The great miracles of the Six-Day War can only be fully understood and appreciated if one internalizes the events that took place in the weeks leading up to June 1967. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser created a united front with Syria and Jordan, putting Israel in a choke-hold. The purpose and goal of this united front was clear: to destroy the Jewish state. There was real fear and even some panic in the Jewish world, as well as in the State of Israel. Memories of the Holocaust resurfaced, reminding the people of how real the threat of annihilation could be.The young state pleaded with King Hussein of Jordan to refrain from entering the war; he was promised by Prime Minister Levi Esh-kol that Israel would not attack first. The king, convinced by rumors he had heard on the radio that Egyptian forces were victorious, ignoredthe appeal. As news of the successful daring attack of the Israeli Air Force on the morning of June s spread around the world, fear and anxiety turned to relief and joy. However, nothing prepared Israel and the Jewish people for the dramatic events that took place two days later, when the Israeli army entered the Old City of Jerusalem and liberated Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount. Motta Gur, commander of the Paratroopers' Brigade, made a historic announcement on the radio: "Har HaBayit beyadein!""The Temple Mount is in our hands!" With Gur's permission, an Israeli flag was fastened to a pole topped with an Islamic crescent.However, total sovereignty over the holy site was not to last for long. Moshe Dayan, the defense minister at the time, standing on Mount Scopus, watched the events through binoculars. As the flag was raised he radioed Gur demanding that he remove the flag immediately. Affer the war, Dayan met with the Muslim wagf, who governed the site, and formally returned the Temple Mount to its control.Dayan and the Muslim leaders came to an arrangement: While Israel would be responsible for security, the waf (property endon-ment) would determine who would pray at the holy site. In other words although Jews would be allowed on the mount, they would be denied the right to pray. This status quo has remained in place ever since.The irony is that Moshe Dayan received support from the ch bis, who agreed with him that Jews should refrain from entering the Temple Mount. In the summer of 1967, a poster prohibiting entrance to the Temple Mount was published. The declaration was signed by mary rabbis, among them the chief rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Nisim and Ratb Unterman, Besides forbidding Jews from entering, the poste aboar the reasons behind the rabbis' strong opposition Way was it felt that Jews must not ascend the Temple Mount?
(טו) הַר הַבַּיִת מְקֻדָּשׁ מִמֶּנָּה שֶׁאֵין זָבִין וְזָבוֹת נִדּוֹת וְיוֹלְדוֹת נִכְנָסִין לְשָׁם. וּמֻתָּר לְהַכְנִיס הַמֵּת עַצְמוֹ לְהַר הַבַּיִת וְאֵין צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר טְמֵא מֵת שֶׁהוּא נִכְנָס לְשָׁם:
(טז) הַחֵיל מְקֻדָּשׁ מִמֶּנּוּ שֶׁאֵין עַכּוּ"ם וּטְמֵא מֵת וּבוֹעֵל נִדָּה נִכְנָסִים לְשָׁם:
(15) The Temple Mount is holier than [the city of Jerusalem]. Zavim, Zavot, Niddot, and women who have given birth may not enter there. [However,] a corpse may be brought into the Temple Mount and one has contracted ritual impurity from a corpse may definitely enter there.
(16) The chayl is holier than the Temple Mount. Gentiles and those who contracted impurity through contact with a corpse or engaging in sexual relations with a Niddah may not enter there.
בקדושה ראשונה שקדשה שלמה. א"א סברת עצמו היא זו ולא ידעתי מאין לו ובכמה מקומות במשנה אם אין מקדש ירקב ובגמ' אמרו דנפול מחיצות אלמא למ"ד קדושה ראשונה לא קדשה לעתיד לבא לא חלק בין מקדש לירושלים לשאר א"י ולא עוד אלא שאני אומר שאפילו לרבי יוסי דאמר קדושה שנייה קדשה לעתיד לבא לא אמר אלא לשאר א"י אבל לירושלים ולמקדש לא אמר לפי שהיה יודע עזרא שהמקדש וירושלים עתידים להשתנות ולהתקדש קידוש אחר עולמי בכבוד י"י לעולם כך נגלה לי מסוד יהוה ליראיו לפיכך הנכנס עתה שם אין בו כרת:
First, why does the Ra’avad say that there is no excision for entry into the Temple Mount, when he maintains that such entry is perfectly permissible? The Acharonim have dealt with his position; Rabbi Kook and others have argued that even the Ra’avad agrees that entering the Temple Mount is forbidden today by Torah law, though not on the level of excision. Other Acharonim maintain that according to the Ra’avad entering the Temple Mount is only forbidden by rabbinic decree.
(ז) אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהַמִּקְדָּשׁ הַיּוֹם חָרֵב בַּעֲוֹנוֹתֵינוּ חַיָּב אָדָם בְּמוֹרָאוֹ כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיָה נוֹהֵג בּוֹ בְּבִנְיָנוֹ. לֹא יִכָּנֵס אֶלָּא לְמָקוֹם שֶׁמֻּתָּר לְהִכָּנֵס לְשָׁם וְלֹא יֵשֵׁב בָּעֲזָרָה וְלֹא יָקֵל רֹאשׁוֹ כְּנֶגֶד שַׁעַר הַמִּזְרָח שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא יט ל) (ויקרא כו ב) "אֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁי תִּירָאוּ". מַה שְּׁמִירַת שַׁבָּת לְעוֹלָם אַף מוֹרָא מִקְדָּשׁ לְעוֹלָם שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁחָרֵב בִּקְדֻשָּׁתוֹ עוֹמֵד:
(7) Even though, the Temple is now in ruin because of our sins,36The Rambam uses the expressions "our sins," rather than "the sins of our ancestors," for all Israel, in every generation and every place, is one communal body.The usage of the term "our" also implies a deeper concept. Our Sages declared: "Whoever does not witness the rebuilding of the Temple in his days must consider as if it was destroyed in his days."The exile and the Temple's destruction were caused by the sins of the Jewish people. As soon as sin, the cause for the exile, is eradicated, the effect, the exile, will cease. Similarly, our Sages declared: "If Israel repents, she will immediately be redeemed." a person must hold its [site] in awe, as one would regard it when it was standing.[Therefore,] one should only enter a region which he is permitted to enter. He should not sit in [the area of] the Temple Courtyard, nor should he act frivolously when standing before [the place of] the eastern gate, as [implied by Leviticus 19:30]: "You shall observe My Sabbaths and you shall revere My Sanctuary." [Explaining the analogy between the two commands, the Sages comment:]37Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 6. "Just as the observance of the Sabbath [applies] for eternity, so too, the reverence for the Temple must be eternal. Even though it is in ruin, it remains holy."
The Meiri (Shavuot 16) says that the prevalent custom is to enter the site of the Temple. This, however, is a solitary opinion. It is clear that according to all the other Rishonim, entry into the Temple Mount is forbidden, whether by Torah law or only by rabbinic decree.
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik z”l explained that there are two aspects to the Temple: the Temple as the site of the sacrificial service, and the Temple as God’s chosen abode. Jerusalem was established as God’s chosen place for all times; hence, even today, when its sanctity is nullified, and one is forbidden to offer sacrifices there, it is still forbidden to offer sacrifices elsewhere, because Jerusalem remains God’s chosen abode. According to this explanation, it is possible that even if the sanctity necessary for the offering of sacrifices is no longer valid, there is still a mitzva to revere the Temple, even according to the Ra’avad.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef forbids visiting the Temple Mount for some of the reasons discussed above.!' In fact, he tells a story about the great Jewish philanthropist, Sir Moses Montefiore, who entered the Temple Mount on his visit to Israel in the year 1856. As a result, certain rabbis declared a herem (excommunication) on him. Even though it was later lifted as result of Montefiore's admission of his mistake, we can see how delicate and sensitive this matter was at all times.
Due to an understanding that keeping guard on the Temple Mount is an action of pikuah nefesh (saving lives), Rabbi Elyashiv permitted soldiers to walk on all areas of the mount. At the same time, he argued, the soldiers and police should only ascend the mount after immersion in a mikve. They should not wander around for no reason, they should wear shoes without leather, and they should observe the commandment of Mora HaMikdash to the best of their ability.Interestingly enough, Rabbi Elyashiv argued that it is preferable for the observant soldiers to guard the Temple Mount itself, as they would take precautions to keep the laws of Mora HaMikdash.
The prayers taking place by the Western Wall symbolize the exile of the Jewish people and our expulsion from the Temple Mount.However, prayers on the Temple Mount symbolize the return of our people to their land and the site of the Temple."