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Background
Background
Throughout the reigns of Saul and David, the Ark of the Covenant (the fancy box containing the laws) was kept in a tent. King David conquered Jerusalem, which was to be the site of a Temple for the ark, but he was seen as too sinful to build it - such a holy task needed to be carried out by someone who was pure (and David had murdered a man just because he fancied his wife). So the task of building the Temple was left to his son Solomon.
The Temple was the centre of Jewish life. Everything revolved around it.
The symbolism of the Temple
The symbolism of the Temple
Everything about the Temple was symbolic and connected together all of the stories and rituals of Judaism.
The Temple was built on Mount Moriah, the same mountain on which Abraham was asked to sacrifice his firstborn son.
The first Temple of Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians but it was rebuilt after the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon.
The second Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD. Initially, it was treated as a rubbish tip, and then they built a Roman Temple on it. Nowadays it contains a Mosque and The Dome of the Rock, which was built to mark the ‘Night Journey’ of Muhammad. The only part of the second Temple that survives is the Western wall, which can be seen in the picture below.
This second photo is of an ariel view of the site of the Temple. The golden domed building is the Dome of the Rock.
The temple was built to house the Ark of the Covenant which contained the laws of Moses. Before Solomon, the ark was kept in the tabernacle - the tent of the ark.
The Temple was built on the same plan as the Tent that had previously housed the Ark of the Covenant. It had seven sections that symbolised the seven days of creation:
The Holy of Holies - God/light
The veil/curtain - dome of the sky
The Table of bread - land and vegetation
The Menorah (Candle) - lights in the sky
The water bowl - sea and fish
The altar - creation of humans and other animals
The entrance way - Day of rest
In the Temple the people of Israel killed their animals. They would let the blood drain out of them - as God ordered Noah to do. They were not allowed to eat the blood of an animal:
‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.’
—Leviticus 17:11Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur means Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, and it had extremely important rituals associated with the Temple.
It was the day when the Jewish people were able to atone for their sins. Sin was separation from God - just like Adam and Eve were separated from God when they sinned and ate the forbidden fruit. Yom Kippur was the day when that separation was seen to be overcome.
The first thing that needed to happen was that the High Priest needed to perform the rituals to make himself worthy. He would clean himself and put on special clothes and kill a bull as a personal sin-offering.
Yom Kippur was the only day of the year he was allowed to say the Holy name of God that was given to Moses, which he would say as part of the rituals.
There would be a lottery over two goats. One would be selected ‘for the Lord’, and one ‘for Azazael’. Azazel was a place outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem. The goat that was sent there was ‘blamed’ for all of the sins of the people - it was the ‘scapegoat’.
The High Priest would then prepare a shovel full of incense and enter the Holy of Holies. It was the only day of the year he was allowed to enter the most holy place of the Temple. He would then sprinkle the Bull’s goat on the Holy of Holies.
He’d then come out and lay his hands of the Goat ‘for the Lord’ and say confession on behalf of the priests, and he would say the holy name of God again.
He then killed the goat and sprinkled the blood again in the Holy of Holies, and other parts of the Temple.
After the Temple was destroyed, the rituals of Yom Kippur were never performed again.
Tasks
Tasks
Where was the Temple built? Why was this site holy?
Create a drawing of the Temple in your book, labelling the 7 main parts. You should also add what day of creation each of these parts symbolises.
Why must Jews let the blood drain out of any animal that they eat?
Do you think that we can ever atone for our sins? If so, how? If not, why not?
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