Volume I, Number 1, Spring 1997

VI. According to midrash Tanhuma: the Central Concept of the Temple
-- that it be built by Man.

The compiler of the Tosafot commentary to tractate Shavuot 15b adduces a source for the opinion that the Temple "will be built automatically" -- Tanhuma.

A systematic search of midrash Tanhuma reveals that there is no such source in Tanhuma. Unlike his usual custom, the compiler of Tosafot does not adduce the precise wording of the midrash, nor does he mention the section where the source is to be found. On the contrary, a scholar of Tanhuma finds a systematic train of thought proving the opposite.

The Third Temple will be Built by Israel and the Gentiles.

V. Tanhuma, Vayehi (Section X) to the verse: binding his foal to the vine, and his ass' colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes; his eyes are redder than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. (B'reshit 49:11) Here, the commentator explains that Israel, compared to a vine, will build the city and the gate of i.e., the gate of the Temple, and the entire Temple as well. V. also midrash Tanhuma, Vayikra 11:7, which says: "Why was this kingdom [Edom] compared to a pig? . . . because it will restore "our pristine glory" (this is the version of the Rishonim). Rabbeinu Bahye wrote in his commentary to explain this saying: "The First Temple was built by Solomon, of the seed of Judah; the Second Temple was built by Zerubavel . . . and it was actually carried out by Cyrus, who gave the necessary permission, but the Third Temple will be built by this nation [Edom], and this is the meaning of 'will restore our pristine glory,' for they destroyed it."

It thus turns out that midrash Tanhuma holds that the Temple will be rebuilt by human beings, i.e., Israel and the Gentiles as well.

The Almighty prefers the Temple and Vessels, built by man, to the Creation of Heaven and Earth.

This is not the place to expound at length on midrash Tanhuma's system of ideas, but a few sentences will suffice to demonstrate that in the opinion of the compiler of midrash Tanhuma, the essence of the Temple is its being built by man: "The Almighty longed to have a Residence on this earth" (Behukotai). This teaches us that the Almighty was, as it were, interested in only one thing -- to dwell on this earth, in our world.

The compiler of midrash Tanhuma adduces another revolutionary idea -- that the deeds of man in this world "are more desired and important than what the Almighty himself does" (Tanhuma, Tazria').

This concept is expressed in the following excerpt as well: that You longed for Your deeds. "Said the Almighty: I long for the candles that Aaron lights more than the luminaries I fixed in the heavens."

This excerpt, too, shows that Hashem longs for the simple deeds of flesh and blood living on this earth and worshipping his Creator to the best of his ability -- more than all the wonders the Almighty created in the universe.

Accordingly, the statement by the compiler of Tosafot to Shavuot 15b, to the effect that midrash Tanhuma's opinion is that "the future Temple is made automatically by the Heavenly Court," contradicts midrash Tanhuma's systematic view which stresses the very opposite, that Man's deeds are preferable before the Creator than the creation of the Heavens. (V. R. Sa'adia Gaon's Sefer HaMitzvot, by R. Yeruham Fischel Perla, who expresses his astonishment at this statement by Tosafot, and writes that there is no such source in midrash Tanhuma and that the sources in the Talmud and in the Rishonim prove the direct opposite.)

VII. The Opinion of the Zohar: the Lasting Precept
of Rebuilding the Temple -- is by Man.

The Zohar's opinion is that the eternal precept of rebuilding the Temple is entrusted to man, as stated in the Zohar, Vayishlah (170b): "Man has two hundred forty-eight organs in him, corresponding to the 248 positive precepts in the Torah, which we are commanded to perform." In light of this correspondence, the Zohar states in B'shallah (59b): "It is a precept to build a Holy Temple down below on this earth to resemble the supreme Holy Temple in Heaven." The Zohar in this explanation relies on the verse: "You have made a place for Your dwelling, Hashem; a Temple, Hashem, Your hands have established."

Furthermore, at the very opening of the introduction to the Zohar, we read: "I hereby swear to you [to the Nation of Israel] that I shall not enter [into the Temple of] Above until your people and your residents enter into you, into the Temple of Below, and may this be your comfort" [v. ibid. for this is a free translation].

We find a similar oath in the Zohar (Part III, 147b): "The Almighty swore he would not enter into Jerusalem of Above until the Jewish People enter into Jerusalem of Below." (and v. also Vayehi, Part I, 231a for a similar statement et al).

The opinion of the Zohar thus fully matches that of our Sages in the Bavli, Ta'anit (5) and elsewhere, that the Temple will be built by human beings.

Moreover, according to the Zohar, ever since the destruction of the Temple, Hashem has abandoned His Heavenly Temple, as it were, and is waiting outside until the Jews rise up and rebuild their Temple on this earth, for He considers His entrance into His Temple dependent upon the Jews' entry into theirs.

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