Of the various sources in the Hagiographa we shall adduce only one which expresses Rashi's view simply and explicitly. This is Rashi's commentary on the verse in Ecclesiastes, One who loves money never has enough money: One who loves the precepts [of Torah] never has enough of them. "[But if among the precepts he has performed, there is not] one certain, noteworthy precept, such as the rebuilding of the Temple -- . . . then this, too, is valueless . . . Thus are these two verses explained in the Midrash." In other words, all the Torah precepts one performs in this world are "valueless," unless he performs a lasting precept: "certain, noteworthy . . . such as the rebuilding of the Temple."
This means that the rebuilding of the Temple is, in Rashi's opinion, something to be performed by human beings, and it is the greatest and most important precept on this earth for anyone worthy of rebuilding it with his own hands.
Our conclusion: in the Torah, in the Prophets and in the Hagiographa Rashi rules that the Third Temple is to be built by human beings.
The following is a selection of excerpts from Talmudic tractates, showing the consistent opinion of our Talmudic sages who were of the opinion that the Temple would be built by man.
a. Tractate B'rakhot: -- the reconstruction of Your Temple -- by human beings.
In tractate B'rakhot (29a) there appears the wording of a 'short prayer', to be recited when time is at a premium. Concerning the building of Jerusalem and the appearance of the Messianic king, the 'prayer' reads: ". . . and may the righteous rejoice in the building of Your city and in the reconstruction of Your Temple, and in the appearance of a horn for David, Your servant." It does not read: ". . . and may the righteous rejoice in the descent of Your Temple from Heaven," but rather, "in the building . . . and in the reconstruction . . ." -- all before the Messianic era, for the appearance of the horn comes after the reconstruction of the Temple. In other words, the building of Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the Temple will both be carried out by flesh and blood.
b. Tractate Ta'anit: when the Jewish people build the Temple on earth, the Almighty will enter the Heavenly Temple.
There is a saying that appears a few times in the Talmud, in the Midrash and in the Zohar, as follows: "The Almighty will not enter Heavenly Jerusalem until earthly Jerusalem is rebuilt."
A similarly phrased saying appears in tractate Ta'anit (5a; v. Dikdukei Sofrim, ibid.), stating that as long as the Jewish people do not rebuild earthly Jerusalem and its Temple, the Almighty will not enter Heavenly Jerusalem.
c. Tractate Ketuvot: a Temple built by the righteous is beloved of the Almighty -- as if He had built it with His own hands.
In tractate Ketuvot (5a) we read that "with regard to the work done by the righteous [i.e., the work in reconstructing the Temple] it is written: The Temple, Hashem, Your hands have built." Rashi explains there: "the Temple -- is the work done by the righteous," and he adds: "work performed by the righteous is work performed by the Almighty." In other words, the affection the Almighty feels for the work performed by the righteous in the reconstruction of the Temple is so great that he terms the work they do "the work of his hands." This teaches us that a Temple built by human beings in this world is preferable to the possibility of a Temple descending from Heaven.
d. Tractate Middot: the reconstruction of the Third Temple -- by Man.
The clearest indication that the third Temple will be built by human beings is the fact that our Sages saw fit to teach in tractate Middot for posterity the exact plan of the Temple: the courts, the bureaus, the Holy of Holies and the precise measurements of the Temple and Courts. This shows that this tractate is the plan of the Third Temple, which must be built in the same format.
This is what Maimonides writes in his Introduction to the Mishna, that tractate Middot merely deals with the measurements, the form and the construction of the Temple. This is useful for when it is rebuilt, it must retain the same form and the same proportions." Maimonides makes it clear that the Temple will be built by human beings, who are to retain in its construction the form and measurements given in Middot.
Tractate Middot is thus a narrative of the past, but rather practical information for the future.
e. Tractate Shavuot: the rebuilding of the Third Temple and the expansion of its Courtyards -- are to be done by Man.
In tractate Shavuot 16, the Talmud considers the possibility of expanding the wall of the Courtyard during the days just before the Feast of Weeks -- Shevuot. The discussion does not relate to the First and Second Temples which have already been destroyed; it deals with the Third Temple -- may it speedily be built, in our time! Now, if they want to expand the Courtyard before Shevuot, they must act so that the expanded Courtyard be sanctified.
The entire discussion deals with the expansion of the Third Temple -- and thus, in the midst of this discussion as well as in his commentary on Sukka (40a), the commentator Rashi defines this construction explicitly, as construction by human beings, v. ibid.
