Question: Is there room nowadays to allow one to enter the boundaries of the Temple Mount?
Answer: The Temple Mount is the mountain upon which the first and second Holy Temples were situated until nearly two thousand years ago when it was destroyed by the wicked Roman general Titus. Since then, the mountain laid in ruins until Muslims built mosques upon it which remain there until today. Some areas of the mountain were the areas where the Bet Hamikdash once stood. Other areas are on that of the Temple Mount.
The Location of the Temple Nowadays
Since the sanctity of the Bet Hamikdash was so great, an individual who was impure as a result of coming in contact with a corpse was forbidden to enter the Bet Hamikdash. Nowadays when we do not have the ashes of the Red Heifer, we are all impure as a result of corpses, for it is impossible never to have a touched a person who has touched a corpse or never to have touched a person who was in the same room as a corpse. It is therefore absolutely forbidden for any of us to enter the confines of the Bet Hamikdash. One who does so is liable for the “Karet” punishments as well as having transgressed several Torah prohibitions.
We must now discuss two important points: Firstly, does the sanctity of the Bet Hamikdash remain nowadays when the actual Bet Hamikdash has been destroyed? Furthermore, is one forbidden to enter any are of the Temple Mount or are there areas on the Temple Mount that one may enter?
The Rambam (Chapter 6 of Hilchot Bet Ha’Bechira, Halacha 14) states: The original sanctity with which King Solomon sanctified the Holy Temple and Jerusalem shall never be removed although the Temple was destroyed. Why does the original sanctity of the Bet Hamikdash and Jerusalem remain intact forever? This is because the sanctity of Jerusalem and the Temple are a result of Hashem’s Divine Presence resting upon it and this Divine Presence never ceases. Indeed, Hashem states, ‘And I shall leave your cities in destruction and I shall cause your temples to lay desolate’ and our Sages expounded, although they remain desolate, their sanctity nevertheless remains!”
The Rambam thus teaches us that the sanctity of the Bet Hamikdash which prohibits the impure from entering its perimeter remains forever regardless of the fact that the Bet Hamikdash is destroyed.
Thus, one who enters the area of the Bet Hamikdash nowadays is liable for “Karet” and transgresses several Torah prohibitions.
The Opinion of the Ra’avad
There are those who understand the Ra’avad’s opinion as being that there is no Karet prohibition applicable to entering the location of the Temple nowadays and that the Ra’avad disagrees with the Rambam regarding this point. Nevertheless, this opinion is completely rebuffed and halachically invalid, as the Radbaz writes that the Halacha certainly follows the opinion of the Rambam and the other great Poskim who prohibit entering the Temple perimeter even nowadays and that doing so is a prohibition which bears Karet. This is especially true since according to many Poskim, even the Ra’avad agrees that doing so is a Torah prohibition, as Hagaon Harav Avraham Yitzchak Ha’Kohen Kook writes in his Responsa Mishpat Kohen (Chapter 96).
The Remaining Area of the Temple Mount
Nevertheless, the above applies only to the perimeter of the Bet Hamikdash; on the other hand, other areas of the Temple Mount are not off limits to those impure as a result of contact with a corpse, as the Rambam states (Chapter 3 of Hilchot Bi’at Mikdash, Halacha 4): “One who is impure as a result of a corpse and even a corpse itself may enter the Temple Mount.” As a result, all of the greatest Poskim of the previous generations deliberate whether or not there is room to allow entering certain areas of the Temple Mount.
Indeed, Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l discusses this matter extensively in his Responsa Yabia Omer (Volume 5, Yoreh De’ah, Chapter 26) and Chazon Ovadia-Arba Ta’aniyot (page 454) where he provides sources from the Poskim that nowadays, we cannot be exactly sure where on the Temple Mount the Bet Hamikdash actually stood. Thus, most of the area of the Temple Mount is considered doubtfully the place of the Bet Hamikdash (and even if a given area regarding which there is no doubt, it still retains sanctity and not just anyone may enter this area).
Maran zt”l quotes Hagaon Harav David of Karlin who writes (in his Responsa She’elat David, Kuntres Derishat Zion Virushalayim, page 14, Section 3) that it is impossible to locate the precise location of the Altar and one must be concerned regarding a sin which bears Karet. One must therefore take great care not to enter the Temple Mount even after having immersed properly in a Mikveh and even for the purpose of a Mitzvah, for this will cause the masses to ascend the Temple Mount while impure and enter portions of the perimeter of the Bet Hamikdash. The leaders of the generation have come together and decreed that no one may enter any area of the Temple Mount until the arrival of Mashiach at which point the verse “And I shall sprinkle you with pure water and you shall become pure” shall be fulfilled. Almost all of the mighty luminaries of Jerusalem agreed with and ratified this ruling.
Bodily Impurity
People who are impure as a result of a menstrual cycle, seminal emission, childbirth, and many other forms of bodily impurity may not enter any part of the area of the Temple Mount, not only the area of the Bet Hamikdash (until one immerses in a Mikveh and waits one, three, or four days; many people are completely ignorant of these laws nowadays). Thus, allowing mass pilgrimage to the Temple Mount today creates a stumbling block for all those men and women who ascend the mountain while ritually impure. We cannot delve into all the details of these prohibitions at this time.
Summary: The prohibition to enter the Temple Mount is an absolute one agreed upon by the luminaries of the Land of Israel in the past several generations, from all different sects. This constitutes a doubtful Karet transgression which can lead to many other pitfalls which can, G-d-forbid, lead to Heavenly prosecution against the Jewish nation.
Since we believe in the sanctity of the Torah and its Sages, it is clear that the word of Hashem was spoken from their mouths and the actions and prayers of those who defy the luminaries of Israel shall not be accepted and will actually be considered abominable. Indeed, the verse states about such people, “When you come to be seen by Me, who asked this of you, to trample my courtyards?”
