Sunday June 15th, 2025

Join us when we ascent our most sacred site, but where did our temple stand, what is there now?  Who built the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa mosque?  How did the Talmud understand the layout of the temple? How did the water flow into the temple?  Where did the Fort Antonia stand?

Pre-tour Prep Lectures

Lecture 1: June 4 - 7:30pm – Decoding the Temple Mount 

Speaker: David Fensterheim

Intro – Why the Temple Mount?

• • Importance in Jewish identity and golbal history

Time Travel Through the Mount:

• • Tanaic period: Sources from Mishnah, Brayta, and Josephus.

  • Muslim period: Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa’s origins.  Sources from the Quran and Hadith

  • Crusader period: Templar Construction.  Templum Solomonus, Templum Dominus

  • Mameluk period: Decorative architecture, endowments (waqf institutions).

Where Was the Temple?

• Different scholarly and rabbinic opinions (Dome of the Rock? North? South?)

• Archaeological and textual evidence

What Do We See Today?

• Dome of the Rock, Al-Aqsa, Mameluk gates, minarets, madrasas.

• What can architectural styles tell us?

Discussion / Q&A

Lecture 2: June 10th - 7:30pm - Ascending the Temple Mount: Kosher, Safe and Crucial 

Speaker: Rabbi David Heiman - Chairman BeYadenu Organization

Legal Status and the “Status Quo”:

Historical background (1967 agreement, Jordan’s role)

Current policy: Israeli sovereignty, Waqf administration, police enforcement

Daily Life on the Mount:

Who’s allowed up? When? How is it regulated?

Tensions and practical realities

Halachic Approaches:

Forbidden zones vs. permitted areas

Role of immersion (mikvah), wearing non-leather shoes, etc.

Views from Rabbanut, Religious Zionists, Haredim, and Temple Mount activists

Modern Movements:

Temple Institute, Women for the Temple, other initiatives

Controversies and public discourse

Discussion / Q&A

Tour of the Mount

June 15th, 2025