SHANA TOVA UMETUKA - WISHING ALL A GOOD AND SWEET NEW YEAR!
Today we stand before HaShem. The shofar blows, the trumpets are sounded.
Only yesterday the world was born out of G-d’s will to bestow blessing upon his creation. Only yesterday, on this very day, G-d scooped up the dust from the four corners of the earth and created man. Only yesterday G-d breathed life into man, filling man with the potential for good and for holiness.
Today we stand before HaShem. The shofar blows, the trumpets are sounded.
The shofar that we sound on Rosh HaShana, the sole unique commandment concerning Rosh HaShana, of which we are told, “And in the seventh month, on the first day, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work. It shall be a day of shofar sounding for you,” (Numbers 29:1) recalls the horn of the ram that was caught in the thicket and caught Avraham’s eye as he looked up. Having passed G-d’s great test of the binding of Yitzchak on Mount Moriah, Avraham took the ram and made an offering to HaShem.
And the sound that emanates from the ram’s horn shofar as we blow it on Rosh HaShana is the sound of our most sublime and ineffable prayers to HaShem, produced by the very breath that He placed in us. What have you done with the breath that I blessed you with? G-d asks on Rosh HaShana. How have you been living your life? Have you been seeking only the good? Have you been seeking only the truth?
Today we stand before HaShem. The shofar blows, the trumpets are sounded.
May G-d accept our prayers, and may we be blessed with a good year ahead. A year of peace and prosperity. A year of health, of family, of love and of happiness. One of the beloved songs we sing on Rosh HaShana, called Achot Ketanah, concludes with these words: תכלה השנה וקללותיה תחל שנה וברכותי - Let the outgoing year and its curses conclude, let the new year in and its blessings begin.
The Temple Institute wishes all our supporters, followers and friends, the entire house of Israel, all who seek the peace of Jerusalem,and all who love the One True G-d of Israel, a very sweet and happy new year - Shana Tova uMetuka!
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THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE: BUILDING THE HOLY TEMPLE!
The three weeks of mourning which stretch from the fast of the 17th of Tammuz to the fast of the 9th of Av may be a time for some people to look backward and dream about the Holy Temple that was. Not so for the people that make up the Temple Institute. The Temple Institute is forever looking forward and working tirelessly to educate Israel and the world about the importance of the Holy Temple in our future, while always training and preparing in every way possible for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the renewal of the Divine service, soon, and in our days!
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SILVER TRUMPETS FOR OUR HEROIC SOLDIERS!
Play A Part In Israel's War Against Evil!
"If you go to war in your land against an adversary that oppresses you, you shall blow a teruah with the trumpets and be remembered before HaShem your G-d, and thus be saved from your enemies." (Numbers 10:9)
Israel is at war with an enemy that sorely oppresses us with terror but our soldiers are filled with purpose and faith in HaShem, and firm in the knowledge that "it is Hashem, your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to deliver you!" (Deuteronomy 20:4)
Social media has been filled these past weeks with photos and videos of Israeli soldiers preparing for battle with prayer, with song, with reading from Torah and with sounding the shofar. We are witnessing with our own eyes that HaShem, indeed, is going with our troops "to battle your enemies for you to deliver you!"
It is a Torah commandment to prepare for battle by sounding silver trumpets, the same silver trumpets sounded by the kohanim in the Holy Temple, so that we should "be remembered before HaShem your G-d, and thus be saved from your enemies."
The Temple Institute has begun manufacturing silver trumpets to distribute to the IDF rabbis so that they can be sounded by our soldiers as they make their way to battle. Two trumpets are required to be sounded simultaneously, and each one needs to be produced from a single piece of silver. The cost of each trumpet is significant and every donation toward producing the trumpets will be gratefully accepted! We are calling upon friends of Israel around the world to play a true Torah role in Israel's war against today's Amalek, the villainous tribe who "happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear G-d." (Deuteronomy 25:18)
Please designate "vessels" in your donation!
LEVITICAL CHOIR PERFORMS AT THE SOUTHERN WALL OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT!
Last week, during the intermediate days of Sukkot, the Temple Institute's Levitical Choir joined dozens of other musical Levites in a festive performance of Psalm 27. The Temple Institute's Levitical Choir performers can be recognized by their Levitical uniforms, and, of course, the silver trumpets are those reproduced by the Temple Institute. The concert was a joint production of The Temple Institute, the East Jerusalem Development Company, the Municipality of Jerusalem, and others.
The performance took place on the steps leading up to the ancient Hulda Gates on the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount, the gates through which thousands of pilgrims once ascended from the City of David to the Holy Temple.
"One thing I ask of HaShem, that I seek - that I may dwell in the house of HaShem all the days of my life, to see the pleasantness of HaShem and to visit His Temple all the days of my life."
TEMPLE TALK: "FORTUNATE ARE YOU, O ISRAEL!"
CHANNELING THE KOHEN GADOL ON YOM KIPPUR!
ISRAEL ON THE HEELS OF HER ENEMIES!
The ever intense holiday filled month of Tishrei is more intense than ever as Israel enters into its second year at war with her sworn enemies. Prayer and joy and reflection are mixed with missiles and news from Israel's multiple fronts as Israel continues to turn up the heat and sets her sights on Teheran. Wishing all a Gmar Chatimah Tovah - may You be Sealed in the Book of Life!
Remember: Helping to make HaShem's dream of a Sanctuary in which His Presence can dwell amongst us, is the work of the Temple Institute! Join us in our efforts!
WEEKLY TORAH STUDY: ROSH HASHANA 5785
We traditionally mark Rosh HaShana as the anniversary of the first (or sixth) day of creation. How does this square with the claim of science that the world is billions of years old and attaching a calendar date to its beginning is futile?
Ha'azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-52)
Parashat Ha'azinu is read on Shabbat:
Tishrei 3, 5785/October 5, 2024
TISH'A B'AV: BUILD A HOUSE FOR HASHEM!
"Be strong and have courage! Build a House for HaShem!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, the prophet Samuel charges King David with the task of building the Holy Temple!
TISH'A B'AV: THE GLORY OF THIS LAST HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FIRST!
"The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, Zerubavel from the house of David and Kohen Gadol (High Priest) Yehoshua consult with the prophet Haggai who instructs them to waste no time in rebuilding 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, this 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!"
THE RED HEIFER!
The ashes of the red heifer, essential for the renewal of the Divine service in the Holy Temple, is one of the Torah's most fascinating and mysterious commandments. In our brand new in-depth entry, learn what constitutes "a perfectly red unblemished cow," how the ashes are made and how they are applied, the history and the mystery of the red heifer, and current efforts to raise a red heifer. Beautifully illustrated and extensively footnoted!
INTRODUCING THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE'S LEVITICAL CHOIR ACADEMY
In yet another major step toward preparing for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the renewal of the Divine service, the Temple Institute has established the Levitical Choir Academy, dedicated to teaching today's descendants of the tribe of Levi the Levitical songbook - the songs that are sung by the Levitical Choir in accompaniment to the Daily offerings and the Additional Festival offerings performed in the Holy Temple. Levi'im from all across Israel have already responded to the Temple Institute's initiative, and as these video clip show, are already honing their skills as a proper Levitical Choir. Levitical garments are currently being designed for the choir to be worn during their service in the rebuilt Holy Temple.
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.
We invite you to join us in our worldwide effort to produce the longed-for ashes of the red heifer!
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