Jerusalem – Rabbi Tendler Ascends Har HaBayit (video)

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    Jerusalem – A new 17-minute video has been released an ascent to the Temple Mount led by Rabbi Moshe Dovid Tendler, son-in-law of the famed late Torah sage, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.

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    Rabbi Tendler, who leads the Community Synagogue of Monsey and is a professor of Jewish Medical Ethics and biology at New York’s Yeshiva College, led a small group of Jews up to the Temple Mount together with Temple Institute Director Yehudah Glick on January 19, 2009.

    The small gathering, which ascended the Mount after first making the appropriate preparations as prescribed in Jewish law, recited special prayers during their visit to the site. The video shows Rabbi Tendler walking around the mount and speaking words of Torah throughout.

    Rabbi Tendler also explained that some of the stones used by Arabs in paving the plaza that today also serves the Al Aksa Mosque were taken from Jewish homes.

    Bending down, he gently brushed away the dirt from one of the blocks, revealing the cavity wherein once nestled the holy scroll of a mezuzah — the Jewish prayers that are written on special parchment and posted on the entryway to each room in every Jewish home in accordance with the Torah commandment to “post them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates, that ye shall remember and do all My commandments and be holy unto your G-d.”

    Gesturing toward the bare, elongated hole, Rabbi Tendler told the group, “You see? There once was a mezuzah here. This was taken from a Jewish home. And they used it to pave the road.”

    Rabbi Tendler contends that his father-in-law, the famous Halachic-decisor Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, was well aware of his custom to go up on the mount and never dissuaded Tendler from doing so. A copy of a responsa issued by Rabbi Feinstein affirming the halachic right of Jews to go up the the Mount can be found on the Temple Institute site. More video teachings about the Temple Mount can be found here.


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    115 Comments
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    ely
    ely
    15 years ago

    THIS is the same Tendler who have problems with all other halacha’s as well with Bris Milah, he is not a ‘rabbi’ he is a apikorous gumer and when he was in earlier times the tzatikim would put him in ‘chaerem’.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    kol hakavod. bout time someone has the guts to stand up to the REAL halacha

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    He is Chiav KUROS

    moshe
    moshe
    15 years ago

    to #1 real ‘halacha’ is the ‘halcha’ of your likeing?

    Fascinated
    Fascinated
    15 years ago

    Amazing Divrei Torah on the video- worth listening too

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Way to go r. Tendler Continue to show the world that you are not religous

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Way to go r. Tendler Continue to show the world that you are not religous

    me
    me
    15 years ago

    Yay! If someone disagrees with me, either because they follow differently, or because I have no clue, then they are Apikorsim. Boo! Chayav Kares! Boo!

    (BTW, you will not see any psak from a reputable posek assuring going up to the har habayis. After all, until 150-200 years ago, it was very common to go up.)

    Yid
    Yid
    15 years ago

    He is misguided at best. If what he is saying is true about the Kedusha not existing, why doesn’t he go all the way in to the Kodesh Hakodoshim?

    Milhouse
    Milhouse
    15 years ago

    Prayers? I’m not sitting through the whole video, but I can’t believe that he was allowed to pray. So long as he was being “tour guide” and just showing people what they were looking at he’d be OK, but the police and the Arabs don’t allow any Jew to pray, or even to move his lips in what might be prayer. “Har habayit beyadenu” indeed!

    Kogan
    Kogan
    15 years ago

    I can’t help, but be inspired by this video. I know many poskim hold much different views, but the idea of going there fascinates me. It should be today that Moshiach comes and we will have the place with us forever!

    Suri
    Suri
    15 years ago

    Put aside what the real Halucha is. Why is he the only one doing such things?
    There is tons of Holly Rabunim in Isreal, who never went up there. Why? i guess its not so simple.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    listen, according to serious poskim going up there is “Yehoreg Val Yavor”, if I see one of our Gedolim go I would consider going too, why didn’t any Godol who lived or lives in Israel go there? if I see Rav Kanievsky, Eliyashuv, Steinman, Wosner etc. go up there It would mean something to me, if a Dr. Tendler goes there it means nothing to me.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    do your homework. plenty chashuv people have gone up in the past but u are too neive to know

    Reb Moshe Talmid
    Reb Moshe Talmid
    15 years ago

    Reb Moshe was an ehrlicha talmid chacham who made a psak eventhough it wouldnt make him popular.

    Examples: Shaving with an electric shaver, eating chalav stam (when nec.), a shorter mechitza in a shul etc etc.

    Rabbi Tendler and many of Reb Moshe’s TZL talmidim walk in his father in law’s footsteps by doing the same thing and paskening eventhough its not a popular psak.

    HOWEVER as important as it is to pasken the truth and not what the “frum” world wants to hear this psak of Rabbi Tendler is both WRONG and unnecesary. Reb Moshe wouldnt have made a psak just to stur up alot of attention. What comse out of him going up there?????? But nobody is allowed to say disrespectful things about Rabbi Dr. Tendler.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    do your homework. plenty chashuv people have gone up in the past but u are too neive to know

    SRULIK
    SRULIK
    15 years ago

    #26 …YOU DIDNT READ #17 RIGHT

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Rabbi Kanievsky wrote that “entrance to the Temple Mount, and the defilement of the Holy of Holies, is more severe than any of the violations in the Torah.”

    me
    me
    15 years ago

    The Rambam for one. He walked on the Har Habayis. Is he an apikores?

    Elchonon
    Elchonon
    15 years ago

    Hey why not attack the rambam for going up? and many other rabbanim.. shame on you trash talkers.. the reason for the churban was sinas chinam!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    I don’t know why I’m bothering with this on Erev Shabbos, but Kiryat Shmona Chief Rabbi Tzephania Drori, Ma’aleh Adumim rosh yeshiva Rabbi Nachum Rabinovich, and Rabbi Dov Kook, who is married to Rav Elyashiv’s granddaughter have all gone up to Har Habayis (obviously not to the places that one cannot go to). The entire Yesha Rabbinical Council, headed by Rav Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba has also called on Jews to ascend so as to affirm that the site of the Bais Hamikdash belongs to the Jewish People as opposed to the Arabs currently defiling the site.

    eleu  v'eleu
    eleu v'eleu
    15 years ago

    There is such a thing as “eleu v’eleu devrei elyakim”,, there are shitahs that permit ascending to the mount under specific preparations, when we learn to respect (NOT agree) other points of view we will be on the way to the geulah shelema.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    The chuttzpa of some of the posters are simply mind boggling and unvelievable

    letooee
    letooee
    15 years ago

    from 10:28 till 10:34 walking side by side with a non tzniusdiger women is that called the proper kedusha?

    Disrespectful, at best
    Disrespectful, at best
    15 years ago

    Sinas chinam destroys and brings with it more destruction. Haven’t we gone through so many levels of despair that how can you even thing of shaming another yid? Where in your skewed programming do you find a p’sak for this. For G-d’s sake, wasn’t the Beis HaMikdosh destroyed over such strife and disharmony? What a way to say, “gut voch” to each other. Embarassing

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Truly scary and emotional, never been up there, but that place scares me.

    Ariel
    Ariel
    15 years ago

    I am proud to say that I am part of a chabura of Torah Jews who have been going up to the halachically permissible parts of Har HaBayit for nearly 9 years. Some of you nay-sayers are truly pathetic. There is no comparable experience for tefilah and communicating with HaShem. Continue to bow to your idols of gulus… you are really no different than the Jews who preferred the leaks and fish of Mitzrayim–or those who did not return with Ezra from Bavel. HaShem will certainly remember who had the deveikut to come to His House and shed tears for its restoration. May we soon merit more Torah leaders who will help us rebuild His House speedily in our days.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    I fail to see where anyone denounced the Godol Hador Rav Moshe Zt”l, all I see is an outrage on Dr. Tendler who the only reason he went there is to show how much Chutzpah he has, and B.t.w. I doubt that Rav Moshe Zt”l permitted to go there, did anyone see what Rav Moshe writes on this subject?

    yankel
    yankel
    15 years ago

    there is a saying when a dr. is following a
    rabbi the rabbi must be sick

    ely
    ely
    15 years ago

    A talmud chuchem we are not allowed to be maveish, but Dr. Tendler is not a talmud chuchem, the gemura says talmud chuchem shaeien boy daas navaila seruchea tov memeni ( a talmud chacham who doesn’t have daas, a daas torah a farshtinkana neuvaila is better from him). He is against all recogniest gedoeli torah about brit milah and going to the har habayit

    Yosef Rabin
    Yosef Rabin
    15 years ago

    The halacha is clearly on this side of the Rabbanim who hold to go up! This is why the anti Olim refuse to enter into a debate on it.

    Richard
    Richard
    15 years ago

    I don’t know why so many of you feel free to condemn others about whom so little is known, over an issue you admit to know nothing about. It seems to me this is a situation in which nothing can be said with certainty. There are too many questions you leave unasked, and unanswered.
    1) Who knows for sure exactly where the Most Holy Place was?
    2) If stepping there is so evil, where was the Tabernacle before the First Temple? How do you know you weren’t standing right where that was, once upon a time?
    3) There is no Temple. Therefore, there is no Holy Place, and no Most Holy Place to violate.
    4) The Mount is currently being trampled underfoot by the Gentiles. How is it that Israel allows this, and The Holy One is supposed to wink at that?
    5) Who is going to build this Third Temple if no observant Jew is going to set foot there? Do you really expect Gentiles to do it?
    There is so much sillyness here, I hardly know where to begin. You people need to beg the Holy One’s forgiveness. Hatred, Jew against Jew, is most shameful and ugly. You are brothers, together the apple of His eye. Calling each other names is infantile and sinful.
    May the One True Living Creator of all things show you His Moshiach.

    shimon
    shimon
    15 years ago

    ‘ im hurav dme lemalach hashem tzevuous yevakshu torah mipihu..” thats what one goes by not how big talmud chochem one is…cnnbe ‘hikdiach tavshulo berabim

    shlomo zalman
    shlomo zalman
    15 years ago

    Anyone who investigates the issue thoroughly (sorry fellas, it means you need to know how to read Hebrew) will clearly understand that it is permissible to go up to Har Habayit. Unfortunately, this non-news article publicized the actions of a Rabbi who has much Torah knowledge but has no menschlichkeit. Keep his name out of the news, he is not worthy.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    when will you all see that Yashua has fulfilled all messianic prophecy, Eziekiel 38 and 39 is about to be fulfilled and Israel will win this great battle and the 3rd temple will be rebuilt and all this will occurr during the next 7 years, wow and you are arguing about someone visiting the temple mount.

    Moshe Weinstein
    Moshe Weinstein
    15 years ago

    Anyone who criticizes the thing Rabbi Tendler says and does on this video
    a. clearly did not watch the video and jumped to conclusions based on the headline of the article
    b. is unaware of halachik authorities besides Rabbi Tendler who have written very much on this subject.

    Become aware, become informed. Know what you are talking about.
    Then express a sensical opinion.
    Until then, and until you can put your real names to your filthy vitriol, keep your comments to yourselves.

    And as for #89 – you are correctly on target that this is “non-news” which really has no place in VIN.
    But how dare you say Rabbi Tendler has no menschlichkeit? Spend ten minutes with him – one-on-one – and you will find him to be one of the most caring and sensitive rabbis in the world today.
    Lashon hora is unbecoming – in whatever form. And your rechilus is disgraceful.

    bibi
    bibi
    15 years ago

    loshon harah is when its not known..a known fact of a personality does not constitute lashon hora eurechin 17b..

    bibi
    bibi
    15 years ago

    #93 ..sod hashem lireyov uvriso lehodiam’ ‘avol lechaven shmate lehilchese tzeruchin siate deshmayah’ and for the latter we need the former. so subject is fine man, intelligent , caring etc ober es sheint nit arois de kedishe ve fun ikros moshe, divrei yoel munchas yitschok un l’yiblch tovim rav kineivsky etc etc…thats the peiros of MO and down

    matzahlocal101
    matzahlocal101
    15 years ago

    First I want to moicheh against Reb Moshe Dovid Tendler for translating Igros Moshe against the will of Reb Moshe zt”l. Reb Moshe specifically said he forbid the translation of Igros Moshe and protested vigorously against anyone who would do so in at least two different tshuvos. Next I want to be moicheh against those fools that stand up righteous with indignation for Moshe Dovid Tendler and condemn those that disagree with him, but they have no problem with him disagreeing with a MISHNAH, that says metzitzah is part of milah. He comes along 2000 years later and says everybody else in history read the mishnah wrong and there’s a comma and the second half of the mishnah is optional. The man says you can discount the gemorah. That chazal made mistakes, that Tosfos is wrong. These people have no problem with Dr. Tendler arguing on the Rambam and Shulchan Oruch. Quote: “The Chasidim are makpid and davkah to do priah bitziporen and that’s the most painful part to the baby because there you’e ripping the skin, and that’s not a nice thing to do to a fellow human being.” FOLLOWING SHULCHAN ORUCH IS NOT A NICE THING TO DO TO A FELLOW HUMAN BEING! The Rambam was not as compassionate as Dr. Tendler, The Ba’al haTurim and Mechaber were not as compassionate as Dr. Tendler. Only he knows better! In justifying his statement he says that priah with the fingernail is “a kabbalah ma’aseh”. He fails to explain what this “kabbalah ma’aseh is doing in halacha seferim since the time of the mishnah. In his medical article in Pediatrics (Aug 2004) He implies that Chasam Sofer who died in 1839, having been influenced by Dr Ignacz Semmelweis’ discovery of disease transmission in 1847, after a child got tuberculosis from a mohel (First report in the literature J. Lindemann, Deut Med Wchnshrft #30 , p442 July 25, 1883 ) (semmelweis died in 1865) was matir the tube which was invented in 1887 by German hygienist Professor Max von Pettenkofer. The article builds a theoretical case for infection by mohel by concientiously avoiding any test that might indicate the mother was the source or that the mohel was not the source, a tactic adopted by the NYC Dept of Health and by basing the risk of infection in Israeli and canadian cases on United States HSV statistics from 1980, ignoring Israeli and Canadian stats that tell a completely different story. (Samra Z, STD 10/2003)(Kropp R, Pediatrics 6/2006) He mosered Rav Fischer Shlita to the health dept. He slandered him in a public shiur accusing him of killing two babies, when only one baby had died, and long before any investigation was complete. He organized an emergency meeting the Israeli ministry of health on March 13, 2003 in order to get the MoH to assur metzitzah in Eretz Yisroel! That’s a gadol? He can contradict a mishnah but I dare not contradict him? You call it “chilukei dayos” where he can try to force the whole Jewish world to abanodon metzitzah because he says “kiblu da’ati she’ani rishoi vilo atem”against almost all gedolai oilom? Look up the zohar shmos va’ayrah 32B. And see how this big “Zionistic Lover of Israel” has endangered Eretz Yisroel” Look up his Hebrew article on metzitzah in Harafueh and see how he misquotes Gedoilai Yisroel. Read the poster on page 129 and see the caption underneath.
    http://www.ima.org.il/Ima/FormStorage/Type3/05-02-16.pdf
    here’s six pages of Tendler lies in his words and voice, on metzitzah alone:
    http://dhengah.org/mbp/tendlervstendler.htm

    matzahlocal101
    matzahlocal101
    15 years ago

    From a halachic aspect: the Har habayis is not a tourist site. The Rambam says you may only enter “litzorech gadol”. Making a political statement is not litzorech gadol. You must toivel in a mikveh before going up. Going up with a girl that doesn’t cover her hair, and assuming she’s not married, and that she went to mikveh before, is pritzus on at least two counts. It is assur to go up with your shoes or your moneypouch (wallet). If you know that your going up on har habayis will require non-religious Israeli security forces who did not go to mikvah, do not take off their shoes, do not leave their wallets, video cams, cameras, outside, you are oiver lifnai eever because you have caused them to transgress on yiras hamikdash because you wanted to go sightseeing. I’m hard pressed to coinsider the video cameras, and cell phones (you hear it ring during filming)as litzorech gadol for yiras hamikdash. The wailing wall is not the wailing wall??? We are just as much in golus in Eretz Yisroel as in America. The purpose of the mokom hamikdash is to bring sacrifices to HKBH. Not to take pictures like a vacation to Niagra Falls. That is not Yiras hamikdash. That is bizoyen hamikdash, and the taruvos doesn’t help either.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    If you know this Doctor… you also know that this is exactly what he wanted by going up there, he loves to cause an outrage and this is what gives him Sipuk Hanefesh… and you wonder why he’s considered a Looser even in his own circles..? even in the Modern Orthodox world he is a nobody to say the least, mark my words, once this story is forgotten he will do something else to satisfy his ego.. just you wait & see.. Shame on Dr. Tendler!!!

    chaim
    chaim
    15 years ago

    it boils down to #88 can know bechol hatorah but if its lacking in #88 …psa halacha thats nogaya for klall yisroel…the picture itselve tells alot

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Rav Moshe Zt”l never said that lemaisa you can go up there, and what Moshe Tendler says that he discussed in person with his Shver is not credible, check with the Feinstein family as well as anyone close to Rav Moshe Zt”l.

    HAMAYVIN YAVIN
    HAMAYVIN YAVIN
    14 years ago

    People, there are two issues to everyones argument. One is what the actual metzius of what is Har Habayis and what is not Har Habayis. If one would do the research they will most certainly find different shitos about where Har Habayis actually is situated. They will also find that many or most hold that most of what today is considered Har Habayis is not a place that has the Kedusha that causes a Chiyuv Kares. (Rabbi Tendler tries to make that clear when mentioning that there are two kedushos that the RBS”O kept for himself and one of them is the kedusha of aacertain place on har Habayis.) So everyone agrees, even Rabbi tendler, that there is a place on Har Habayis that it is asur to walk on, again even Rabbi Tendler. That being said lets get to the second issue at hand. Since the return to Eretz Yisroel in by the talmiday Hagra and talmeday Baal Shem Tov although there may have been individuals who might have gone up to place on the Har Habayis according to those shitos that held that those parts were not a chiys kares, However, the Rabanim of Eretz Yisroel even in those times have allways discouraged going up to Har Habayis because since we are not experts on where to go and it is a safek chiys kares one should not go up. Tis seems to be the general takanah that was held for hundreds off years at least for the general polulace. In fact for those of you who are not too young there used to be a very big sign at trhe bottom of the ramp with the message from the Israeli Rabinate that “it is forbiden for all Jews to enter the Temple Mount”. So now you have the other issue. is Rabbi tendler being “Poretz Geder” or at the very least snubing an understood asur that even the Rabinate of Israel upheld for a very good reason. Should Rabbi Tendler do sonething like that even if the letter of the law does not call for a chuyuv karrais? Why take a chance with a chiyuv kaarais mesafek? Even if your not b’safek maybe the takana was for am haratzim who might not be a lerned as Rabbi Tendler? having known Rabbi Tendler almost all my life he once again puts himself into this position, why?