Can we rebuild the Beis Hamikdash today?

(16) And this commandment is practiced at the time that most of Israel is upon their land. And this is from the commandments that are not impingent upon the individual, but rather upon all of the community. When the Temple is built, speedily in our days, a positive commandment will be fulfilled.

The Gemara attempts to bring another proof with regard to this issue. Come and hear a resolution to this issue based upon the following baraita: Abba Shaul says: The upper story of the chamber of the Holy of Holies is more stringent with regard to the prohibition to enter it than the chamber of the Holy of Holies itself. How so? With regard to the chamber of the Holy of Holies, the High Priest would enter it once a year on Yom Kippur in order to offer the incense and sprinkle the blood between the staves of the ark, whereas the upper story of the chamber of the Holy of Holies is not entered except for once in seven years; and some say twice in seven years, and some say just one time in a Jubilee, i.e., once in fifty years, to see what it needs in case there are renovations that must be done. This indicates that the sanctity of the upper story was even greater than that of the Sanctuary itself. Rav Yosef said: Can a person get up and ask based on the Sanctuary? The Sanctuary is different, as it is written: “Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the Entrance Hall of the Temple, and of its houses, and of its treasuries, and of its upper rooms, and of its inner chambers, and of the place of the ark cover” (I Chronicles 28:11), and it is written with regard to the plans for the construction of the Temple: “All this is put in writing by the hand of the Lord, Who has instructed me” (I Chronicles 28:19). Therefore, the general rules of sanctity of roofs do not apply to the Sanctuary, as the details of its construction were determined through divine inspiration.

(1) The altar is placed extremely precisely and may never ever be placed anywhere else as it says "This is the Altar for the offerings of Israel." And it was in the temple that Isaac was bound as it says "and go to the land of Moriah" and it says "Solomon built the temple on Mt. Moriah."

(2) And it is a tradition accepted by all, that the place where David and Solomon built the altar at the threshing floor of Arauna was the place that Abraham built the altar and bound Isaac upon it, and that was the place that Noah built upon when he left the ark, and that was the altar upon which Kain and Abel sacrificed, and upon which Adam the First sacrificed when he was created. And from there was born the saying of the sages that "Man was created from the place of his atonement."

(3) The measurements of the Altar are very exact and its shape is known [by tradition] from man to man. The altar that those who ascended from the [Babylonian] exile built was made like the one which will be built in the future. It is forbidden to add or subtract from its dimensions.

(4) Of the three prophets who ascended with them from the exile, one testified as to the Altar's location, one to its dimensions, and one to the Law that the could bring offerings on the altar even though the there was no Temple [yet].

(2) [...] The words of the Rambam are correct that one who enters the place of the mikdash is liable for karet because we are all tamei met.

(4) Now, if a king should arise from the House of David who is versed in Torah and engages in Commandments, as did David his forefather, in accordance with both the Written and the Oral Torahs, and he enjoins all of Israel to follow in its ways and encourages them to repair its breaches, and he fights the Wars of G-d¹²⁸I.e. he defends Israel., then he may be presumed to be the Messiah. If he succeeds in his efforts and defeats the enemies around and builds the Sanctuary in its proper place and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah.

(3) During the days of King Messiah, when he will be secure in his monarchy, and all of Israel will gather about him, everyone’s genealogy will be clarified by him by means of the Holy Spirit which will rest upon him, as it says, “And he shall sit as a purifier and refiner…” (Malachi 3:3). The Sons of Levi will be the first to be purified¹⁴⁵Their lineage will be determined first., and he will say, “this one has the pedigree of a Kohen, and this one has the pedigree of a Levite”. He will reject those who have no (true) lineage¹⁴⁶As Levites and Kohanim. and make them Israelites, as it says, “And the Tirashoso said to them…until a Kohen will arise with the Urim and Tumim” (Ezra 2:63). You have now learned that those with a pedigree will be confirmed, and lineage will be made known, by means of the Holy Spirit. He will not ascertain the ancestry of Israel except regarding which tribe they are from, and inform us that this one is from such and such a tribe and that one is from such and such a tribe. But, he will not tell us whether someone presumed of legitimate pedigree is a bastard or a slave. For the Law is that the family which had someone assimilate within it, assimilates him¹⁴⁷Lit., “the family which became assimilated, assimilates.” The commentary in the Rambam La’am says “remains in its presumption of legitimate lineage”..

(17) You will bring them and plant them in Your own mountain, The place You made to dwell in, O LORD, The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands established.

(1) ... And so did Rav Shmuel bar Abba say, "The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, 'Even though the Temple is destined to be destroyed in the future and the sacrifices to be nullified, do not [allow] yourselves to forget the order of the sacrifices; but rather be careful to read about them and review them. And if you occupy yourselves with them, I will count it for you as if you were occupied with the sacrifices [themselves].'" And if you want to know [that this is so], come and see that when the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Yechezkel the form of the [Temple], what did He say? "Describe the [Temple] to the House of Israel; let them be ashamed of their iniquities, and measure the plan" (Ezekiel 43:10). Yehezkel [responded] to the Holy One, blessed be He, "Until now, we are put into exile in the land of our enemies; and You say to me to go and inform Israel [about] the form of the [Temple], and 'write [it] in their eyes, and they should preserve its form and all of its statutes [and do them]' (Ezekiel 43:11). And are they able to do [them]? Leave them until they emerge from the exile, and afterwards, I will go and tell them." [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yechezkel, "And because My children are in exile, the building of My [Temple] should be idle?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Its reading in the Torah is as great as its building. Go and say it to them, and they will occupy themselves to read the form of the [Temple] in the Torah. And in reward for its reading, that they occupy themselves to read about it, I count it for them as if they were occupied with the building of the [Temple]."