According to CNN, the Pope, Pope Francis, has decided to return three pieces form the Parthenon that have been in the papal collections for over a century. These pieces are dated to be 2500 years old. The Pope said he is giving these pieces to Greece, specifically to the head of the Greek Orthodox Church as a gesture of ecumenical dialogue. 

this is fascinating. in the sifting project that sifts through the dirt and rubble removed from the Temple Mount area by the Arabs, archaeologists have discovered pieces of marble flooring. After dating them and piecing them together, they realize they have discovered tiles from the floor of the Second Temple!

the tiles the pieced together indicate there were [at least] three different designs of tiles used in the Temple areas:





source: Walla, TOI

A lawyer representing the various organizations concerned about issues of the mikdash sent an interesting letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday.

The letter asks Netanyahu to place the golden 7-branched menora, located currently in the Old City near the stairs leading down to the Kotel, on har HaBayit....

Here is the letter in Hebrew, and I will translate it below.

כז כסלו התשע"ג 11.12.12​מבלי לפגוע בזכויות

​דחוף – למסירה אישית

לכב'

מר בנימין נתניהו, ראש הממשלה

משרד ראש הממשלה

ירושלים

באמצעות פקס / אימייל

הנדון: הצבת מנורת שבעת הקנים בהר הבית

מרשי, המטה המשותף של תנועות הר הבית והמקדש, מילאו את ידי לפנות אליך כדלקמן:

השבוע לפני 2150 שנה נכנסו החשמונאים למקדש בהר הבית בירושלים, הציבו את מנורת שבעת הקנים והדליקו את נר התמיד, שדלק במשך שמונה ימים. בשנה לאחר מכן נקבעו שמונת הימים הללו כחג לעם היהודי לדורותיו – חג החנוכה.

לפני 45 שנה חזרו היהודים להר הבית. הר הבית נמצא מאז תחת ריבונותה ושלטונה של מדינת היהודים – מדינת ישראל, לראשונה מאז חורבן בית שני לפני כ – 2000 שנה. זוהי "שיבת ציון" האמיתית.

ואולם, מאז מלחמת ששת הימים ושחרור הר הבית, מנעה ממשלת ישראל מיהודים לקיים את מצוות התורה בהר הבית, מקום המקדש – בדומה לשליטים הזרים ששלטו בהר הבית מאז חורבנו בשנת 70 לספירה.

העובדה שהשלטון המונע מיהודים לקיים את דתם ומצוות התורה בהר הבית הוא ממשלה של מדינת חוק דמוקרטית, הטוענת לשמירה על זכויות האדם, ואף יותר מכך – מדינה יהודית – מעצים את האבסורד הבלתי נתפס הזה.

מרשי פועלים בעקביות ובנחישות להחזרת הפולחן היהודי להר הבית כחוק. בהקשר זה מבקשים מרשי להציב את המנורה בת שבעת הקנים במקומה המקורי על פי תורת משה – בדרום ההיכל שעל הר הבית.

להזכירך – מנורה זו היא גם סמל המדינה.

אני מצרף בזאת שרטוט המצביע על מיקומה של המנורה בהר הבית של היום: בצד הדרום - מזרחי של "כיפת הסלע".

במנורה שתוצב במקום ההיכל המקורי ידליקו את הנר המערבי, נר התמיד, מידי יום ביומו בשעת בין הערביים ובשחרית, ביחד עם שאר הנרות.

יש חשיבות רבה להצבת המנורה בחג החנוכה. יהיה בכך סגירת מעגל, אות ומופת לשיבת עם ישראל לארצו ולהקמתה של מדינת חוק ריבונית, יהודית ודמוקרטית בארץ ישראל, היא מדינת ישראל.

המנורה אשר תוצב במקום ההיכל לא תפגע בכל זכות של בני עמים אחרים בהר הבית – ההיפך הוא הנכון: המנורה תעיד כי גם ליהודים מובטח חופש הדת בהר הבית, דבר שנשלל מהם שלא כדין במשך 45 שנה האחרונות, בהמשך להדרתם מהר הבית ב – 2000 שנה שקדמו לכך.

בנאומים רבים שנשאת בארץ וברחבי העולם, חזרת ואמרת כי במדינת ישראל מתקיים חופש הדת לבני כל הדתות. בעוד שלגבי נוצרים, מוסלמים ובני דתות אחרות הצהרה זו היא אמת לאמיתה, ביחס ליהודים, ועוד במקום הקדוש ביותר לכל יהודי עלי אדמות – הר הבית – הצהרה זו אינה אמת. בהר הבית אין כיום חופש דת ליהודים, כלל ועיקר. הצבת המנורה בהר הבית, במקום ההיכל, תהווה את הצעד הראשון לתיקון עיוות מהותי זה.

הינך מתבקש להורות לכל הגורמים הנוגעים בדבר לאפשר למרשי להציב את המנורה במקום ההיכל בהר הבית עוד בימי חג חנוכה זה, ואם לא ניתן – במועד המוקדם ביותר האפשרי.

בכבוד רב,

אביעד ויסולי עו״ד

העתק: ​שר הדתות

​שר המשפטים

​השר לעניינים אסטרגיים

​שר החוץ

​השר לבטחון הפנים

​שר החינוך

ועדת השרים לענייני הר הבית

​מפכ"ל משטרת ישראל

​ראש השב"כ

​ראש עיריית ירושלים

​תנועות הר הבית והמקדש

This week 2150 years ago the Hashmonites entered the Temple on Har HaBayit in Jerusalem and they placed the seven-branched menora and lit the ner tamid, that lasted for eight days. The following year they established an eight day holiday for the Jewish people for future generations - the holiday of Hannukah.

45 years ago the Jews returned to Har Habayit. Har Habayit has always since then been under the control and authority of the country of the Jews - the State of Israel, for the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple 2000 years ago. This is the true "return to Zion".

Yet, since the Six Day War and the liberation of Har Habayit, the government of Israel has prevented the Jews from fulfilling the Torah-commanded mitzvos related to har Habayit, the place of the Temple - similar to the foreign rulers wh controlled Har Habayit since the destruction in year 70 BC.

The fact that the government that prevents Jews from fulfilling their religion and mitzvos is a government of democratic law, one that claims to protect human rights, and even more so is a Jewish state strengthens the absurdity.

My clients are working with dedication to bring back Jewish worship to Har Habayit, in accordance with the law. In this vein they request to place the 7-branched menora in its original place, according to the Torah of Moshe - in the southern chamber that is on Har Habayit.

To remind you - this menora is the symbol of the State.

Attached is a sketch pointing out the location of the menora on Har Habayit today: on the south-east side of the Dome of the Rock.

On the menora that will be placed in the original place the western candle, the ner tamid, will be lit every day in both the evening and the morning, together with the rest of the candles.

There is great importance to placing the menora there during the holiday of Hannukah. This would be a closing of the circle, a sign of the return of our nation to its land, and to the establishment of a lawful state, Jewish and democratic in the land of Israel, the State of Israel.

The menora that will be placed there will not harm in any way the rights of people of other nations on Har Habayit - the opposite is true: The menora will testify that the Jews are also promised freedom of religion on har Habayit, something that has been withheld from them for the past 45 years, in continuation of there banishment in the 2000 years that preceded it.

In the many speeches that you have given in Israel and around the world, you have repeatedly said that in Israel there is freedom of religion for those of all the religions. While for Christians and Muslims and other religions that statement is very true, but regarding the Jews, and even more so at the holiest place to jews in the land  - Har Habayit - this declaration is not true. On Har Habayit today there is no freedom of religion for Jews, at all. Placing the menora on Har Habayit, in the place of the heichal, will be the first step to correct this significant problem. You are requested to instruct those affected by this to permit my clients to place the menora in the place of the heichal, during this Hannukah holiday, and if that is not possible at the earliest time possible...


I like it. Let's see what PM Netanyahu does. I expect he will ignore it, but this is the perfect time for him to adopt this project - right before elections, Israel is already making moves that we know will upset the Palestinians, and by extension the rest of the world, we are already in the mode of actions in response to the Palestinan vote in the UN on November 29... this is the perfect next step, in my opinion.

Along the same underground path, what is being called a sewage lane, near Har Habayit coming from the Shiloach Pool of Ir David, where the 2000 year old Golden Bell was recently found, the archaeologists just made another fascinating discovery.

They found a  2000 year old iron sword inside a leather sheath. The archaeologists think the sword was one belonging to the Romans who were here at the time.

In addition, they found in the dirt of the path an earthenware vessel that had etched into it an image of the menora.

While images of the menora have often been used to try to determine what the original menora looked like, as that issue is subject to a machloket, I am not sure how this image could be used to help make that determination. The image has only 5 branches rather than the 7 we know it should have. It looks like it might have been hastily etched. As well, while the arms seem to be more straight than rounded, it is possible that it was simply too difficult to make an accurate depiction while etching, likely with crude materials rather than by a professional with proper materials for a real rendering. They point to the base as well, and to the flat strip across the top of the branches as possibly being indicative of how the original menora might have appeared.
(source: Ladaat)

This past week has been a major week for Israeli archaeology.

1. A 3000 year old altar was discovered in the digs of Tel Tzafit, near the biblical city of Gat. Gat was a Philistine city, and the archaeologists see the altar as being indicative of how close the culture of the local Jews was to the culture of the Philistines, as the Philistines clearly designed their altar similar to the way Jewish altars were designed.

From Haaretz:

3,000-year-old altar uncovered at Philistine site suggests cultural links to Jews
Head of the archeological dig on Tel Tzafit Prof. Aren Maeir says the find indicates that the two peoples thought of as bitter enemies may have been closer than we think.

A stone altar from the 9th century BCE was found in an archeological dig on Tel Tzafit, a site identified with the biblical Philistine city of Gat. The altar is reminiscent of Jewish altars from the same period and sheds light on the cultural links between the two peoples, who fought each other for centuries.

The altar is approximately one meter tall, half a meter wide and half a meter long. It was found by a team of diggers led by Prof. Aren Maeir of the Land of Israel and Archaeology studies at Bar-Ilan University. The most outstanding features of the altar are a pair of horns on its front and a cornice in the middle. Its form is reminiscent of the descriptions of the Jewish altars in the scriptures, with the most noticeable difference being that the altar in the Temple was described as having four horns, while the Gat altar has only two.
Maeir said Monday the altar demonstrates the cultural proximity between the two nations, traditionally cast as the most bitter of enemies in the scriptures. “Every group continues defining itself distinctly, but there’s intensive interaction. Think about Samson for a second,”

he said. “It doesn’t matter if the story is real or not. It’s true he kills them and they kill him, but on the other hand, he does marry a Philistine woman and take part in their weddings.”

“The altar a small, but an impressive and special window into the Philistine and Israelite cultures of the time in general, and their rituals in particular. It’s not every day we find items from the biblical times so closely related to items described in the biblical text.”

2. A nearly 2000 year old Second Temple ossuary that was being held in private hands was returned to antiquities authorities. He claimed to have bought the ossuary from a dealer a number of years ago, and he says he kept the box in his bedroom until a friend told him that it is an ancient coffin that was used to hold bones a year after burial. At that point he decided he didn't want a coffin in his bedroom.

From Haaretz:

A Tel Aviv resident returned a Second Temple period artifact to the Antiquities Authority after realizing the item was an ossuary.

The man, who works in the field of art and design, contacted the authority inspectors at his own initiative, saying he purchased the ossuary from an antiquities dealer some time ago. He told them he kept the ancient artifact in his bedroom, until one of his friends told him this was a small coffin used to store bones a year after the burial. He said he was repelled by the thought that he slept with a coffin in his room.

The authority's experts determined that the ossuary was fashioned by Jerusalem stonemasons in the years before the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. It has two carved rosettes and its original color was yellow. The experts believe it was stolen from a burial cave in or near Jerusalem, and sold to antiquities dealers.

3. A 2000 year old golden bell was discovered in Jerusalem under Robinson's Arch. It was found on what was the central path in the Second Temple leading from the Shiloah Pools in Ir David to the Temple Mount. While not having any definitive proof, the experts believe it is likely this bell had fallen off the robes of the Kohen Gadol.

From JPost:

A golden bell ornament that archeologists believed belonged to a priest or important leader from the Second Temple period, was found in an ancient drainage channel in ruins next to the Western Wall on Thursday, the Antiquities Authority announced.

The small bell, which has a loop for attaching to clothing or jewelry, was found underneath Robinson’s Arch. The area underneath the arch was formerly the central road of Jerusalem, which led from the Shiloah Pools in the City of David to the Old City and the Temple Mount.

The excavations were led by the Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and financed by the City of David Foundation, which runs the archeological park across the street.

“It seems the bell was sewn on the garment worn by a high official in Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period (first century CE),” the excavation’s lead archeologists, the Antiquities Authority’s Eli Shukron and Prof.

Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, said in a statement. “The bell was exposed inside Jerusalem’s main drainage channel at that time, among the layers of earth that had accumulated along the bottom of it.”

They believed that the bell fell off the official’s clothing while he was walking along the road and rolled into the drainage channel, where it has sat for nearly 2,000 years.

The archeologists based their findings on the biblical verse: “And upon the skirts of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about.” (Exodus 28:34,36)

The Ir David people recorded the bell:



Amazing, listening to the chiming of a 2000 year old bell, that was probably hanging from the robe of a kohen gadol.

Headline Of The Day


-- Haaretz

the article is far more boring than the headline sounds like it would be...

The Machon HaMikdash, or the Temple Institute, in the Old City of Jerusalem, has now built a model of the Mizbei'ach.

The challenge for creating a mizbeiach has always been the issue that the stones cannot come into contact with iron. They collected stones for the altar from the Dead Sea. Perhaps because they can find large tones there whose sides have been smoothed down by the water. I find it particularly interesting, as you can see in the video, they used a shovel that was plated with gold, so the sand they were going to be using as filler would not come into contact with the iron of the shovel.



Here you can see images of the final product.

A few days ago it was reported that an Ethiopian Patriarch was considering revealing the secret of the Lost Ark, and the Ark itself, and how his church has been holding it for thousands of years, and would likely do so on Friday in Italy.

Turns out he preferred keeping the secret (or had nothing to show) and said nothing on Friday. He had not even scheduled a press conference.

World Net Daily has the whole story. Nobody knows what is true and what is not, but it is definitely a fascinating story....

The agency had reported an announcement would be made at the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome, and a hotel spokeswoman told WND Pauolos had been in residence there, but no news conference or event was scheduled.

"The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries," said Pauolos in the report. "As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now."

Bob Cornuke, biblical investigator, international explorer and best-selling author, has participated in more than 27 expeditions around the world searching for lost locations described in the Bible. A man some consider a real-life Indiana Jones, he has written a book titled "Relic Quest" about the Ark of the Covenant and participated in History Channel production called "Digging for Truth."

Next week, Cornuke will travel to Ethiopia for the 13th time since he began his search for the Ark. He told WND he believes it is possible Ethiopia could have the real artifact.

"They either have the Ark of the Covenant or they have a replica that they have believed to be the Ark of the Covenant for 2,000 years," he said.

Cornuke said, if it is genuine, there's a plausible explanation of how the Ark may have come to the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Ethiopia.

"The Ark could have been taken out of the temple during the time of the atrocities of Manasseh," he said. "We have kind of a bread crumb trail that appears to go to Egypt, and it stayed on an island there for a couple hundred years called Elephantine Island. The Ark then was transferred over to Lake Tana in Ethiopia where it stayed on Tana Qirqos Island for 800 years. Then it was taken to Axum, where it is enshrined in a temple today where they don't let anybody see it." Cornuke said he traveled to Tana Qirqos Island and lived with monks who remain there even today.

"They unlocked this big, four-inch thick wood door," he said. "It opened up to a treasure room, and they showed me meat forks and bowls and things that they say are from Solomon's temple. When the History Channel did this show, they said it was one of the largest viewed shows. People were fascinated."

He said Ethiopians consider the Ark to be the ultimate holy object, and the church guards the suspected artifact from the "eyes and pollution of man."

"In Ethiopia, their whole culture is centered around worshipping this object," Cornuke said. "Could they have the actual Ark? I think I could make a case that they actually could."
[...]
Cornuke explained that a special guardian lives inside the church which reportedly holds the Ark and never leaves. Once a guardian is appointed, he stays until he dies and another man replaces him.

"We know for a fact that there have been 30 guardians in history who have never left that enclosure," Cornuke said. "I know the guardian. When CNN and BBC went over there, he wouldn't see anybody but me. So I went and talked to him, and he's getting very aged. He told me they have the real Ark and he worships 13 hours a day in front of it. When he gets through, he is covered in sweat and he's exhausted."

He said he met a 105-year-old man who claimed to have seen the Ark 50 years ago when he was training a replacement guardian.

"It frightened him to death when he got a glimpse of it."

Cornuke said he also met with the president of Ethiopia nearly nine years ago and had a one-on-one conversation with him in his palace. He asked if Ethiopia had the Ark of the Covenant.

According to Cornuke, the president responded: "Yes, we do. I am the president, and I know. It's not a copy. It's the real thing."