Old Jerusalem is
a Meeting Place of Different
Philosophies, Religions
and Fields of Knowledge
Carlos Cardoso
Aveline
A view of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
What about the
future of the Temple Mount? Many talk or
argue about the past and the present of the Mount. One should investigate when
after all it will become a source of peace instead of strife, and determine
whose task this is.
The founders of the Meeting Place Association in
Jerusalem are Russian-born Israelis. With different views and backgrounds, they
share a common love for the Land of Israel and for the Temple Mount, which they
consider the spiritual heart of the
country.
Meeting Place promotes a
respectful dialogue among people of different opinions, from secular to
ultraorthodox. It is open to a friendly cooperation with non-Jews of any
country. In 2015, it published the 76 pp. book “Arise and Ascend: a Guide to the Temple Mount”.[1] Rabbi Yehudah Glick wrote of the future of the Mount in the Afterword
to that volume:
“People all over the world aspire to visit the place
where ultimately, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, all nations will flow to
seek the word of the Lord.” [2]
Of course, words are limited instruments and modern
theosophy says that the personification of divinity creates deep misunderstanding.
By personalizing deities many a religion, church and
sect ends up reducing divine intelligences to its own image and
narrow-mindedness. The next step is trying to manipulate everyone else into
believing that this is the one and only true
deity among all. Although Judaism is largely free from this danger, the
issue must be handled with care.
According to esoteric philosophy, the universe is
guided by an impersonal, intrinsic Law of Dynamic Equilibrium, and by an
infinite number of divine intelligences, all of them following the One Law. The
substance of some of them is hinted, for instance, in the ten Sephiroth of the Jewish
theosophy and philosophy.
The diversity of divine universal intelligences and
the living contrast among them suggest the need for an intercultural view of things down on Earth. The sky and the earth
are more connected than many would suspect. The mystery of unity in diversity or harmony
in contrast is well-expressed in the conflicts and hopes that surround
Israel, and the Temple Mount.
For thousands of years the Jewish people, the nations
of the Middle East and humanity as a whole have lived both the blessing and disgrace
of religious diversity. Time enough has passed: by now any situation in space
or chronology can be the right occasion
to acknowledge the inner unity
beneath outward contrast and promote
a transcending cooperation which is stronger than ignorance or ill-will.
In the last days of June, 2016, the Meeting Place
association published in Russian and English the document entitled “Temple Mount, Jewish People and Peoples of
the World”.[3]
“Views expressed in the text reflect solely our
personal opinion”, say authors Anya Antopolsky and Meir Antopolsky:
“In no way do these views reflect any opinion of any
group of people, be it the Meeting Place Association or of the people ascending
regularly the Temple Mount. Nor do we claim to express some kind of opinion of
all the Jews in general. However, with the scope of our activities involving
regular ascends of the Temple Mount (…), we thought it fit to state openly our
opinion on the matter.”
The article explains that according to tradition -
“… There is a whole range of events connected to the
Temple Mount, including the creation of the world, the end of the Flood and,
finally, the Binding of Isaac by Abraham. Historical evidence suggests that its
significance rose with the Jewish conquest of Jerusalem approximately in
11-10th centuries BCE, when King David installed the Altar atop of it, and his
son Shlomo (Solomon, Suleiman) built the Temple. The Temple was meant to be a
spiritual center for Jewish people and also a place for any person in the world
to meet with his or her Creator. King Shlomo prayed: ‘As for the foreigner who does not belong to Your people Israel but has
come from a distant land because of Your name, or they will hear of Your great
name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm - when they come and pray
toward this temple, then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. Do whatever the
foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name
and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have
built bears your Name’. (1Kings 8:41-43)”
The document states that such a universalistic vision is
shared by the Prophets of the Bible -
“…Including Isaiah who, reasoning about the issue of
admittance to the Temple for people that are not Jews but seek to worship God,
said: ‘Even those I will bring to My holy
mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and
their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a
house of prayer for all the peoples’. (Isaiah 56:7)”
Theosophy and Judaism agree in many essential points.
In the Pirke
Avoth it is said that “the world stands on three things: on Torah, Divine
worship and acts of loving-kindness”. [4]
Eastern doctrines say similar things. In the Yoga
Aphorisms of Patanjali, it is taught that - “For the sake of the soul alone,
the Universe exists.” [5]
The right relationship between the individual soul and
the universe includes balance. The concept of justice corresponds to the idea
of “Tao”, taught by Lao-tzu. Besides
Taoism, such a tenet is supreme in Confucius and Theosophy: it is also called
“the Law of Karma”. And the Talmudic
wisdom says that - “By three things does the world endure: by truth, justice and peace”. [6]
In order for the Temple Mount to be a center of peace,
one basic fact must be understood: there has to be fairness and balance in the
way the various religions relate to it. And this goal has not been attained
yet: the present rules of access to the Mount are unfair.
The document of the Meeting Place association sums up the
situation on the ground:
“Today, the site, albeit under Israel sovereignty, is
actually under Muslim Waqf rule restricting free admission to it for all
non-Muslims, especially Jews. Non-Muslims are never permitted to pray there and
to worship the God. Moreover, Muslim extremists continually threaten to use
terror against Jews who dare ascend the Mount with the aim of praying there.
Such state of affairs is a gross desecration to the spirit of the site.”
Religious liberty is a key point in modern democracy.
It sounds like an absurdity that, in the capital city of the State of Israel, Jews
can have no free access to their holiest religious place. The fact also expresses the extreme self-restraint of
the Jewish State regarding Islamic intolerance and ill-will, even to the point
of being unfair to its own people.
Sooner or later a balanced solution for the Temple
Mount will be found. What do some of the members of the Meeting Place
Association want to have in the near future?
The authors of document say:
“We believe that the most important thing to achieve
in the near future is to have free access to the site for every person without
any discrimination on account of religion, race, nationality or ethnic origin.
Needless to say, authorities have to take care of all security arrangements,
that can include, e.g., entrance check for weapons. Also, Muslims have to be
able to continue praying daily and engage in their other religious activities
without any restrictions in the way they do it now and all last centuries.”
The whole Mount must be open to visitors, with
exceptions:
“We think that all time other than time of mosque
prayer all the territory of the Mountain has to be open for everybody who wants
to come there, including tourists, pilgrims, Jews, Christians or any other
people of any other religious faiths. No restriction on use of religious
literature or symbolic, or control of visitors’ talk content can be accepted.
Neither is verbal or physical violence against any ethnic or religious group.”
This should be achieved sooner than later. As to medium-term goals, the text admits a
difficulty to foresee events:
“The farther we try to foresee the future, the more
difficult is our task and the more obscure the picture we can imagine. However,
we believe to have a rough outline of the Temple Mount transformed into a place
where people of every religious faith and spiritual movement stemming from
ethical monotheism of Jewish Bible and from Abraham’s, Moses’, David’s and
Solomon’s wisdom will be able to contemplate, pray and worship with songs, or
in silence, or in any other appropriate way.”
The document highlights the importance of granting
everyone’s freedom of religion and personal liberties, and adds:
“It is also vital not to undermine the role of the Sacred
Place as a center of monotheism and worship of God and Creator who is the One
and Only. How can this balance be maintained? It seems obvious that not every
manner of worship would be appropriate here. For example, the use of religious
images is, probably, not. What is important is to execute any regulation
ceremony in a peaceful and lawful way.”
Authoritarianism is a sign of weakness, while the
acceptance of diversity shows inner strength. The rights of atheists and
non-religious people should therefore be respected:
“It is self-evident that intrinsic rights of all and
any atheists or nonreligious persons to freely visit the sacred place has to be
respected as well. The only authority in the Middle East that can enforce such
religious freedoms is the State of Israel. Therefore, it is an imperative
necessity and the issue of historical justice for the State of Israel to
maintain its full sovereignty over the Temple Mount.”
What of the long-term future? The article refers to
the belief in a Third Temple to be built:
“The (…) prophetic visions foretell that at the End of
Days the Third Temple is going to be rebuilt, and it will become a place from
which the Word of Wisdom and Peace will be disseminated throughout the entire
world. (…) The only course that will culminate in raising up the Third Temple
is education, empathy, love and shared faith. The road of war, hatred and
animosity will lead us nowhere. It is also certain that everyone who comes with
love and prayer to our Father in the Heaven will have a place and a role to
play in that Temple.”
From a theosophical perspective, it is easy to see
that the Temple Mount is indeed a karmic
meeting place of different
philosophies, religions and fields of knowledge, including History, Archeology
and Art. It constitutes a chakra or key point in the inner vitality of our
planetary civilization. It must cease to be a source of hatred and start to
produce good will among nations and religions. Then such a chakra will be able to quickly help the healing of humanity.
Whose task is this? And how long will it take to be
accomplished? One of the aphorisms of
the Pirke Avoth answers these questions with other ones:
*If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
*And if I am only for myself, what am I?
*And if not now, when? [7]
Chronological time is seen as Maya, or illusion, in Eastern tradition.
Any present instant is an inseparable fragment of
eternity. The whole unlimited Duration is contained in the fraction of a second.
The boundless essence of the Universe is secretly present in each humble point
of its unfathomable space-time.
It is a good idea to act at all moments in the best
way we can and leave it to the unfailing Law to ripen the fruits of our
endeavours as It finds best.
NOTES:
[1] “Arise and Ascend: a Guide to the Temple Mount” was published by The
Meeting Place Association and Temple Mount Heritage Foundation.
[2] On page 75.
[3] The article “Temple Mount,
Jewish People and Peoples of the World” cautiously addressed complex issues. It
is certainly uncomfortable for some.
[4] “Ethics from Sinai”, by Irving M. Bunim: Philipp
Feldheim, Inc., New York, three volumes, 1964, see volume I, Perek I, Mishnah
2, p. 38.
[5] “The Yoga Aphorisms of
Patanjali”, William Q. Judge, book II, aphorism 21, Theosophy Co. edition,
Mumbai, 74 pp., 1965/1984, see p. 26.
[6] “Ethics from Sinai”, by
Irving M. Bunim: Philipp Feldheim, Inc., 1964, see volume I, Perek I, Mishnah
18, p. 106.
[7] “Ethics from Sinai”, by
Irving M. Bunim: Philipp Feldheim, Inc., 1964, see volume I, Perek I, Mishnah
14, p. 91.
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The above article
was first published in our theosophical blog at “The Times of Israel”. Its note [3] above was updated in February
2017 for the present publication in our associated
websites.
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See in our associated websites the article “The Universality of Temple Mount”, by Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
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In September 2016, after a careful
analysis of the state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided
to form the Independent Lodge of
Theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in
the different dimensions of life.
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