I have been reading about the Western Wall, a holy site in Judaism, and wonder?

Question

how accurate is the story of its destruction? Is that what really happened? Is the reason why it hasn't been restored because of religious beliefs such as the coming of the Messiah (a belief in Judaism as I understand it)?

Answer 1

The first temple (Solomon's Temple) was destroyed on the 9th day of the 9th month (the month of "Av" in the Jewish calendar) in 586 (BCE) by the Persians.

In the year 70 (CE) the second temple (Herrod's Temple) was destroyed by the Romans, once again on the 9th of Av. This led to the Jewish expulsions known as the diaspora. In the intervening centuries the Temple Mount (where both temples stood -- a location chosen by both David and Solomon) stood empty.

But with the rise of Islam, the mount was taken over by Muslims who maintain that the prophet Mohammed had a vision on this mount, and was taken to heaven from this place. They built a mosque of the location of the two temples (The Dome of the Rock) and it still stands to this day.

The reason the third temple has not been built is because it would need to be built on the temple mount which is occupied by the mosque. The muslims hold this ground to be holy and are not about to give it up. And the Israelis are not about to destroy the third holiest shrine in Islam, because they know it will mean war with the entire Muslim world.

So all that remains of the second temple is part of the retaining wall at the very base of the mount. This is as close as the Jews can get to having the temple -- and so the "Western Wall" is a place of pilgrimage to Jews the world over.

The actual rebuilding of the physical temple is now of importance only to a small handful of ultra-orthodox Jews. Most other Jews see Israel proper as "The Third Temple." Many Jewish scholars harkening back to the prophet Jeremiah (who said that the time would come when Jews would no longer require the Ark of the Covenent as a symbol of God's presence among men) concur with this belief. The state of Israel, they maintain, IS the third temple.

Hope this answer helps. Cheers, mate.

Answer 2

We don't know the accuracy of the story of its destruction; all we can do is trust the Roman records of its destruction.

The major reason it hasn't been restored is that there's a very holy Islamic shrine(the Dome of the Rock) on the grounds where the rebuilt Temple would need to be.

Answer 3

There's more to it - When Israel reunited Jerusalem, it immediately bestowed an exclusive unconditional ownership and control over Al-Aqsa mosque to the Islamic Waqf. This gesture was taken for granted by the Muslims, even though in the reversed situation they didn't allow access to the western wall for Jews.

Answer 4

The western wall is actually a retaining wall for Antonio's fortress at the time of Christ.
It is the belief that the Messiah will rebuild the Temple when he comes.
Naturally they are looking for His first coming and we, As Christians, for His second.
Still it fascinates me that we are both waiting on the same thing.

Answer 5

actually there were attempts to rebuild the Temple after 70 CE.

First was the second Jewish revolt in led by Bar Kokhba in 135 when he temporally overthrew Roman rule in Judah. Ultimately the goal was to rebuild the temple.



also the Roman emperor Julian (361-363) to allow the Jews to rebuild the temple but it was stopped by rioting of Christian groups.

since then Christians and latter Moslem's that controlled Jerusalem did not allow the temple to be rebulit.