Feasts of Judaism

8th September 2010, hej

This Article: (4 Pages)

1. Feasts Appointed by God
2. Sefirat Ha'omer - Shavuot
3. Rosh Hashanah, Cast thy bread:... Tashlikh
4. Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement

4) Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement

Of Separation & Absence, Covering & Presence

This year I put aside time to ponder Yom Kippur. My experience is that when we write, or draw, or make something, we concretise more than the mere thought itself. The act of writing is an act of discovery. Thought is ephemeral cloud. Impromptu speech is like a wind, but writing is a dialogue like that of a sword or a stone.

In English the day is called the day of Atonement. Atonement is an aggregate word, at-one-ment introduced by William Tyndale when translating the Hebrew of the Bible into English. It is absolutely revealing that English had no word at all for the Hebrew idea. Until the Bible became part of the lives of people who spoke English there was no common understanding in the Anglo-culture of the meaning behind Yom Kippur. It may be argued that the process has been two-way as the English word has been taken up by Judaism in the English speaking diaspora and it has enriched understanding there. It, however, is debatable whether the English word 'atonement' captures the shades of the meaning of the Hebrew word 'kippur'.

The word is related to the one used for Noah's actions covering the ark in pitch (bitumen, which is still used as a waterproofing agent). The covering of the huge wooden box with pitch was a significant part of Noah's salvation from flood waters. Noah and his family were sealed in the box and separated from other humanity.

A similar word is used of the manna in the wilderness which like frost covered the ground. That was a significant part of the salvation of the Israelite nation. Mana came from heaven to cover the earth, which, in the language of the prophets, is the people, with life giving food. This covering was given six days with a double measure for the seventh, only while the people were in the wilderness, absent from the Land.

The Torah portion begins on a sobering note with the death of the sons of Aaron who failed to serve in the way appointed. It is even more sobering to realise that this transgression resulted in a command restricting Aaron's approach within the veil of the Most Holy to once a year. The high priest was separated except for one day of the year from the Holy presence by a veil, or a covering.

Levitcus 16:1-34 (1) And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; (2) And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. (3) Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. (4) He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. (5) And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. (6) And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. (7) And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (8) And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. (9) And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. (10) But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. (11) And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: (12) And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: (13) And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: (14) And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. (15) Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: (16) And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. (17) And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. (18) And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. (19) And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. (20) And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: (21) And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: (22) And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. (23) And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: (24) And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. (25) And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. (26) And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. (27) And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. (28) And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. (29) And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: (30) For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. (31) It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. (32) And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: (33) And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. (34) And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

The separation was accentuated by the public ritual that was the process of approach. Aaron could only go in there after washing himself and putting on the prescribed garments and with the prescribed offering of a bullock and a ram.

The very first animal slain was given as kethôneth (katheph) or a covering to Adam and Eve. Then they were separated from the tree of life, and absent from Eden the pleasant Land.

All the people of Israel were part of this ritual as they were to bring a ram and two goats for a sin offering. Aaron (or the subsequent high priest) bring the goats to the presence of the Holy as representative of the nation and casts lots for the 2 he-goats and separates them.

Aaron first offers the bullock for himself and his house, indicating that they also are sinners in need of forgiveness, and must be first covered and reconciled to God and brought into his presence before they can act for the people. And with incense as a cloud screen or covering he enters the Most Holy through the covering curtain which separates and sprinkles the blood of his offering there.

Then the kid goat of the people is offered, and it's blood is also taken behind the covering into the Presence. After the whole place of worship was cleansed for the transgression of the people with blood, then the altar is cleansed. It is only when this is all done that the live goat has its head covered by the hands of the high priest as representative of the people. The high priest confess all the iniquities and transgression of the people and their sins and they were symbolically 'put' on the goat and it was set free in the wilderness. There were yet two more offerings after the high priest again washed and put off his holy garments, one for the high priest and one for the people. The person who set the goat free was to wash, as was the person who took the bullock and goat of the sin offering out of the camp to burn the remains.

The act of entering the presence of the Most Holy, involved numerous coverings and separations. For all the people there were two goats, which the people brought themselves. They were separated by casting a lot. One is used as a symbolic covering, the blood used to cover by sprinkling and purge the place of the meeting of the people with God and the other is used to symbolically take away the sins out of the place of meeting (which extended to the whole area of the dwellings of the people).

But I write of this all in the past tense. There is no temple. There is no place of meeting to come into the presence of the Holy. The place of separation where the act of covering allowed access to the presence of the Holy is absent. The second Torah portion is a memorial of this absence.

Numbers 29:7-11 (7) And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein: (8) But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD for a sweet savour; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish: (9) And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals to a bullock, and two tenth deals to one ram, (10) A several tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: (11) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering of it, and their drink offerings.

The Haftarah reading points out that despite this absence, the Holy revives the contrite.

Isaiah 57:14-21 (14) And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. (15) For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (16) For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. (17) For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. (18) I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. (19) I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. (20) But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. (21) There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

Isaiah 58:1-14 (1) Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. (2) Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. (3) Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. (4) Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. (5) Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? (6) Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? (7) Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (8) Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. (9) Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (10) And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (11) And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (12) And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (13) If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: (14) Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

The contrite and lowly in spirit recognise their separation due to wrath at their iniquity. In this contrition is the beginning of healing. Aaron's sons were smitten for rebellion, but Aaron and the people are given a process of covering, so they can come into the presence of the Holy. The people of God are smitten and separated from the presence, but the contrite are given a promise of healing and peace. The point of the now absent offerings was not the process of offerings but the desire to follow the way, and eagerness for the nearness of God. The two great principles of the Torah shine as Isaiah points out to us that this desire to keep the ways of God and be near God is to be shown by how we treat others in everyday life, with Shabbat as a separation and absence from our own ways.

The afternoon Torah portion emphasises separation from the sins of the other nations. There must be an abstinence from actions that defile the place of the habitation of the people of God.

Leviticus 18:1-30 (1) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. (3) After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. (4) Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. (5) Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. (6) None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. (7) The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (8) The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. (9) The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. (10) The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. (11) The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (12) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. (13) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. (14) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. (15) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (16) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. (17) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. (18) Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. (19) Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. (20) Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. (21) And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. (22) Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (23) Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (24) Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: (25) And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. (26) Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (27) (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) (28) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. (29) For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. (30) Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

The Haftarah afternoon reading is the book of Jonah. Jonah found there was no escaping the presence of God. The people of God are always observed. Despite Jonah's desire to escape he is given salvation though being covered by a large fish. While absent and hidden in the fish Jonah realised his position, and knew he was driven away out of God's sight. Jonah prays that his hope is to look toward the holy temple and sacrifice and perform his vows, as those who cling to folly or vanity forsake their own source of mercy. Jonah was shown both the judgement leading to separation in affliction and the mercy that comes with abstinence from going our own way, and submission to God's way. Jonah was shown that other nations, even the enemies of Israel, would be shown both the judgement and mercy of God.

Jonah 1:1-17 (1) Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, (2) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. (3) But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. (4) But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. (5) Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. (6) So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. (7) And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. (8) Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? (9) And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. (10) Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. (11) Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. (12) And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. (13) Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. (14) Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. (15) So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. (16) Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. (17) Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:1-10 (1) Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, (2) And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. (3) For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. (4) Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. (5) The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. (6) I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. (7) When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. (8) They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. (9) But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. (10) And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah 3:1-10 (1) And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, (2) Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. (3) So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. (4) And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. (5) So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. (6) For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. (7) And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: (8) But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. (9) Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? (10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Jonah 4:1-11 (1) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. (2) And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. (3) Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. (4) Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? (5) So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. (6) And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. (7) But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. (8) And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. (9) And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. (10) Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: (11) And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Micah pours out praise for the mercy of God.

Micah 7:18-20 (18) Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. (19) He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. (20) Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

The people of God are rebuked and subject to the wrath of God, but for the sake of the truth of the promise to Jacob and the mercy spoken to Abraham, the iniquity is pardoned and transgression is left behind. The sins are not counted, or remembered, but are thrown away into the sea, or like those on the goat, sent away into the wilderness. The mercy of Abram is the promise, not of separation and absence, but of a covering to allow the people to come again into the presence of God. Abraham was promised by God,

Genesis 17:7. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you.

God spoke to Moses face to face, but due to the rebellion of the priesthood they were given the ritual of Yom Kippur as a separation. Due to the rebellion of the people the temple is absent. But Ezekiel the prophet who was told to go the rebellious people (44:6) showed them a temple where the Most Holy was an open altar. Ezekiel doesn't mention a veil or a covering. Even to the rebellious there was an offer of the Most Holy as visible presence.

In this time of absence, and yes even absence of healing and peace fro the contrite spoken of in Isaiah, some in Israel are preparing for building a third temple. Can Third Temple be built without destroying Dome of the Rock?

From this article and their websites they are thinking of re-building Solomon's temple.

They might be a bit short on materials for the time when God wants to end the absence and separation from his people, when the covering is no longer needed. Then the Holy will have a visible presence as in the temple that he told Ezekiel about. It's a massive building about 1.5km square!

This as a thought is not very striking, but draw it on paper at scale over the temple mount. See for more.

This Yom Kippur I look for Isaiah's words to be fulfilled for the contrite,