{"id":75118,"date":"2018-07-09T17:47:56","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-492\/"},"modified":"2023-12-25T09:29:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-25T07:29:54","slug":"wall-492","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-492\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Ezekiel-40"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"492","date":"20270719","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"492","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"74168","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Ezekiel Chapter 40 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Ezekiel Chapter 40","slug":"jps-audio-bible-ezekiel-chapter-40","old_id":"74168","type":"user","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"492","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Ezekiel Chapter 40","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_ezekiel_chapter_40","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"492","date":"20270719","wall_id":"492"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"119290","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Ezekiel\u2019s Temple ","post_title":"Ezekiel\u2019s Temple","slug":"ezekiels-temple-2","old_id":"119290","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"492","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"It wasn\u2019t the First. Was it the Second - or the Third? Or?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 40 is the beginning of Ezekiel\u2019s description of the building of the Temple. Which Temple is this? The description does not match the dimensions of the then contemporary Temple in Jerusalem. The chapter also takes place after the destruction of that Temple. Ezekiel may have included the date in his introduction to dispel any concerns about the discrepancy. The Second Temple was not built according to any God-given dimensions. Zerubavel, Ezra, and Nehemiah built the Temple with what they could gather at the time. They never reference following the instructions given by Ezekiel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Only later, during the Roman period, was the Second Temple made into the magnificent building that appears in artistic renditions of the Temple. Ezekiel\u2019s description here then must be of the Third Temple. The description of the building is very detailed regarding the structure itself. It has some details of the dimensions of certain objects in the Temple, but it does not have the same detail as the Tabernacle, or the First Temple. Abarbanel posits that this description is not meant to be a full blueprint like those were. God presents this vision to Ezekiel for the purpose of showing him the grandeur of the new building. This could be why some of the people who were around for the first Temple wept when the Second Temple was built.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Many of the priests and Levites and the chiefs of the clans, the old men who had seen the first house, wept loudly at the sight of the founding of this house. Many others shouted joyously at the top of their voices (Ezra 3:12).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It seems like they wept because the original building of the Second Temple was no match for the splendor of the First Temple built by Solomon. But it is also possible that these individuals who returned from exile had heard about Ezekiel\u2019s prophecy, and they were saddened that the Second Temple was not the same as Ezekiel described. This meant that the Second Temple was destined to also be destroyed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69442,"alt":"","title":"jer7-temple3","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3.jpg","width":1278,"height":314,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3-300x74.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":74,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3-768x189.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":189,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3-1024x252.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":252,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3.jpg","1536x1536-width":1278,"1536x1536-height":314,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3.jpg","2048x2048-width":1278,"2048x2048-height":314,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3-1200x295.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":295,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer7-temple3.jpg","home_baner-width":1278,"home_baner-height":314}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Ezekiel\u2019s Temple","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"It wasn\u2019t the First. Was it the Second - or the Third? 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","short_description":"Maor Greene is a rabbinical student and doctoral student in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":66418,"alt":"","title":"maor greene","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","width":240,"height":240,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":240,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":240,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","post_full_size-width":240,"post_full_size-height":240,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","home_baner-width":240,"home_baner-height":240}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"492","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Especially one to measure our hearts\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Growing up I often watched my father as he did various small building projects around the house. I would watch him use tools such as hammers, saws, sanders, and other fascinating devices. I learned from him that the most essential tool in home building is the tape measure. You cannot build anything if you do not have the correct dimensions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Ezekiel 40, God seems to agree that tape measures are essential. As Ezekiel is transported to Jerusalem in a vision, he meets an angelic figure who instructs him about the correct dimensions of the future Temple. What is this figure holding in his hand? A linen cord and a measuring rod.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The angelic figure will spend the next several chapters explicitly using the measuring rod to show to Ezekiel the exact dimensions of the Temple and its contents. God, by way of this angelic figure meticulously measuring out dimensions, lays out a clear plan about what this new Temple should look like.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The linen cord is not mentioned again, but Rashi helpfully explains that this cord was used for measuring out the ground, while the measuring rod is useful for structures such as walls and gates. Both are essential for good building planning. The modern tape measure is essentially a combination of a measuring cord and a measuring rod.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Based on this account from Ezekiel, it would appear that God and my father are in agreement about the importance of a tape measure. Indeed, if a tape measure is essential for precision even in small building projects, then how much more so is it necessary for God\u2019s future home!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Two millennia ago, the Second Temple built according to many of these precise measurements, was destroyed. Since then, many Jews have understood God as dwelling within the community of Israel and within our hearts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Ezekiel, the angelic figure has no difficulty measuring out the physical dimensions of the Temple. Our task is much harder \u2013 we must find ways to measure our hearts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is a long tradition in Judaism of <\/span>tikkun middot<\/span><\/em>. Often this term is translated as the repairing (<\/span>tikkun<\/span><\/em>)<\/span><\/i> of our characters (<\/span>middot<\/span><\/em>). However, the term <\/span>middot<\/span><\/em> literally means measures. By engaging in <\/span>tikkun middot<\/span><\/em>,<\/span> we are measuring and correcting the dimensions of our hearts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How well do we embody qualities of character such such as compassion, patience, humility, and righteousness? If we wish for God to dwell in our hearts more fully, we must measure our own <\/span>middot<\/span><\/i> with the same care and precision of the angelic figure instructing Ezekiel. We must use our own internal tape measures to repair our hearts and the world.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75391,"alt":"","title":"ez40-tape measure","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure.jpg","width":1920,"height":1351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-300x211.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":211,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-768x540.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":540,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-1024x721.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":721,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1081,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-1200x844.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":844,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-597x420.jpg","home_baner-width":597,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Tape Measure Is Essential for Any Building Project","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Especially one to measure our hearts","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75391,"alt":"","title":"ez40-tape measure","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure.jpg","width":1920,"height":1351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-300x211.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":211,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-768x540.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":540,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-1024x721.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":721,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1081,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-1200x844.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":844,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-tape-measure-597x420.jpg","home_baner-width":597,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"492","date":"20270719","wall_id":"492"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"75396","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Blueprint For A Future With A Divine Partner ","post_title":"Blueprint For A Future With A Divine Partner","slug":"blueprint-for-a-future-with-a-divine-partner","old_id":"75396","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"492","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We need to read between the lines\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Beginning in chapter 40 of the Book of Ezekiel, we are introduced to a lengthy passage of what reads a bit like a complex blueprint for the construction of the third holy temple. But wait. The third? The first had just been destroyed: <\/span>wouldn\u2019t this nation to whom Ezekiel was prophesying, 25 years into their Babylonian exile, be more interested in knowing how to build the second temple? <\/span>Why, Ezekiel asks God (according to <\/span>Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> 14), are you showing me this and asking me to prophecy about it now? Wouldn\u2019t it be more effective to get these instructions when we finally return to our land, ready to rebuild? That question implies that, in fact, Ezekiel may not have realized at first that this is not the next temple he\u2019s being shown, but the one after the next.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When Ezekiel ask his \u201cwhy now?\u201d question, God\u2019s response (again from <\/span>Midrash Tanchuma<\/span><\/em>) is to tell Ezekiel that studying the building plans is as important as the construction itself. As it turned out, those who undertook the task of studying those plans learned far more than engineering specs. As detailed and specific as these plans are, they are actually incomplete: some of the dimensions include length and width, but not height; or height and width, but not length. And some parts of the instructions are so complex as to be indiscernible.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are differing opinions about who is going to build this Temple: man, or God. Rambam proposed a hybrid answer.\u00a0 Man, precisely the Messiah, would build those elements for which the construction can be grasped by human intellect, while God will provide the rest. So, studying the plans entailed not just understanding a set of measurements, but reading between the lines and appreciating the significance of what was left out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These chapters do far more than teach a nation in exile how to build a temple. They represent the nature of our partnership with God, in which He gives us instructions to fulfill our role in this world and the assurance that if we learn and execute that well, He will fill in the blanks.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, by presenting the plans for the third temple before the second one has been built (and destroyed), God puts His faith in one generation to work towards aspirational goals for some future generation. And that is something the Jewish people, especially during challenging times, have learned to do quite well.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75397,"alt":"","title":"ez40-blueprint","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint.jpg","width":1920,"height":1052,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-300x164.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":164,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-768x421.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":421,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-1024x561.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":561,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":842,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1052,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-1200x658.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":658,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-767x420.jpg","home_baner-width":767,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Blueprint For A Future With A Divine Partner","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We need to read between the lines","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75397,"alt":"","title":"ez40-blueprint","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint.jpg","width":1920,"height":1052,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-300x164.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":164,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-768x421.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":421,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-1024x561.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":561,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":842,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1052,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-1200x658.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":658,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-blueprint-767x420.jpg","home_baner-width":767,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"492","date":"20270719","wall_id":"492"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"75393","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Ezekiel and the Temple: The Problems ","post_title":"Ezekiel and the Temple: The Problems","slug":"ezekiel-and-the-temple-the-problems","old_id":"75393","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. 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The remaining chapters of the Book of Ezekiel feature a highly detailed description of a rebuilt Temple and a renewed sacrificial order. However, the prophet\u2019s language in these chapters is even more opaque than usual, leading no less an authority than Maimonides to note:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The [design of the] structure built by [King] Solomon is described explicitly in [the Book of] Kings. [In contrast, the design of] the Messianic Temple, though mentioned in [the Book of] Ezekiel, is not explicit or explained. Thus, the people [in the time] of Ezra built the Second Temple according to the structure of Solomon, [including] certain aspects which are explicitly stated in Ezekiel<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>Hilkhot Beit HaBechirah<\/span><\/em> 1:4).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Biblical exegetes, too, faced singular problems in commenting on these chapters. Rashi, among the medievals, made note of his inability to resolve certain issues. On 42:3, for example, he admitted: \u201cI was unable to understand these three verses at all.\u201d Radak wrote, similarly: \u201cThe truth is that the measurements of this edifice are not clear to us since they pertain to a future construction, and whatever a person will offer in their interpretation by means of independent reasoning is unreliable.\u201d In contrast, Yosef Qara\u2019s commentary on Ezekiel simply stops at this point, and Isaiah of Trani\u2019s commentary ends here, too, with the notice: \u201cThe dimensions of the Temple, the order of sacrifices, and the regulations of the priesthood that are listed here, no one in the world can know them for certain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Modern exegetes, on the other hand, stepped in, undaunted, where their predecessors had feared to tread. R. Yomtov Lipman Heller (author of the <\/span>Tosafot Yomtov<\/span><\/em> on the Mishnah) dedicated an entire book, <\/span>Tzurat Habayit<\/span><\/em>, to this end, Malbim countered with his own exposition called <\/span>Tavnit Habayit<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>and yet another account was published in the name of the Gaon of Vilna. <\/span>Commentaries on the tractate of <\/span>Middot<\/span><\/em> (2:5, 3:1, 4:2) also contrast Ezekiel's vision with the structure of the Second Temple. (<\/span>Several schematics based on these commentaries are offered in the\u00a0<\/span>Da`at Mikra<\/span><\/em> \u201cEzekiel\u201d (Hebrew) p. 319 ff.).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We will try to convey some of these interpretations, while necessarily avoiding those whose reliance on principles of engineering or mathematics would require the kind of visual aids largely inaccessible in this format.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75394,"alt":"","title":"ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","width":524,"height":443,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple-300x254.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":254,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","medium_large-width":524,"medium_large-height":443,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","large-width":524,"large-height":443,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","1536x1536-width":524,"1536x1536-height":443,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","2048x2048-width":524,"2048x2048-height":443,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","post_full_size-width":524,"post_full_size-height":443,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple-497x420.jpg","home_baner-width":497,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Ezekiel and the Temple: The Problems","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Architectural mysteries","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75394,"alt":"","title":"ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","width":524,"height":443,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple-300x254.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":254,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","medium_large-width":524,"medium_large-height":443,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","large-width":524,"large-height":443,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","1536x1536-width":524,"1536x1536-height":443,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","2048x2048-width":524,"2048x2048-height":443,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple.jpg","post_full_size-width":524,"post_full_size-height":443,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez40-Visionary_Ezekiel_Temple-497x420.jpg","home_baner-width":497,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"492","date":"20270719","wall_id":"492"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"119293","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Ezekiel40","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Ezekiel40","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-ezekiel40","old_id":"119293","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. 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See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"492","type_929":"4","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Tanakh Podcast","tile_main_caption":"Ezekiel 40: The Temple, Part I","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Ezekiel finds himself transported in a vision to a virtual tour of a Temple in Jerusalem. 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40:5 \u201cAnd, look, there was a wall outside the house all around, and in the man\u2019s hand a measuring rod six cubits and a handsbreath in length, and he measured the depth of the building\u2019s wall to be one rod and the height one rod.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Throughout, \u201cthe house\u201d is the house of God--that is, the Temple. To the modern reader, it is certainly odd that Ezekiel\u2019s book should end with nine chapters devoted to an intricate account of the architecture of the Temple and the procedures of the sacrificial cult. There is nothing quite like this in any of the other Prophets. There is no reason, however, to question the status of these chapters as an authentic production by Ezekiel. One should remember that he was a Jerusalem priest deported from the city where the Temple stood in the early, partial exile of 597 B.C.E. Now, a quarter of a century later, and fourteen years after the Temple was demolished in the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, he undertakes a kind of imaginative reconstruction of the Temple, and then of the cult, painstakingly laying out its sundry structures, gate by gate, hall by hall, recess to recess. For him, this amounts to a prophecy of consolation. All this, it must be said, is rather bewildering to follow, although various commentators have sought to provide charts and floor plans based on Ezekiel\u2019s notations. There is, to begin with, a problem of architectural terms, many of which are uncertain in meaning. (The same is true of the account of Solomon\u2019s temple in Kings.) At least a few terms actually fluctuate in meaning. The two Hebrew words that usually mean \u201cwidth\u201d and \u201clength\u201d at first appear to indicate \u201cdepth\u201d and \u201cheight,\u201d but later in the chapter they revert to their original meaning. But even if we could be certain of all the architectural terms, the lineaments of the Temple are hard to make out. This commentary therefore will not attempt to elucidate the picture of the Temple. It should also be noted that Ezekiel\u2019s description of the Temple does not altogether jibe with the one in the Book of Kings, nor does his account of the cult entirely match other biblical formulations. One must assume that he either was writing from imperfect memory of the Jerusalem scene he had left two and a half decades earlier or was projecting what he conceived as an ideal image of the Temple and the worship within it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Ezekiel\u2019s Temple","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Future vision - or historical memory?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"40","chapter_main_number":"492","date":"20270719","wall_id":"492"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"74840","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 40 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 40","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-ezekiel-40","old_id":"74840","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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\u201cThe Chariot\u201d<\/a> by Shlomo Einhorn: Looking closer at the chariot in Ezekiel\u2019s vision.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe Body of Time and the Time of Bodies: Biblical Moments that Shook Israelites to the Core (Take 1)<\/a> by Jonah Rank: How words describing the human body are used throughout the Torah.<\/p>\r\n

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    \r\n\t
  1. Happy new year!<\/em> The date that heads this prophecy is \u201cthe beginning of the year, the tenth day of the month\u201d (verse 1), meaning, the 10th day of the month that begins the year, which would be Nisan (as in the Torah, and as opposed to the Babylonian calendar, where Tishri is the first month). The year, by the way, is the \u201ctwenty-fifth year of our exile,\u201d that is, 573 BCE.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Sounds like a plan<\/em>. Ezekiel presents in his prophecy a detailed architectural plan, one that professionals might know how to interpret - not a vision of vague images. For those of his generation listening to him, this was a clear message that a new temple was guaranteed. For commentators and interpreters, this was a challenge, especially since the Second Temple (and even the First) differed in many ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Mind the stairs<\/em>. In Ezekiel\u2019s Temple, there were stairs (ma\u2019alot<\/em> - ascents). In this chapter, you\u2019ll find stairs at the entrance to the city (v. 6), 7 steps at the northern entrance gate to the courtyard (v. 22), and 8 steps upon which one ascends to the inner courtyard (verses 31, 34, and 37). In the Greek version to the chapter (the Septuagint), there are also 10 steps in the inner courtyard, going up to the Temple itself. Remember that this is sacred, symbolic architecture, so steps are not just a building style, they represent ascending in holiness.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Those who serve in holiness<\/em>. In verse 46 we find an exact description regarding who are \u201cthe priests who perform the duties of the altar\u2014they are the descendants of Zadok, who alone of the descendants of Levi may approach the LORD to minister to Him.\u201d More details as to who are worthy and permitted to come close and serve in holiness in the Temple - are in chapter 44.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to 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