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by Gil Ronen
The Temple Institute in Jerusalem announced
Friday the completion of a model of the biblical altar which
G-d, through Moses, commanded the nation of Israel to build at
the Mount of Eval (Ebal) overlooking Shechem:
“And there you shall build an altar unto Hashem
your God, an altar of stones: you shall lift up no iron tool
upon them. You shall build the altar of Hashem your G-d of
unhewn stones.”
(Dvarim / Deuteronomy 27:5,6).
The model altar /
Temple Institute
For many years, the Institute has been examining
ways of building a model of the altar from whole stones that had
not been touched by iron tools. In the end, the Institute
commissioned artist Assaf Kidron of Givot Olam Farm at Itamar,
Samaria, to design and create a model which conforms with the
specifications described by authoritative Jewish sage Rambam
(Maimonides) – one cubit wide, one cubit deep, and three cubits
high.
It has been placed in the Institute's visitor
center.
The rocks were collected from the Dead Sea as
documented in the accomanying video. The additional material for
filling the cracks between the stones was collected with a
gold-plated shovel, to prevent any contact with the iron. "The
act of building this model is a statement by the nation of
Israel toward the Heavens, that we really want a Temple and are
doing everything possible to be ready for it,” artist Kidron
said after completing the work. “As an artist from a priestly
family, the construction of the altar connected with the
aspiration to connect matter with spirit, earth to heaven, and
man to his G-d,” he explained.
The Institute's management said that “the
visitors are very moved by the model and the eyes do not remain
dry.”
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