Har Habayit in the shadow of the murder of Yitzchak Imes, hy"d

Today's visit to Har Habayit, being 7 Tishrei and the day of the monthly visit by the Bet Shemesh group, happened in the shadow of the recent murder of Yitzchak and Talia Imes from Beit Haggai.

I didn't realize before, when he was murdered, but I had met him previously. Imes was a regular visitor on Har Habayit, leading groups there at least twice a week. I have in the past been up on Har Habayit with him.

We had a small group, but we met up with a few other groups, mostly people from Kiryat Arba and Chevron area communities who were regulars with Yitzchak Imes hy"d, along with a group of Russians who were also regulars with Yitzchak Imes.

Imes had spent much of his energies with the Russian community, and with the general community, and with bringing people to Har Habayit. In today's group we had an unusually large number of people - 35!

While it might just be temporary (hopefully not), the police have relaxed some of their restrictions, such as the size of the group allowed up, in recent weeks. Also, the checks we go through are not as thorough and invasive. They also let us daven silently though obviously, just no public and loud prayer and nothing demonstrative.

It was a special opportunity to be able to go up and daven during the Aseres Ymei Teshuva, and in such a large group. May we be zoche for the restrictions to continue to be relaxed even further and more and more Jews continue to go up and daven in greater and greater numbers, until we are zoche to the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash.

This woman donates a lot of money to Machon Hamikdash. She is 7th generation Israeli, from Hebron, was celebrating her birthday today and asked us to daven for her son who is caught up in a cult, and her daughter who is having a difficult time getting pregnant. He rprayers should be answered.

From the Northern side

The spot of the mizbei'ach is now surrounded by a fence. It seems they already put up the sukka for the upcoming holiday. zerizin makdimim..