In a historic moment and under the protection of the Israeli police, the ‘Rabbis of the Temple Mount’ gathered for talks on Tuesday on the Temple Mount.

The Rabbis of the Temple Mount will convene every month to discuss Torah law, its significance, and its implementation on the Temple Mount in our time. The assembly will discuss what Biblical commandments became applicable in recent years. This is a hot topic as an increase in Jewish visitation have made the pilgrimage onto the Mount along with the daily prayers that take place on the holy site.

The discussions touched on the blessings to be recited on the Temple Mount. Participants included Head of the Temple Institute Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, The head of the Temple Mount Yeshiva Rabbi Eliyahu Webber, The head of the Temple Mount Colel Rabbi Elisha Wolfson, Rabbi Shmuel Moreno, Rabbi Yitzchak Brand, Rabbi Aryeh Lippo, and others.

The main issue that dominated the talks was the question of which blessing should seal the prayer on the Temple Mount: “Blessed God our Lord from the now and forever” (ברוך ה’ אלקי ישראל מן העולם ועד העולם) and which blessings are to be answered with; “Bless God’s kingdom forever” (ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד).

Rabbi Eliyahu Webber, head of the Temple Mount Yeshiva said; “This is a significant celebration that Torah scholars are sitting on the Temple Mount itself and are comfortably discussing Jewish law on the Temple Mount.  We were happy to open discussions with the Jewish law regarding the type of prayer that is recited every day during our morning and afternoon prayers on the Temple Mount.” Noting the current unprecedented nature of the current status of the Temple Mount and its relation to the Jewish people, the rabbi added: “After 2,000 years, we have merited to discuss Jewish law that has never been discussed by Torah academics in all of history.”

The ‘Temple Mount Rabbis’ project was the initiative of Rabbi Roey Zaga who summarized the essence of the change in prayer on the Temple Mount saying: “In the Temple, we stand before God, and we feel that we do more than just believe in God when answering ‘Amen’, and therefore, we say in a loud voice: ‘Blessed the honorable God’s Kingdom forever” he explained. “Additionally, in the Temple, every day is like Yom Kippur, therefore the seal of the blessings to God aren’t just said in the present tense, but are recited in the hidden language: ‘Blessed God the Lord of Israel from now and forever’.”