Arise, go up to Zion - by Nadav Shragai

...In recent years, a miracle of sorts has taken place: A handful of passionate activists have managed to reignite the Israeli interest in the area. This has led to the Israel Police lifting some of the restrictions placed on Jewish presence on the site. Although we cannot hear the shofar being blown there, as the famous verse in "Jerusalem of Gold" says, and there is no menorah, the Jews are finally exercising their sovereignty by visiting the site – the only thing Dayan agreed to preserve. By the end of 2017, the number of Jews who will have visited the compound is expected to number 25,000.

Nadav Shragai..
Israel Hayom..
11 December '17..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/arise-go-up-to-zion/

The 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev 2,181 years ago was both a sad day and a happy one on the Temple Mount. The events that day, which ultimately became the foundation for the holiday we call Hanukkah, began with humiliation and insult but were followed by great jubilation and high spirits.

The books of the Maccabees tell us how the Hasmoneans, having arrived in a liberated Jerusalem, tore their clothes and wept as they saw the desolate and desecrated Temple. But they also tell us about the "harps, lutes and cymbals" (1 Maccabees 4:52) that were used to celebrate the relighting of the menorah.

Fifty years ago, the same day also brought two diametrically opposed feelings: joy and sadness. While Israel had recently liberated the ruins of the Temple, the prevailing spirit on the Temple Mount was dictated by then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. Under his instructions, the Israeli flag had been taken down from the mountain, and the Israeli visitors were told they were to limit their worship to the site below, the Western Wall.

Dayan effectively gave control of the compound to the Muslims, preventing the Jews from praying there. He wrongly assumed that by doing this he could take out the religious component of the conflict. The decision had the support of rabbis, who said it was forbidden for Jews to enter the area for prayer. They were too focused on their halachic interpretation to seize the moment. For all their talk, they forgot that having virtual Jewish sovereignty on the Temple Mount without actually exercising it is just make-believe. They had decided to relegate our role to that of the famous superhero who can see but cannot be seen.

This alliance of state and religion survived for three decades and had the effect of suppressing the bond between the Jews and holy compound. It also created the impression that the Western Wall, which is also holy, is a suitable alternative that could serve as a stand-in for the original. As a result, the Muslims got the false impression that the Jews who went to the Temple Mount were just "visitors," like all other tourists.


In recent years, a miracle of sorts has taken place: A handful of passionate activists have managed to reignite the Israeli interest in the area. This has led to the Israel Police lifting some of the restrictions placed on Jewish presence on the site. Although we cannot hear the shofar being blown there, as the famous verse in "Jerusalem of Gold" says, and there is no menorah, the Jews are finally exercising their sovereignty by visiting the site – the only thing Dayan agreed to preserve. By the end of 2017, the number of Jews who will have visited the compound is expected to number 25,000.

The vast majority of Jewish visitors hail from the national religious sector, mainly because hundreds of rabbis amended their halachic approach to the area. That is unfortunate because the Temple Mount does not belong to just one sector and keeping it this way would be a missed opportunity on a historic scale.

The vast majority of Jews in Israel continue to view the mountain as if it was a belated bar mitzvah present, given to the state when it was 19. The bar mitzvah boy flipped a few pages and put it on a high bookshelf so that it is visible to everyone but accessible to no one. Every so often, he dusts it off and shows it with pride – as if he is a rare book collector – reminding everyone that this unique and ancient book is in his possession.

But there is only one problem with this: He never actually read the book he keeps touting; he never actually visited the Temple Mount. It is hard to change a longstanding practice. The Western Wall has already become the epicenter of Jewish worship in the area – and the curtain has been effectively drawn on anything that lies above and beyond.

Hanukkah is an opportune moment to lift this curtain. Flock to the mountain. "Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, unto the Lord our God" (Jeremiah 31:6). Don't pray there, because it is not permitted for Jews, but make sure to visit. Even that small gesture is a lot considering the current state of affairs.

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