 7