The Holy Temple (Beit Hamikdash) was a large structure that was the nucleus of Judaism, its most sacred site. It stood atop Jerusalem’s Mount Moriah. Our people would stream there three times a year to bring sacrifices and interface with the Divine.
The first Beit Hamikdash was built by King Solomon in the year 833 BCE, and destroyed by the Babylonians in the year 423 BCE. The second Beit Hamikdash was completed in the year 349 BCE by Jewish returnees from the Persian exile, renovated by King Herod in 19 BCE, but ultimately destroyed by the Romans in 69 CE, when the current galut (exile) began.
For nearly 2,000 years, there has been no Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Yet, it is an axiom of Jewish belief that the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Known as the Third Temple, it will be built according to the prophecies of Ezekiel.
