Sacrifices: Chief Rabbi bans animals from being brought to Temple Mount
The Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, banned the bringing of animals up to the Temple Mount in an effort to prevent Jews from trying to bring Passover sacrifices on the holy site.
Tuesday’s announcement came one day after police arrested Rafael Morris, the leader of the Returning to the Mount movement, on suspicion he would try to offer a Paschal sacrifice on the holy site. The fringe group announced on Friday, as it does every year, that it would provide money to anyone who attempts to offer the sacrifice ahead of Passover, which begins on Wednesday night.
Jewish men take part in a sacrifice procession (‘korban’ in Hebrew) at the Cardo in the Old City of Jerusalem, March 10, 2016. Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90.
“The Western Wall Heritage Fund operates according to the instructions of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, which for generations has opposed any act of this kind, and in accordance with the authority of the Western Wall Rabbi, has been preventing such actions for years, and will continue to do so this year as well,” Rabbi Rabinowitz’s statement said.
This year, Passover and the Islamic holy month of Ramadan overlap, creating more potential for friction. Palestinian terror groups have vowed to respond with violence to any Jewish attempts to sacrifice an animal.
In a recent television interview, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Jews to visit the Temple Mount but said he did not agree with animal sacrifices.
Addressing Morris and his organisation, Ben-Gvir said, “Calm it. I’m not encouraging people to go there with a Passover sacrifice. Without a sacrifice — everyone can go.”
During the times of the First and Second Temple, Jews brought Paschal offerings on the eve of Passover. The goats and lambs slaughtered on the Temple Mount would then be eaten during the traditional Passover dinner commemorating the Exodus from Egypt.
The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, is the only remnant of a retaining wall encircling the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great and is the holiest site where Jews can freely pray. The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Temples were built, is the overall holiest site in Judaism.
For centuries, Jews did not visit the hilltop esplanade because of a rabbinic consensus that the laws of ritual purity still apply to the Temple Mount. But in recent years, a growing number of rabbis have argued that ritual purity laws do not apply to all sections of the Temple Mount and encourage visits to permitted areas to maintain Jewish connections to the Mount.
In September, the number of Jews visiting the Temple Mount crossed the 50,000 threshold for the first time in modern history, according to Beyadenu, an organisation working to advance Jewish ties to the holy site.
