"Teach us to count our days"(Psalms 90:12) Nisan 16, 5783/April 7, 2023
Today is day one of the Omer Two nights ago we gathered together with family and friends, with children and grandchildren, for the Seder, reenacting a ritual meal that has taken place for thousands of years, and by doing so, becoming essential links in the chain of tradition that has bound Jews together from generation to generation. By teaching our children how G-d took us, personally, out of Egypt, we have truly purchased our freedom, and placed a down payment on our children's freedom. The freedom that Israel gained on the Seder night over three thousand years ago is only as viable as the tradition is alive and thriving. Our freedom is linked not only to the generations that came before us, but to the generations that are yet to come. Only if our children's children's children tell their children how Hashem took them out of Egypt and granted them their freedom will our own freedom have proven true. But the Seder meal and the telling of the Haggadah is only the beginning of our journey from Egyptian enslavement to freedom in the service of Hashem. When HaShem plucked Israel from the Egyptian inferno, Israel was hardly prepared for what was to await them. For sure, HaShem had broken the yoke of their physical enslavement from their necks, but the yoke of spiritual torpor and enslavement which had taken hold of their hearts over two centuries of slavery was yet to be shattered. This would happen only at Sinai, a fifty-day journey for Israel from the confines of Egypt. During these fifty days the embryonic nation of Israel needed to mature spiritually in order to be capable of receiving the Torah that G-d would gift them at Sinai. Not only do we relive our midnight exodus from Egypt every year at our Passover Seder, but every year we preoccupy ourselves with the counting of the Omer each day for the duration of the fifty days which separate Passover from Shavuot - the day of receiving Torah at Sinai. "And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, namely, the fiftieth day, on which you shall bring a new meal offering to HaShem." (Leviticus 23:15-16) We, too, need to prepare ourselves spiritually, to search out our souls, to hone and perfect our spiritual status, winnowing and removing our spiritual chaff, cleansing our blemishes, and burnishing the pure souls that HaShem has endowed us with. Over the duration of seven full weeks we are blessed with the opportunity to clean our spiritual house, and ready ourselves for the ultimate blessing of freedom - the receiving of Torah at Sinai - the eternal covenant between G-d and Israel that ties our days and nights to HaShem and to HaShem only. Indeed, freedom requires constant work, but it is the labor of liberation. In Psalm 90, "A prayer of Moshe, the man of G-d," we call out to HaShem, "Teach us to count our days, so that we shall acquire a heart of wisdom." (Psalms 90:12) By counting our days we make our days count for us. May we all be blessed with the blessings of freedom and wisdom, and so earn our place at Sinai. Chag Pesach Sameach - Happy Passover! . |
The Omer Offering In The Holy Temple "When you come to the land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring to the kohen an omer of the beginning of your reaping. And he shall wave the omer before HaShem so that it will be acceptable for you; the kohen shall wave it on the day after the rest day." Leviticus 23:10-11) No sooner do we celebrate our Festival of Freedom on the 15th of Nisan than we gather our scythes and commence the barley harvest on the 16th of Nisan, upon which the kohanim perform the Omer offering in the Holy Temple! |
Sefirat Ha'omer: Today Is One Day Of The Omer Counting the Omer "Blessed are You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, Who sanctifies us with His commandments, and commanded us to count the Omer." 16 Nisan: Today is Day One of the Omer. (Chesed within Chesed) |
Passover In The Holy Temple! Learn how Passover was celebrated in the Holy Temple. See Passover like never before through the pure eyes of Shlomo ben Ezra, a young boy who accompanies his family on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple, where they present their Passover offering and celebrate Passover with the entire nation of Israel, in the holy city of Jerusalem! In depth and beautifully illustrated! |
The Half-Shekel Offering: Partnership In The Holy Temple! This Shabbat is Shabbat Parashat Shekalim: "HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying: 'When you take the sum of the children of Israel according to their numbers, let each one give to HaShem an atonement for his soul when they are counted; then there will be no plague among them when they are counted. This they shall give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel according to the holy shekel. Twenty gerahs equal one shekel; half of such a shekel shall be an offering to HaShem. Everyone who goes through the counting, from the age of twenty and upward, shall give an offering to HaShem. The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel, with which to give the offering to HaShem, to atone for your souls. You shall take the silver of the atonements from the children of Israel and use it for the work of the Tent of Meeting; it shall be a remembrance for the children of Israel before HaShem, to atone for your souls.'" In these prophetic times when the building of the Holy Temple is nearer than ever, the Half Shekel offering is an unprecedented opportunity to be a partner in the building of the Temple, "a house of prayer for all nations!" (Isaiah 567:7). The current value of the biblical half shekel is $10.00. All half shekel donations made to the Temple Institute will go toward the physical, spiritual and educational preparations necessary for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple! |
The Temple Institute: Bringing The Holy Temple To Life! "Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering..." (Ex. 25:2) Thus begins Terumah, last week's Torah reading, in which HaShem reveals His desire that Israel "make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst." (Ex. 25:8) The Temple Institute is dedicated to making the Holy Temple a reality in our day, and toward this end, the Temple Institute has, for 36 years, been building and planning and researching and teaching and sharing with you our reconstructed sacred vessels and priestly garments, our books and paintings, our red heifer candidates, our teachings and insights and our love for HaShem and the Holy Temple! It is only through the generosity of your hearts that we are able to continue our important work. Only together can we build for HaShem a sanctuary and "a house of prayer for all nations!" |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk. It's korban Pesach time, as Yitzchak Reuven talks about telling our stories of freedom on the Seder night, and why the 14th of Nisan is the busiest day of the year for Israel! We have been working furiously to get our houses and ourselves ready for Passover, and on the 14th of Nisan we have one last task to do: the Passover offering! The Passover offering is a wake-up call for Israel and the world - and the prelude to our telling our children how we were taken by HaShem out of Egypt, an event which we bequeath to our children by reliving our own participation in the exodus from Egypt. Wishing everyone a very happy Passover - the Festival of Freedom! |
Help To Build The Holy Temple In Our Time! Donate Generously To Help The Sacred Work Of The Temple Institute! Every contribution helps to rebuild the Holy Temple in our Time! |
The Passover Seder contains so many elements: Matzah, bitter herbs, four cups of wine, charoset, the afikoman, and, of course, the Hagaddah - the telling of the exodus from Egypt. But the main ingredient of the Seder experience, the most essential ingredient, isn't seen, nor is it tasted or touched. The main active ingredient of Passover is placing ourselves alongside our ancestors and reliving our own redemption from Egypt. The story of Passover remains just a story, unless we place ourselves within it, making it real, for ourselves and our children, and our children's children. Tzav (Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36)
Parashat Tzav is read on Shabbat:
Nisan 10, 5783/April 1, 2023 |
The Sacred Temple Vessels! Make an online visit to the Temple Institute's gallery of our recreated Temple vessels! Every sacred vessel used in the Temple service has been painstakingly recreated by the Temple Institute, in accordance with Torah commandments and more than 3,000 years of tradition! Each vessel is ready for use in the rebuilt Holy Temple, may it be soon! |
A Temple Mount Moment: The Passover Offering! On the eve of the festival of Passover, the pre-holiday excitement reached a fever pitch in the Holy Temple as thousands of pilgrims brought their Passover offerings to be slaughtered and the blood dashed against the altar. The Levites sang the Hallel songs of praise throughout the happening, and that night, the first night of Passover, families, gathered together in Jerusalem, would conduct their Seder and partake of their Passover lambs - and taste the taste of freedom! The Temple Institute and High on the Har wish everyone a very joy filled holiday of Passover! A Temple Mount Moment is the joint project of the Temple Institute and High on the Har. Temple Mount experts and co founders of High on the Har, Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld and Rabbi Yehuda Levi present each week fascinating facts and insights about the Temple Mount and the Holy Temple, its past, present and future! |
The Passover Offering Reenactment, Part 3 This is the third of a series of three posts featuring photos from Sunday's reenactment of the Passover offering, which took place in Jerusalem's Old City, adjacent to the Temple Mount. |
The 14th Of Nisan - Day Of The Passover Offering! Tonight begins the 14th day of Nisan, the day of the Korban Pesach - the Passover Offering! The performance of the Passover offerings takes place in the afternoon of the 14th, just hours before the beginning of Passover and the partaking of the Seder meal, whose main component is the roasted Passover offering itself. |
The Passover Offering Reenactment, Part 2 This is the second of a series of three posts featuring photos from Sunday's reenactment of the Passover offering, which took place in Jerusalem's Old City, adjacent to the Temple Mount. |
The Passover Offering Reenactment On Sunday the Temple Institute participated in a multi-organizational reenactment of the Passover offering, an annual even that takes place every year on the eve of Passover. Led by Rabbis Israel Ariel and Azaria Ariel of the Temple Institute, Rabbi Baruch Kahana, dean of the Temple Institute's Nezer HaKodesh school for Kohanim, Rabbi Shmuel Moreno, Rabbi Uriah Shavor, and Rabbi Yitzhak Yabetz. Also participating in the ceremony were Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Aryeh King and Councilor Yonatan Yosef, as well as former Minister of Agriculture, Uri Ariel. |
The Thanksgiving (Todah) Offering We have arrived at parashat Shemimi in our weekly Torah readings, the section of Leviticus which deals with the inauguration and opening day of the desert Tabernacle, which took place on the first day of Nisan, at the start of the second year of Israel's journey from Egypt to the promised land Canaan. However, this coming Shabbat is Shabbat Chol HaMo'ed Pesach, the Shabbat of the intermediate days of Passover, and special Passover related sections of Torah are read, pushing Shemini off till the following Shabbat... |
Mikdash Monday - Pesach (Part 5) _“Take heed of the month of spring, when you will celebrate Pesach for Hashem, your G-d; for in the month of spring, Hashem, your G-d, took you out from Egypt at night.” (Deuteronomy 16:1) |
Hamas Terrorist Shooting Attack On Temple Mount Foiled Jerusalem resident arrested for plotting to shoot at bus carrying police officers in the Temple Mount area after receiving orders. A planned terrorist shooting attack in the Temple Mount area has been foiled, it was cleared for publication this morning (Sunday). |
Chag Pesach Sameach From The Temple Mount! Just days before the Passover holiday, (this Wednesday evening), and the excitement here on the Temple Mount is growing! How we long to build an altar on its designated spot on the Temple Mount and offer our Passover offerings as in days of old! May we soon merit to do so! We are looking forward to a very busy week ahead on the Temple Mount, and wishing everyone a very happy Passover Festival of Freedom! |
Red Heifers Arrive In Israel! On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality. |
The five red heifer candidates that were greeted at Ben Gurion airport this past summer, we are happy to relate, are healthy and thriving. One of the five, unfortunately, has grown some non-red hairs and is therefore disqualified from becoming the red heifer which can provide the much longed for ashes. The remaining four, however, are still viable candidates. These recently taken photographs show that they are healthy, happy, and growing! |
Chag Pesach Sameach - Happy Passover - from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
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