Jerusalem and Temple (was Kol Isha)

[Elrosen <Elrosen...>]

<<But it is no longer the absolute dead center of our religious faith and 
practice..>>

If the symbols in Jewish observances alluding to Jerusalem were only symbols of 
a by-gone era, then why would Jews pray three times daily (not to mention when 
bentching after meals) for the rebuilding of Jersusalem and the Temple as well 
as the reinstatement of its service? It is true that some changes in communal 
structure had to be made, for instance the rising importance of the synagogue, 
because of the exile, but these have always been seen only as necessary 
measures in order to preserve Torah in the Diaspora. The ideal is and has 
always been to go back to Jerusalem and buildthe Third and final Temple. It is 
only because of political and religious reasons (ritual impurity...) that it 
has not been built even today. The centrality of Jerusalem is also why many 
times a d'var Torah or book of Jewish responsa or laws will end with a prayer 
for the rebuilding of the Temple and the words "bimheira b'yameinu (speedily in 
our days)..."

Gut Shabbos,
Elie
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