Kedushas Makom HaMikdash Today: Har HaBayis, Hashra’as HaShechinah, and the Laws of Entry

Transcript

Started, sir. Today I'm going to discuss the status of kedushas makom Hamikdash bizman hazeh. It's nogea to many, many halachos. Of course, the most simple of all, the most obvious of all, is: are you allowed to go today on the Har Habayis? There's tourists, tourist attraction. They take you on the Har Habayis. Are you allowed to go to the Har Habayis? Are you allowed to go? I want to begin with the parsha, though, this week's parsha. In this week's parsha, we find that Yaakov Avinu went back to the makom which we know is going to eventually be the makom Hamikdash, right? Vayeilech Charan, vayifga bamakom. He fell onto the place. What was the place? The place was makom shehispallu avos, Rashi says, from Chazal. The place was the place where his fathers davened. Yaakov was there. At that time, there was no clear reference that it's going to be the makom Hamikdash. The pasuk just says, vayifga bamakom, and makom is makom shehispallu avosai. There's no reference yet, or clear, that this has something to do with the Beis Hamikdash. The references are based on— Ravinu's response when he wakes up in the morning. Vayikatz Yaakov, Yaakov wakes up, Vayomer, Mah nora hamakom hazeh. How great is this place. Now, still we don't know what that means, because Rashi just says—I mean, Rashi, the pasuk teaches us there was malachim olim v'yordim; it was a special place. But we still don't have a reference to Beis Hamikdash. Mah nora hamakom hazeh. Ein ze ki im Beis Elokim. Ah, all of a sudden here we have a reference to the word Beis Elokim. As a matter of fact, the Gemara says, Avraham Avinu karai har, Yitzchak karai sadeh, and Yaakov karai bayis. To the makom Hamikdash, each one of the Avos added a new name, and the mefarshim—the Maharal, the others—they explain there was different bechinos. Har is one thing, sadeh is a different thing, and bayis is a different thing. That's a mitzvas Hashem, maybe for a different time in discussion, the, you know, the mussar of it, the aggadah of it. But either way, Ein ze ki im Beis Elokim is a definition of the Har HaBayis, the place where the makom Hamikdash was going to be. Ein ze ki im Beis Elokim, and he adds, V'zeh shaar haShamayim. And this is the gate, the gate of Shamayim. So what does he mean by Beis Elokim, and what does he mean by zeh shaar haShamayim? So if you look at the sefer, which I hope you take—take the sefer, because you're going to have to help me out. You're going to have to read. I want you to see everything inside. We're going to go through the mareh mekomos inside. Beis Elokim. The Seforno makes reference to Beis HaMikdash. Shaar HaShamayim, that's the makom that the tefillos are niskabel. So there's two aspects according to the Seforno in this pasuk. Ein ze ki im Beis Elokim, ze, ze Shaar HaShamayim. Okay, who's reading the Seforno? Okay, who's reading? No? Ein ze Beis Elokim, says the Seforno. No, who's reading? אין זה המקום שראיתי במראה שהיה הסולם ניצב בו, כי אם בית אלוקים, מקום שבית המקדש. Oh, Makom sheBeis HaMikdash. The first reason that I found that makes reference Beis Elokim, that the Beis HaMikdash is what? Going to be here. Makom Beis HaMikdash, כאומרם זל, יעקב קראו בית. Bayit. So the Seforno makes reference to Yaakov called it bayit, Beis HaMikdash. He ties it into the Beis HaMikdash, the Seforno. Okay, v'zeh Shaar HaShamayim. Keep reading that Seforno. וזה שער השמים, וזה הסולם שראיתי מורה שמן השמים שהיה בו הסולם, ישמע ה...

Those that pray on HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Hashem will hear their prayers from this place. Shlomo HaMelech speaks about that, right? Shlomo HaMelech says that ki beisi beis tefillah yikarei l'chol ha'am. All right, the Beis HaMikdash is a makom hatefillah. So we have two aspects of the Beis HaMikdash, and both are referenced by the Siforno in this pasuk. Comes along the Brisker Rav, and he explains that that's the pshat why Yaakov said, had he known, he wouldn't have slept here. As the pasuk says, Vayomer, and he says, Achein yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh, v'anochi lo yadati. I didn't know. Says Rashi, אילו ידעתי לא ישנתי. I would have known, I wouldn't have slept here, right? Says the Brisker Rav, says the Brisker Rav that there's halacha in the Beis HaMikdash, you're not allowed to sit there. Kal shekein you're not allowed to go to sleep there. Mimeila, mimeila, says the Brisker Rav, Yaakov Avinu says had he known, he wouldn't have slept there, al din of me'orer mikdash, since it's the makom HaMikdash. The makom hamikdash is mechayev that you're not allowed to even sit, kol shekein sleep. So, ach yeish Hashem, a makom hazeh, v'anochi lo yadati. Had I known, I wouldn't have slept. Okay. Lechora, the Beis Hamikdash was not yet. The Beis Hamikdash was niskadesh through David, Shlomo. Now, lechora, the halachos of me'ora Mikdash and the issur to sleep there should be dependent on when the Beis Hamikdash was niskadesh. Kol zman the Beis Hamikdash was not niskadesh, it didn't become kadosh, so it's very hard to put a halachic ramification of sleeping in the makom hamikdash. It's Beis Hamikdash, but there was no Beis Hamikdash yet. True, it's going to be the place that will be the Beis Hamikdash. What? I saw the seforim, I don't think I understand what you already did. Okay, hamakom means what? The place that he's in now. Right. The seforim says that, yeah, makom that I saw in the dream, not where I am. Oh, okay, maybe. Let's read it again. Where did he sleep? He was sleeping in the Beis Hamikdash makom? One second. He was sleeping in the makom hamikdash, where the Beis Hamikdash was going to be. Go ahead, read it again. ...ein sofek shezeh makom mukhan lenvuah, that's where he is. Right. Later on it says, zeh shaar zeh Beis Elokim, ein zeh makom shera'ui b'mareh shehayu asurim l'natziv, v'eino kein Beis Elokim. Right, saw in my dream, the Beis Elokim, not where he is now. Maybe. Anyways, the Brisker Rav, so makes it worse. You're not making it better, right? You're making it worse. Better is not there. No, for kein, you're making it better that you're allowed to do it, you mean. You're making it worse for the Brisker Rav, I'm telling you. You're making my kashya stronger. Yeah, he just said, ... had I known halacha. That's all he's saying. I just—what I said was the only person to reference based on Mikdash, clearly, is the Seforno. But you're saying good, it's not even maybe necessarily meaning here. He meant the place I saw. Could be. I'm saying it's just making the question stronger. L'choira, what does the Brisker Rav want? Want to stop the shteltzu Rambam, that the Rambam's halacha, that there's halacha you’re not allowed to sleep in the makom haMikdash. Ah, in the makom haMikdash you're not allowed to sleep there. Yeah, but it's not really the makom haMikdash. My friends, let's discuss today that we don't have a Mikdash. All the halachos of morei Mikdash apply. So if you take a look at the Rambam, the Rambam holds, af al pi she'ein Bayis banui, you're allowed to be makriv a korban. The reason for this, says the Rambam, because the kedusha of the Mikdash is תלוי בשכינה. HaShechinah eina...

Shechina doesn't become batel. If the Shechina is there, and the reason for all the halachos of kavod in the Beis HaMikdash have to do with the Shechina, meila, we have to say that even if there's no bayis, as long as the Shechina is there, you have to keep these halachos. L'choira, you could say that that's what the Brisker Rav means. He doesn't mean Mikdash, Mikdash. He doesn't mean kedushas Mikdash. He means Shechina of the Mikdash, and it's meduyak, l'choira, in the pasuk. That's what I want to tie. If you look at the pasuk, the pasuk says, Achin yeish Hashem bamakom hazeh. Did he say Mikdash? He said yeish Hashem. So according to the Rambam— Even if you're tamei. Even if you're tamei. ...makom Shechina, and since it's makom Shechina, all I'm saying is like this. The Brisker Rav learns that Yaakov felt he wasn't allowed to sleep there because, quote unquote, the makom haMikdash. The problem is, it's not the makom haMikdash. I'm sorry, the Mikdash was later. So the answer could be is because the Rambam holds you don't need the Mikdash. Okay, let's take out the Rambam, and we'll see this Rambam clear inside. Bring me the Rambam, Hilchos Beis HaBechirah, and we're going to read the Rambam inside. Tell me, you understood this seiforim? ...Yitzchok is a big talmid chacham. Let's see how Yitzchok reads. Read the seiforim. Tell me how you understood. The way I read it the first time, right, that this is going to be the makom haMikdash. Read it inside. I'm not saying not. I hear what you're saying. It's just, I want to— Even in Rashi and Ramban, they all say Beis HaMikdash. It's not the only Rishon on the page. What do you mean they say Beis HaMikdash? This is not Beis HaMikdash in the dream. Right. Also Yaakov—Rashi says clearly, Yaakov, what טראכט, he saw Beis HaMikdash coming towards him, the Beis HaElokim. He's already talking about Beis HaMikdash. This makom that he wants to sleep in is basically... What, I'm saying, you see any place that says that that's what his complaint was, ach yeish Hashem? No, but I'm saying, but in the sipur that you have it, ach yeish Hashem ki im ze Beis Elokim. The sipur explains the complaint, says, Had I known, I would have made myself lidnvuah, that's all. Right, that's what I'm trying to say. I'm not clear, but is part of it the Beis Elokim? It's not clear. That's what I want. But read it inside. Yeah. You see, I didn't read it like you. I read that the place that I saw the nevuah is the Beis Elokim, the makom Beis HaMikdash. Not that in the nevuah I saw the Beis HaMikdash. ... Yeah, but ... Zeh hamakom. No, no. Zeh hamakom asher ra'isi bo hamarah. This place that I saw the marah. ... No, but the marah can be read the next part, but marah hasulam nitzav bo. I don't know, you're not saying it clearly. I didn't read it the way you read it. Rabbi Yitzchak, how did you read it? Like him? That it's in the marah itself, that the Beis HaMikdash was the marah. Right, but you're saying the word bamarah, because the word bamarah could go on the next thing. Zeh hamakom asher ra'isi bamarah. I saw in the marah ... is the makom HaMikdash. Because later on, the supporter does use the lashon, it's the makom haMikdash. Okay. Either way, in the maareh, I don't know if he's referring to the Beis HaMikdash. The makom that I saw in the maareh, shehaya asulah nimtza boi, that sulam that was in the maareh. In the maareh, that's what he's referring to. ... Yeah. No, could be this is a Beis Elokim. The makom that I saw by maareh, as sulam mutzav boi, could be the Beis Elokim. I'm not mukhach the way you're reading it. You say it makes sense. I say it makes sense. It's not mukhach. It could read it both ways. Tell me something, we don't have the Torah Chaim Chumash, and it has the sipurnus in it, and on the bottom he explains it. No, he doesn't? Doesn't have the sippur in it? Okay, let's see, let's see. Let's take out the sefer and see how they translate. Okay. Either way.

Either way. How are you, my boys? The wind's the problem. The wind's the problem. I don't know if he was— the question not now in the Beis HaMikdash, but could be he's referring to the makom is the makom haMikdash, the dream-making. Okay, no, you're getting it? You're getting it? Oh no, so he says, 'Ki bifor al haya az beVeit El, v'lo haya sham, bimkom haMikdash.' Aha. Yeah, so that's why he's talking about there in the ma'arah, because the— no, because the pshat is that place. Yes, that place he called— but that place he technically called now the Beis HaMikdash. Yes, yes. Not that he wants to sleep there. I'm asking a kasha on the Brisker Rav. I wasn't referring to that. That's not what I'm referring to. The problem is he bichlal wasn't there. Yeah. So the truth is, it's a problem, because it comes out he slept somewhere else. He dreamt at a different place. So bichlal, what is the pshat in the pasuk? 'Ach ein Hashem bamakom hazeh.' 'Makom hazeh' in the dream. So meileh, why would he not go to sleep there? It's only a dream. Rashi says that's what he said. That's not what the Sforno says. He says clearly... Now, now you're saying good. Now you're saying good. Fornus saying, is this the place of the... And I know I wouldn't have done... But, ein hachanami, it's not... I would prepare myself. I would prepare myself. For nevuah. Okay. Now, what do I want? Okay, who wants to read now this halacha? Perek vav, halacha tez-vav. Okay, who's reading? Perek vav, halacha tez-vav. Okay, so you hear רבי יצחק, he's saying good in the support. According to support, בכלל wasn't even the makom hamikdash. So he saw the makom hamikdash in his dream, unless you say according to Rashi. Unless you say according to Rashi, but Rashi never used makom hamikdash, but he's the Brisker Rav שטעלט צו makom hamikdash. Okay. Rashi never said makom hamikdash. Huh? Who, Rashi? Yeah, what does Rashi say? Beis Hamikdash came to him. Yeah. Yeah, I still didn't hear the word Beis Hamikdash. It says, 'bo Beis Hamikdash.' Okay, perfect. Okay, okay, okay. Now. Read the Rambam. ... בית, אף על פי שאין שם בית בנוי. ... קדשים קלים ומעשר שני בכל ירושלים, אף על פי שאין שם חומה. In other words, all the dinim of Beis HaMikdash applies, says the Rambam. Why? Because kiddushah rishonah kidshah לשעתה וקידשה לעתיד לבוא; it stays forever, yeah? למה אני אומר במקדש וירושלים שקדושה ראשונה קדשה לשעתה ולא קדשה לעתיד לבוא, וקדושת שאר ארץ ישראל אינה ... לא? Why is only kedushah rishonah? Because ... because Beis HaMikdash ... השכינה. ... So Rabbi Wolkin wants to add, that's pshat in the Brisker Rav in the pasuk, according to the Brisker Rav. ... Why? Because otherwise you have a shtikel problem. It's still not the Beis HaMikdash. ... So ... kedushah rishonah, kiddshah לשעתה ...

You're the first one. Okay. Yeah, but still, that's halacha. Still, who says? Who said is right? But l'maaseh, you could hear it. At least you could hear it. At least there's what to talk about. You could say that the... You're right, but there's makom to say. The problem is the raivid. The raivid is cholek. The raivid holds that kol zman there's no beis hamikdash, it's batel. Okay, now this is a very important raivid, because the raivid here claims to be a big mekubal. He claims that he got this straight from HaKadosh Baruch Hu, this halacha. He does. He says. He disagrees on the Rambam. He says, Rambam, what are you talking about? Where'd you make this up from? Go ahead. Yeah. Okay, get to the bottom. He says, meila, what's the halacha l'maaseh? Oh, kach nigleh mi'sod Hashem lire'ah. Ein boi kares. You have a kasha. The raivid, who holds that you need the bayis in order to create mikdash, so l'choira you could walk around right now. Okay, so the truth is, there's a shaila in Binyan Tzion that says you need to read the raivid right. The raivid never said it's mutar. The raivid said you don't get kares for it. He never said it's mutar. Comes along the Binyan Tzion, and he says, mimeila, lish ka kasha, right? It's a lav. You have the lav, but without the kares. The kares you need the bayis. So mimeila, says the Sha'ar HaTziyun, siman beis, and avada, avada. You know, the beginning seems ... He says that avada, avada, even according to the Raivid, you're not allowed to go there. And this was a big tummel. This was a very big tummel here, that could be, according to the Raivid, it's not aser at all. And maybe we could pasken like the shitas haRaivid, especially when the Raivid says that he got it straight from higher sources, right? ... It was nigleh elai ... Hashem gave it to me. Granted, I saw the Chida, Pesach Einayim, quotes from Rav Chaim Vital that it was from Eliyahu Navi. Kach nigleh elai ... Hashem liEliyahu; Eliyahu Navi came to tell this to the Raivid. Okay, so l'choira, we could come and say that even according to the Raivid, even according to the Raivid, it's aser. Okay, the only thing is I want to point out that this whole machlokes Rambam and Raivid could be it's only after it's niskadesh, like we said, but kol zman it's not niskadesh, maybe there's no sugya. I mean, it's a nice ... maybe, that ... that the halachos apply by the mere fact that Hashem is there. It's not muchach, right? If you come and say that the halachos don't apply, all right. We could say that it could be it's even worse, and today it's even better. Why? The Shechinah was there. How about today? Is the Shechinah there? Maybe since the Churban Habayis, the Shechinah left. Very good, what's he talking about? Maybe that's the shita of the Raivid. How do you know to learn up the Raivid? The Rambam zicher learns that the Shechinah was there. The Raivid, we're learning a pshat that the Shechinah is there, but it's not a kares because there's no bias. Maybe pshat is the Shechinah left according to the Raivid. The Marsham clarifies this for a shailah. The Marsham in Chelek Daled, siman samech vav, he brings a Medrash, Shmois Rabbah, perek beis, go get it. Two shitos, that's right. Perek beis, perek beis, perek beis. Two shitos in Tannaim. One shita is that the Shechinah, oylam lo zaz, that even after the churban the Shechinah stayed there. And a second shita, says the Medrash, is that the Shechinah left. There's a mefurash Medrash in Pesikta Eicha Rabbasi. Yeah, but it's dependent on the fact that the Shechinah is eina beteilah. According to many shitos in the Gemara, Shechinah beteilah, he left. The Shechinah left. Perek beis or parsha beis? No, parsha beis. Because nun beis is the last. It doesn't work with par... because this is the... you have to get the... Okay, so what should I tell you? The Marsham. Maybe you have the Marsham. Take out the Marsham himself. You have a Marsham here, Chelek Daled, siman samech vav.

Here, the mashal brings two shitas. Maybe there's no Shechinah there today. Who said we have the Shechinah there today? The whole concept said, even when there's no Shechinah. That's what it says. This whole concept of Kitcha d'Shata was said, what? That the Shechinah is always there, even when the Churban. It says, Shechinah d'batei. That's the Rambam, but there's machlokes in the Tannaim about it. Maybe the Ra'avad holds differently. Fakert, I'm trying to say, you know, it's not a raya from before. You know, why do we try and bring a raya? You see Yaakov Avinu kept halachos even though there was no Beis HaMikdash. Maybe that's because ... he was still there at the time. But after the Churban, he left. Maybe after the Churban he left. But maybe he left. ... so there's no ... Here it is. K'mesalek Shechinasa. Here it is. Here it is, right here. Here's the medrash. Here, here it is. Here it is. Here it is. Moshe haya ro'eh. Here it is. Read it. Moshe haya ro'eh. Go ahead. It's on the pasuk, Moshe haya ro'eh. ... Moshe went there. That's a she'eilah. What did Moshe do? Okay, so Moshe brings two shitas. Go ahead, yeah. So it says, Amar Rav Shimon ben ... עד שלא חרב בית המקדש, היתה שכינה שורה בתוכו, ומשחרב בית המקדש נסתלקה שכינה לשמים. לשמים. שנאמר, ה' בשמים הכין כסאו. Hashem left. It's one shita. Hashem mishamayim heicha kisah, yeah? So, reish alef alef. Lechad zaza. Leicher zaza, where'd he go? The Shechinah. Mitoch heichal, af al pi shehu charav, harei hu bikdushato. Bikdushato. The second shitah is, he's never, lo olam lo zaz; he never left there. It's two shitos in the Midrash, if the Shechinah is still there today. Okay. What's the problem? Not only it's a machlokes between two Tannaim in one Midrash, it's actually a machlokes Midrashim. The Pesikta leicher Rabasi says clearly that the Rabbeinu Shlolem left the makom haShechinah. Rabbeinu Shlolem left. Rabbeinu Shlolem left. It's a פירוש, Pesikta, leicher Rabasi. You have all the poskim bring it down. I want to show you that it's halacha dike shailah, stirah lahalacha. The meorei stirah lahalacha, they have to deal with it. In Brachos, daf samech alef amud beis, it says that halacha of lo yeikal roishoi is only bizman shehaShechinah shorah. What does that mean? That bizman hazeh, that the Shechinah is not shorah, you don't have the problem, and the Rambam paskens that way. I'll show it to you. Beis HaBechirah, perek zayin, halacha ches. Okay, read the Rambam. Oh! Oh! Say it again! Say it again! Bizman... banui. You hear, Rabbi Yitzchak? Bizman shehaMikdash banui. Asur lo l'adam la'akir rosho. Why is he saying those words, bizman...? Because it's lashon of the Gemara, bizman shehaShechinah. Look at the Gemara Brachos, samech alef amud beis. Go ahead, get the Gemara. You have a lot of work to do today. I'm going to send you every two seconds for another sefer. Let's go, let's go, let's go. Okay, maybe the Kesef Mishneh brings the Gemara also. Go ahead, yeah? You know what the Kesef Mishneh brings the Gemara? He says, there's no me'ilah. There's no me'ilah? No, there's no me'ilah, yeah? I'm saying it's not totally in shechinah. Vayira Yaakov, yeah, but vayeikal rosho, and the Gemara says, bizman shechinah. So who is the Ritva explains it? Ah, Rabbeis. I know what the Rabbeis explains, but let's go slowly, yeah? Go ahead. Yeah. Okay, before you read the Rabbeis, let the oilam enjoy. Just because you have a Rambam, don't be selfish. Let the oilam enjoy a little bit. The Gemara says, bizman shehaShechinah sharuy, lo yeikal rosho. Samech aleph, amud beis. In the Beis HaMikdash, or anywhere? In the Beis HaMikdash, in the makom HaMikdash, lo yeikal rosho. He says, the Gemara, when is this? Only bizman shehaShechinah sharuy. It's only when the Rabbeinu Shalom is there. Says the Gemara: Tanu Rabbanan, hanifneh, b'Yehudah lo yifneh mizrach u'ma'arav, ela tzafon v'darom.

When you go to the bathroom in Yerushalayim, you have to make sure that it's a certain angle. Uv'Galil, a different angle. Rabbi Yosi matir. Rabbi Yosi says it's mutar. Where are we going? Yeah? Sha'ar Rabbi Yosi omer, like asur. Maybe that's what it is. They all got reminded them. The Gemara reminds them. So says the Gemara, like asur ela b'ra'uyah u'makom she'ein sham geder, u'vizman shehaShechinah shruyah. It's only when the Shechinah is resting. Yeah? Read the Gemara. Give it to Gershon. Go ahead. Read the Gemara. Tanu Rabbanan. Tanu Rabbanan. ... Rabbi Yosi matir ... lo asru ela b'makom she'ein sham geder. It has to be that you see. No wall. In the bathroom today we have walls, yeah? Ah, and it's only when the Shechinah was shruyah in the Beis HaMikdash. What is he saying? Bizman hazeh there's no Shechinah shruyah. It says it clearly. That's it. These are the klalim, that you need Shechinah shruyah. So you see clearly that bizman hazeh it's called ein Shechinah shruyah. Says the Rambam. Says the Rambam. I know, but you see that you need Shechinah shruyah, and according to the Chachamim it doesn't make a difference. And the Rambam paskens that way. The chiddush of the Rambam is he paskens that way. The Rambam says, okay, now read the Rambam again inside. Isn't that a good kashya? So we have a tremendous contradiction here, tremendous, tremendous contradiction. There's a tremendous stira. The Rambam on one hand says that the Makom HaMikdash is still sanctified bizman hazeh because Shechinah v'Shechinah eina בטילה. And over here it says, v'lo yeikal rosho is mutar because there's no Shechinah. Now read the Rambam inside. Who's reading it? Go ahead, Ephraim, go ahead. No? You want to read the Rambam? Because I see you talking. I'll let you make you read the Rambam. Okay, so you read the Rambam instead of talking. Read the Rambam. Go ahead. Give it to me. You don't even know. I have pages and pages. I have seven, eight pages of things that I want to cover with you today. Perek zayin, halacha ches. Exactly like Rabbi Yosi. Okay. So before we get to the Rambam, I'm going to show you a very interesting thing. Are you allowed to spit in the Makom HaMikdash? Allowed to spit. That's right. Yeah, but that's not there. I'm talking about like the Russians. The Russians, when it's in the middle of the winter. I don't know. I can just tell—we spoke about it. The Russians have a minhag that when they see people, before they give them shalom aleichem, first they spit. And then they spit, and then they give shalom aleichem. You know that, right? You're lucky that they don't do it into the hand. Sometimes they do it into the hand. Makom HaMikdash. So read the Rambam, Hilchos Lemaaseh. First, read the Gemara, yeah? So, Gemara says it's asur, right? Yeah. No? Can you read me the Rambam? Are you allowed to spit in the Makom HaMikdash? Next, next. No? Haroik. Are you allowed to spit? There's no roikik over here? You don't have halacha of roikik? I know, you can. I think it goes both before or after. No? You don't have roikik? Yeah. Yeah. Ah, asur l'rok. You're not allowed to spit in the Har Habayis. Go ahead. Kapandria. Okay, where is the makor?

Yeah, what does he say? Nu? Samech beis on the beis. Okay, so what does the Gemara say? Here it is. Okay, here. Here's the Gemara. Okay, shh. Here. Here. Urikika mikal vachomer. So why is rikika aser? Amar Rabbi, amar Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, kol haroik b'Har Habayis bizman hazeh, k'ilu roik b'vas einoi, shene'emar, v'einei v'libi sham kol hayamim. I don't understand what's going on here. The Rambam is all over the place. He's all over the place. On one hand he says shechinah eina beteilah, on one hand he says b'Har Habayis, there's no shechinah, and on the other hand he says if you spit in Har Habayis, it's eini v'libi sham. What do you do? What do you do with eini v'libi sham kol hayamim? Okay, so now let's go to the Ratbaz. Yeah? Okay, go ahead. Who's reading the Ratbaz? What is the Har Habayis? Later on we're going to get to the perimeters of the Har Habayis. Har Habayis, we're going to learn, is actually, truthfully, past the Kosel. Har Habayis is—there's room after the Kosel. It's 500 cubits from the whole area, the whole shetach, and Har Habayis was not 500 cubits. The Har Habayis—we have these walls. These walls are not— People think it has something to do with the Beis HaMikdash. These ones have nothing to do with the Beis HaMikdash. It's before the Har Habayis, there was a wall, and that's what we have. Kotel HaMaaravi is before? The Kotel HaMaaravi is way before. There's plenty of room from the Kotel to where the Har Habayis begins. Plenty of room. Plenty. Okay, we'll discuss it. Slowly. Now, I'm not going to go into the geography of it, because I'm not so, so baki. I know that the meidim ... go through the geography of it. Many, many places went through the geography. It's just not. The Har Habayis wasn't as big as what we have up there. Okay, go ahead, yeah. ... says, ... mo'ir haMikdash. Okay, continue. What about the Rav Baz, not by Bayis Bani? So what are you referring— which Rav Baz are you referring to? I understand. I understand. Good, that's a stira. Okay. Let me show you a little bit more. In Hilchos Tefillah, the Rambam says, Tefillah, perek hei, halacha gimmel, that when you daven, you're supposed to daven towards— like they daven towards Mecca, we have to daven towards Makom HaMikdash, right? Whatever. Now, Tefillah, perek hei, halacha gimmel. So it's not always Mizrach. Towards Makom HaMikdash. Now it's Mizrach, but we don't know how. We don't know how to set it up. No, because every place is different. Every place is different. So let's say if a person is in Australia. Okay, go ahead, yeah. Perek Halacha Gimel. Okay, now what is that for? What's the reason for that? Anybody know what the reason for that is? L'makom echad. What's really? It's achdus. It's a shaylah of achdus. That's what it says, right? Sheyikulu. What's the lashon? The Gemara says such a lashon. But l'choira, what's the reason for this? So the Gemara, Brachos daf lamed amud aleph, which is the mekor of this halacha, the Rambam says because the makom HaMikdash is called tal piyot. What is tal piyot? Tail. It's a mountain. Shekol piyot ponim eilav, that all the mouths, when you pray, you pray to that direction. Kol piyot. But what is that reason? He brings it, he brings it. The Kesef Mishneh brings it. No? Okay, what's the reason for this Gemara, daf lamed? What is it? So there's a Meiri de'Zohar. Zohar Kodesh, Parshas Mishpatim explains that the Ribbono Shel Olam...

Today, by the Kaisel HaMaaravi. The yura delay. The yura delay. This is where the Rabbeinu Shloilam is now resting. Why? Al shem, the iu tel shel kol ponim eilah, because that's the place, talpiot, that all the piyos, all the prayer. That's why when you come to the Kaisel, it's the makom ha-tefilos, because it's talpiot, and hashraas haShechinah is over there. I thought you told me that there's no Shechinah. The Shechinah left, like Eicha Rabbah. Many contradictions here, many contradictions. Okay. There's many terutzim to this. Some Acharonim want to say that there's different levels of Shechinah. It's not the same level as it was in the time of the Mikdash. Mimeila, all the halachos apply differently. Rekikah. There's talk like this, that there are different levels of makom HaMikdash. Just know that there is such a fact out there. I don't want to go into it, because then we're going to have to start discussing the Rabbeinu Shloilem's different bechinos. You know, I don't want to go into it. But there are, Acharonim discuss this. Okay. There's a very interesting Rashbatz that I wanted you to know. The Rashbatz says in the teshuvah, chelek gimmel, siman reish aleph, that he knows for sure that the Shechinah didn't leave the makom HaMikdash. I'll prove it to you, he says. It says, Me'olam lo amar tzar li hamakom. No one ever came to the Beis HaMikdash and said that it's very, very, it's very, very tight. Me'olam lo amar tzar li hamakom is on the Beis HaMikdash, because omrim tzufim, and it said about Yerushalayim also. Says the Rashba, take a look at Yerushalayim today. He says, I’ll prove it to you. Look at Yerushalayim. Come, there’s more people than there is space and everybody’s happy. Rashba to the teshuvos. He says, and I’ll prove it to you. I was in a shul, he says, in Yerushalayim. We have a Rashba over here? Pasbetzi, we don’t have a Rashba. Okay. He says, I was in a shul in Yerushalayim, and there were so many people, yet everybody fit inside. So it has to be because the Shechinah is still all there, because he was in a shul. You like it, Rashba? I loved it. It’s such a beautiful Rashba. You know what it is? The temimus, the temimus of the Acharonim. Pashut, you know. I’ll prove it to you. I’ll prove it to you, because it says... over here was... Okay. So we’ve come to a conclusion that there is really no conclusion if the Shechinah is still there today, right? L’choirah, there’s contradictory halachos and there’s different levels. Yeah. Let me ask you a question. Let me ask you a question. There’s a maidike Meiri. The Meiri brings shitas haRaavad, and the Meiri says, today you’re allowed to walk on the makom HaMikdash. V’chein shamati, l’fi ma sheshamanu, he says, the way we heard, the way we heard, people walk on Har HaBayis. So the shitas haMeiri in the Raivid is not the kares; it's heter. There's two teshuvos from the Radvaz that people quote. One teshuva, he writes that it's only the kares, and one teshuva he writes according to the Raivid it's mutar l'chatchila. So everybody wants to say, Radvaz, Radvaz is matir it, the Meiri's matir it. Okay, let's go. We're marching up. And how did the Raivid say it? The Raivid said it, Shoyrach Hashem, nikloi lai. What more could you have, right? So we're going there. So it's very interesting. I once saw in Meiriah a teshuva from a rabbi, a Sephardic Baptist, and kedarko bakodesh, the bekius is haflah, fella. And he says an interesting point. He says, how could the Meiri say, according to what he heard, the Meiri lived in the time of the Ramban and the Rashba. The Ramban himself, in a letter that he writes to his son, Rabbeinu... Avram. Huh? Avram. He had a son, Rabbeinu Avram. The Ramban had a son, Rabbeinu... Huh? Like his father, he had a son, Rabbeinu Avram, and in the letter he writes, I came to Eretz Yisrael, to Yerushalayim, and Yerushalayim...

I am ischarev. There is nobody there. There's nothing, he says. We hardly were able to get a minyan together of people. He says we gathered ten people, pashut, to make a minyan, and he says, ... Yeah, I guess so. It's not the Iggeres Ramban, it's something else. He quotes a different Iggeres. Okay, so he writes in this letter that the— so he says, Rav, who did the meiri hear this from? He must have heard from somebody there. There was nobody there to know the difference. He says, So what's the raya? He says, he writes over there that there's a butcher, there's a butcher there. Who, the butcher? The butcher's going to pasken shailos, says Rav? What do you want from this meiri? This meiri is nothing. He says, nothing. What does that mean, though? He must have heard absurd from who? From what, ...? In terms of the lashonos of the Rishonim or the melachim, we have no right to go against them. But maybe in the ... he had raya. But he's saying, ... that whatever he heard, he can't be somech on halacha because he's a rishon. He might say he's a rishon, and if a rishon says it, he's worthy, kadosh for us. Huh? Until you hear— yeah, maybe mistama it was. Because of yirchas Shamayim. Okay, get up and explain. I'm tired. That person— he studied, means kadosh, but the person who told him probably was, because there was nobody there. Who's saying that? The meiri said. The meiri didn't know there was no people in Yerushalayim. He knew that. He went to Yerushalayim. He's a rishon. That means you're saying a rishon doesn't know what he's talking about, right? He didn't make a research. By the way, in matters of nature, history, facts, it's not— But he says a beautiful teshuvah. He says this is what I heard in Eretz Yisrael they do. He says, yeah, but from— it's a whole teshuvah. He says it's only in his place, because he thought the whole world is like this. Rav Ovadia goes and rips the whole ... in pieces. That's different. He's telling you over a ... that people went there, but there was no people to know the difference. It's based on people getting all the differences. Okay, the Kitzur. What about the fact that he got it straight from HaKadosh Baruch Hu? What about the fact that he got it straight from HaKadosh Baruch Hu? Niglei lai, and I told you that the chidah, Pesach Einayim—ah, not him, I'm quoting now Rashba. Comes along the Radbaz, excuse me, yeah, the Radbaz, at the end of perek vav of Hilchos Bechirah—go look in the Rambam over there—says the Radbaz, I'm not impressed. What came to him b'said Hashem, niglei lai? Guess what? The fact that it came to him, I believe, he says. But the fact that I have to listen to that, I don't believe, he says, because even if it came to me and told me that, I would say it's not negei, because Torah lo bashamayim. Yeah, the Radbaz over there, you have it? I don't know. Oh, so then it's... he doesn't say arizal. Arizal came much later. You have it? You have the Radbaz? You don't have the Radbaz? At the end of perek vav. So, Shechinah shesniyah... Avrahamov. He brings the Raavad. Okay, so read it, read it, read it. No. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the last part. He uses this lashon, and he once also mentions that by lulav, he says. No, but he says that in the Beis Medrash, he says... You have it? You have the Rabbaz? You have it? Yeah, everybody quotes. Ah, listen carefully. Yitzchak, listen carefully, yeah? Huh? Even... he says... Ah, the whole thing is—he had to scare you off. No, he had to scare you off at the end, because that's what he's trying to say, the raayos. There's raayos with shvacha raayos, so mainly he figured he'll... I want you to know I got this from Shamayim, so yeah, therefore what? No, he says more. No, Amid, he doesn't have that? What do you mean? I saw it there. What do you mean? Give it to me, give it to me. You know what? I don't have time for this. Come, come, come, just bring it to me.

Maybe it's in the teshuvah. Maybe it's in the teshuvah ... that teshuvah. He says this lashon. Yeah, he says this lashon. He says, he says, I don't understand. What, it was nigleh b'sod Hashem? Oh, it is here. You see, you got me all angry. Nigleh lavadavar b'sod Hashem lire'av. I saw it here. I remember seeing it. I went crazy when I saw it, because it's so beautiful. Nigleh lavadavar b'sod Hashem lire'av, ani ma'amin. Aval lo heisi somech al atzmi likanes l'mikdash, va'afilu haya niglah elai, even if it came to me, ki hayisi omer lo b'shamayim hi. What a beautiful ... This is beautiful. Beautiful stuff. Yeah, I believe. In other words, you know what they say with the Baal Shem stories? Those that believe it all are stupid. Those that believe that it couldn't happen are kofrim. You have to believe it could happen, that it all happened. You got to be a fool to believe that it all happened. Same thing over here too, yeah? HaKadosh Baruch Hu gilah elav. Okay, all right. L'maaseh, it says in the pasuk, Hinei omeid achar kosleinu, mashgiach min hachalonot. You know what this says, the output, Shimoni shir shirim? This is referring to, this is referring to the koisel. Hinei omed achar kosleinu, the Kosel HaMa'aravi. And because me'olam lo zaz haShechinah, the Ribono Shel Olam doesn't leave from there. So again, we stop. He's there, he's not there, he is there, he's not there, he is there, he's not there. Okay, I want to show you something very interesting. Vayikach avnei hamakom. You know what this avnei hamakom that Yaakov took? What is this avnei hamakom? That's right. How'd you know? A wild guess. Zohar HaKadosh. Zohar HaKadosh in Parshas Vayeitzei says, Reb Elazar bacha. Reb Elazar cried. Why did he cry? He says, take a look, the even asher sam, which became the even shetiyah, that the world was created by that even, okay? There's a whole— they have a whole hole, you know, they have a hole over there where they claim the even shetiyah, the Makom HaMikdash over there. All right. So that hole, hagoyim mitamem oisam, that metameh. Yishmaelim are metameh. So I didn't understand what he meant. What, because they're tamei meisim? Because they're murderers, they love to kill people? First of all, the whole shaylah if a goy is tamei meis. Can a goy be metameh b'tumas meis? It's a whole issue. You think yes, you think no. So pashut he means, uvovo pritzim vechileluhu. When I was in Yerushalayim... I was busy. It's obvious, you know, I used to have a very big shiur on the sinyan. This is just the beginning. I have seven, eight more pages to go. I was busy with this. Why was I busy with this? Because the Briskers don't let you go near the Kosel. Supposedly, my real diskin didn't want to go eleven amos near the Kosel, because he wasn't sure where Har HaBayis and the Makom Kedushah begins, and we're all tamei meisim, like we'll soon discuss. And there's different types of tumah. Well, tumas meis is not a problem in the Har HaBayis. You know that, right? We're going to learn this halacha l'maaseh. Tumas shechazera is—see, go to the mikveh, right? So, l'choira, I would suggest that anybody goes to the Kosel should go to the mikveh first, okay? And tumei meis is not a problem. The Chazon Ish—Rav Chaim Kanievsky claims, it's brought down in the Orchos Rabbeinu, that the Chazon Ish, eleven amos—when he got to eleven amos before the Kosel, he stopped. He didn't want to go near it. And he told Rav Chaim, You could go. It's all right, fine, go. That's what he writes. He told him it's okay. And he says that he went, and he told him, You could touch it, and the Steipler, his father, also used to touch the Kosel, no problem. All right? But the Briskers were busy with not going mamash near the Kosel, and then there's a whole shailah if you're allowed to take it, put your tefillin inside. I was busy with this. Don't review me. I'm so busy.

Why? It's brisker chumras, but it's based on halachas. To me, that's very interesting. You know, when it's l'maaseh, it's l'maaseh. Okay, so therefore I had a lot of information, and I came across this zohar, where the Zohar writes that the Yishmaelim are metamed, and Reb Leizer was bacha, he was crying because of this. So I went to ask Arabis. I asked, tell me, what do you do there? What are you guys doing there? I asked the Arab guy, what's going on over there? So he told me that they do levayos over there. When a guy dies, they bring him. No, they daven there also, but they have levayos over there. Levayos. That's the pshat. Reb Leizer used to bring the meisim onto the makom HaMikdash. That's what he meant. Reb Leizer was gevaldik. Reb Leizer knew more than we. I was so happy. I was sad to hear it, but I was happy to understand the pshat in the Zohar. They do levayos over there. Now you have to understand, because to them levayah is the most important thing. It's a very important thing by them. By them, the ikar is levayot. Yeah, okay. The only shaylah is, I told him, came here, ... you should be zoche to go to many, many more levayos. Okay, now, the Magen Avraham in siman tav-kuf samech aleph, takke paskens, you know, l'gabei makom HaMikdash bizman hazeh, we pasken like the Rambam and not like the Raavad. Okay, the Mishnah Berurah in Likutei Halachos in Zevachim, takke says we pasken like the Rambam, and even if there was shaylah to pasken like the Raavad, it's not clear what the Raavad meant. Maybe there's just no kares. Pravada d'dilav, and therefore you can't go, and that's how the Mishnah Berurah paskens in siman taf reish, samech aleph. So you have three mareh mekomos: the Magen Avraham in taf kuf, samech aleph, the Chofetz Chaim, the Likkutei Halachos, and the Mishnah Berurah in taf reish, samech aleph. Okay. Moshe Montefiore went there to Eretz Yisrael. As a matter of fact, he cleaned up the Kosel, if you know about that. The Kosel was full of dung. He used to put a coin in there, yeah? Cleaned—I don't know about coins, but he cleaned it up. He paid for the whole cleanup, huh? Moshe Montefiore, he paid for the cleanup. He used to be a garbage man. Moshe Montefiore went on the Har HaBayis together with his rav, Rav Levi. He had a Rav, Rav Levi, so he went on the Har HaBayis. And it says over there that the Rabbani Yerushalayim put him in cherem. They put shofar—there was a whole tumult how he went on the Har HaBayis. All right, that's history. Bottom line is, some say—and that's how the poskim bring it down today—that he himself didn't go. What he did was he went with a box. They put him in a box, shedei teivah u'migdal, and they prove from that that you can't go in the Har HaBayis with a helicopter, right? Cannot. You cannot hover over the Makom, because if he went in a box, like the Lubavitchers do today with the kever, they have kohanim, they go to the Rebbe's kever, they go in a box. It's a sugya called shedei teivah u'migdal, all right? That it's not like you're there; it's a mechitzah, shedei teivah u'migdal. So there's a whole question, two things: shedei teivah u'migdal, and there's also a shaylah of avir, and we're going to do that sugya right now. Are you allowed to— A, it's the same yesod. The yesod is you're not there. A and B is what about the avir of Beis Hamikdash is a kodesh. So let's do this halacha. Tosafos Makos, daf yud beis amud aleph, says that the avir of the Azarah does not have a din of Beis Hamikdash; it has a din of Yerushalayim. Tosafos in Shevuos, daf yud zayin amud aleph, contradicts himself, and he says clearly the avir Azarah has a halacha of Azarah. What's your question? Huh? Yeah, but you're in a different place. It doesn't matter. You're not... No, the problem is maybe there's two shailos. A, maybe you're not stepping, and B is maybe avir, maybe avir is mutar. So let's see that halacha lemaaseh. There's two Tosafos, famous theories. I don't know what they do, but if they went in a box, it's a sugya. I don't know exactly what they do. It's not negea to me what they do, because the chachamim could be they're so crazy, they're also meisim, they're also shogegim. I don't know. Maybe they're patur and a mitzvahs. I don't know. So let's take... The Rambam in Hilchos Shegagos, perek aleph, halacha daled. Let's go. The Rambam is mistapek about...

Avir azarah. What's the halacha? Here's the avodah. Not avodah, korbanos, shegagos. Tamah, tamah, tamah. Kol korbanos. Yes? Shegagos, perek aleph, halacha daled. Go ahead. Who's reading? Perek aleph, halacha daled. Perek daled, halacha daled. He brings the Avi over this? Maybe it's perek yud aleph. Is there a yud aleph there? Perek yud aleph, halacha daled. Okay, continue. Oh, that's what I want. He hung himself, you hear? Not hung, death, hung, תלייה. He put himself in where? Avir azarah. Go ahead. That's the machlokes. It's a safek. The Rambam paskens halacha l'maaseh, it's a safek. Halacha of sheidah. Yes, there's two sugyas here. I'm trying to tell you, there's a few sugyas. First of all, b'chalal, maybe you're allowed to go over. There's no problem, because it's avir. But we pasken avir chotz. That's aleph, okay? So what? One is that it's safek about the avir, and then there's another safek. What? Because there's a safek. It's a safek kares. According to the Rambam, it's a safek kares. The second nekudah that we have to discuss is, is it covered completely? You know, it's interesting, if you go over with a plane, it's not a problem, but you don't really actually reach the avir. You know who has the sugya of vadi himself, because he flies over Yerushalayim? Helicopter. Helicopter. It's a very big problem, because if you fly over the Makom HaMikdash, so you have to take a different route. Okay, there's a few other shailos. What other shaila? Like I said, shei dateivu mikvah. Now, there's another thing called derech gagos. Bias Mikdash is not asur if you come from the gag, from the top, because it has to be derech bi'ah. It has to be the normal way of coming in. So the issur is only derech bi'ah through the doors, not derech gagos through the roofs. Bias Mikdash, perek gimmel, halacha yud tes. Let's go. Oh, you have to be ready for the shiur. There's a lot of stuff, and we have a lot of things to cover here. It's a nice topic, Reb Yitzchok. You ever heard this? It's an interesting topic, huh? You enjoying this? Huh? Perek gimmel, halacha yud tes. Derech gagos. This is the sugya. Patur. Why is he patur? Because it's not called derech... Oh. Say what it says. Yeah, that's where the problem. So maybe you're not over the de'oraisa, sheboi, but the makas mardus. Now why? Ah, why we makas mardus? Why makas mardus? What do you do? Maybe. Look inside, let's go. So there's a chiluk between, huh? There's a chiluk, yeah? It's called a bi'ah not for kares but for malkus. So l'choira, and this is how they pasken, yeah, that you have to be careful. Can you actually tell paskens like this in Orchos Rabbeinu? I think Rav Avadi says that in that teshuva that I saw. You got to be careful that when you fly helicopter, you can't fly over the Makom HaMikdash. Okay, now, Matos could be very high up, you have to know. You have to know. Matos is a very big sugya because it's very, very high up. So pashut, you have to say that the op goes all the way up to Shamayim. It's a good shailah. El Al used to go actually through the cemeteries. That's a different sugya.

That's how it's meisim into masmeis, and they changed, and they rerouted the whole El Al flights because the Rabbanim were going to come out and not let people fly on El Al. So they rerouted. They rerouted their flights. Let me tell you something. You know what the problem with all that is? You can't reroute every flight only in Eretz Yisrael, because Lod is right next to the Beis HaKvaros. But the whole world, if you hold that it goes all the way up to Shamayim, so you can't fly anywhere, unless you say, well, you know, vadai, you don't know vadai. That's a very big sugya. It's a big sugya, the flying in the airplanes with the tumas meis. Why don't we do it then? I have no choice. There's no choice. How do you know where people are buried? People fly all over. I mean, you have everywhere there's cemeteries, everywhere there's... ...most goyim. Okay, let's come to... Why are you not allowed to go today on the Makom HaMikdash? Why can't you go? Okay, that's... we're talking about the Makom HaMikdash. It's not close to the airport. Now let me show you like this. The Rambam... what's not near the airport? What are you talking about, for what? Airplanes from Eretz... will fly over Yerushalayim. But I'm talking about that. They don't fly over Yerushalayim at all. Only to get to a helicopter. You asked me in case they fly, okay, so what are you going to do? I mean, you're right, the people who fly to Israel don't fly over Yerushalayim. People who fly to Gibraltar or something. Dang, I don't know wherever they fly, they zocheh peis over Yerushalayim. I'm saying wherever it is, they zocheh peis over Yerushalayim. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, bottom line. Jordan. They go to Jordan, they're passing over Yerushalayim. Okay. What's the reason, what's the reason that a person is not allowed to go into a makom hamikdash today because of tumah? What's the tumah? So let's look at the Rambam, Beis HaBechirah, perek zayin, halacha tes-vav. Perek zayin, halacha tes-vav. A met atzmo is mutar to go into Har Habayis, and kol shekein what? Temei meis. So the problem is only what? The problem is only, l'maaseh, the makom hamikdash, because the Har Habayis is mutar. Rambam, Beis HaMikdash, perek gimmel, halacha gimel. A met atzmo is mutar to go into Har Habayis, and kol shekein... temei meis. So if someone tells you you can't walk on the Har Habayis because today we're all temei meis, he's a moron. You know right away he doesn't know what he's talking about. The minute a guy says you can't walk on the Har Habayis because he's temei meis, you should know right away he has no idea what he's talking about. Because tamei makes a lot of work in the Har Habayis. Okay, so we'll discuss that. To say the word that the reason is for tumas meis, you should know, tell him, סליחה, but you're not. Now, the problem is shechmazera. That's where the problem is. Someone is motzi zera, so the halacha is he's not allowed to go in the Har Habayis. Too bad, but that's the halacha. The halacha is you're allowed to be a meis into the Har Habayis. Now, Pesachim, samech zayin amud beis. The Gemara says that someone who is... zavin, we just learned it, nidahs, baal keri, all this is not allowed to go into the Har Habayis. The Rambam doesn't bring it lahalacha. That's where the big problem is. Pesachim, samech zayin amud beis, the Rambam doesn't bring it. In Hilchos Beis HaMikdash that we just learned, it says clearly what? Read it. Mishale'ach mishtei machanos. The what? Can you say keri? That's a very big problem. How come the Rambam wasn't gores this Gemara?

It's a big problem. You hear the problem? It's a mefurasha Mishnah, it's a mefurasha Gemara, that a baal keri is not allowed to go into the Har Habayis. The Rambam doesn't bring it. As a matter of fact, it's mashma for keri. It's because he says clearly, only these which are metamei mishkav u'moshav, it's not to get to keri. So the teretz might be, not to be anaf. Problem, the problem, how come he doesn't bring the baal keri? So it could be because a baal keri has an eitzah, let him just go be metaher himself. He needs a story; it takes time. No, he's saying a different vart. The baal keri knows to go to the mikveh before he goes. He might be a teful yom. Could be a teful yom, he doesn't hold. That's what the Acharonim want to say, that keri avad the Rambam's maskim to. But the reason why he didn't bring it is because you don't have to be mishtaleach; go to the mikveh. There was mikvaos over there, so run to the mikveh. The Kohen Gadol, if he was ira keri, he had to leave? No, he went to the mikveh, that was it. He threw the mechilos, he left, it says. This is the sugya. The sugya is the Rambam doesn't bring it, and they want to say it could be the Rambam holds... because ela mai, because let him go, what? Let him go and be... okay. So for men, for men to walk on that strip, it's not a big story. I mean, okay. For men to walk on that, women is a problem. Why? Because of nida. Now zav is not such a big problem. Huh? Once they let you up on the ramp, the ramp itself is nothing also. The ramp is also not okay. But once you go past through the ramp, right? So you're allowed to go past the wall to see what's inside. A man is allowed to go. If he goes to the mikveh, he should be allowed to go. I remember there was a whole controversy recently. You know why? Because he went through the sugin. It's mutar. No, because of cherem. Because like the Kli Yakar writes, because you know what's going to happen? Everybody's going to do it, and therefore you're causing big problems. Again, you can't be chayav kares only if you נכנס בטומאה. So it is. Tumas meis is not negea until the makom hamikdash itself. Huh? Look at the measurements over here. He—okay, so who's he? He's not an am ha'aretz, this guy. He knows what he's talking about. And you know who else? He—Rav Churchinsky says that. Churchinsky went through the makom hamikdash, called Har HaBayis v'Har HaMikdash. He went through the measurements, and it's not—the minute you walk out of the Kotel, it's not a problem. I'll show you the nafka mina lahalacha. I don't hold that you should have people go there. That's not what I'm—what are you talking about? I'm teaching halacha. You want to know l'maaseh? Of course you don't go, chas v'shalom, because you've got to be crazy to be—what are you talking about? So the Steipler wrote—it's very hard to teach if everybody talks—the Steipler wrote that the reason not to go is lo plug for everybody else. That's the real reason. And whoever does it, you should stand there and scream at him and yell at him and tell him that he's doing a tremendous aveirah, okay? But you should know that it's not wrong, meaning halachically it's not wrong if there's no halacha, okay. Niddah is a very problem because you can't just sit there and check for niddah before you let a lady go in the Har Habayis, right? Okay. Now, but ein hachanami, if a woman checks is clean, theoretically she's allowed to go. She's allowed to go. What's wrong? What do you want? Okay. Okay. Like I said, like I said, if you look at HaMikdash u'Kedoshav, even after the wall, it's still not the Har Habayis. Okay, so let's move on. What do I want with all this? I'll tell you what I want. Soldiers. Soldiers have to keep guard on the Har Habayis. He's a frum Yid, he's a policeman, he's a frum Yid, and he's sent over there to check. That's his job. What do you do now? So the truth is, does it have to—

I mean, whatever it is, it's not doiche pikuach nefesh. There are going to be people who are throwing stones and killing, if not for the police that are going to be there, right? So it's pikuach nefesh, and that's what the poskim say, that a soldier, a policeman. Now you can't say, I don't want to go, let him go, because what's the difference? There's nothing. The only thing is, maybe what they could do is, which is not a bad idea, which is not a bad idea, maybe what they could have is that the Arab soldiers— No. The Arab soldiers, meaning the ones who are in the Israeli army who are not Jewish, the Druze, that they should check, that the Druze should be the one to check. Probably it's not feasible. Obviously you can't sit there and check a guy if he's a Druze or not a Druze and tell him to be shomer the makom hamikdash. So therefore the heter has to be, okay, pikuach nefesh, fine. The only thing is, he should try to stay right near the kosel on the other side. He should try his best not to go, because there's chilukim right after the kosel, kimat l'chol hadeios is not the makom Har Habayis, and even then there's Har Habayis, right? And then there's makom hamikdash. So he should try his best to stay closest to the wall as possible. If not, whatever the measurements are, and definitely not standing in Al Sharif, whatever it is over there they call—what do they call that place? Al Haram? What do they call it? Al-Aqsa. Okay. The only thing is this, yeah, and I spoke it over with poskim in Eretz Yisrael when I was there, because I was busy with this, I told you, that a soldier who goes to check on the Har Habayis should go to the mikveh first. And he should go to tefilas mikvah in a mikvas noshim, and he should be makpid on chatzitzas and make a bracha. That's right. Because it's nogea him. It's nogea halacha; it's de'oraisa. It's nogea to tumas meis. The Tzaddik HaKohen, in his Sha'ar Teshuvah sefer, says this yesod, that when you want to go on the Har Habayis, a man had to make a bracha to go to the mikvah. When he went to the mikvah, he had to make a bracha. So, this is what I would tell a soldier. A soldier that has to go, he should go every morning to the mikvah. He should go to the mikvah, make a bracha, and he should be makpid, and maybe he should even have a watcha called mikvah man over there. A shomer. Chatzitzah. Avada, 100 percent. 100 percent. Okay. You know where the problem is? Why aren't you writing this? This is halacha l'maaseh, huh? Too fast? Oh, I'm sorry. Okay, so let me tell you over another yesod. You know, the soldier, he carries with himself a backpack. He carries with himself chreifos, you know, whatever stuff that he has over there, okay? If those are tamei meis, is there a heter to bring them into the... Mishloim, you have a heter of pikuach nefesh to be a soldier. But let's say you're carrying—now, the stuff that he needs to be a soldier, the stuff that's nichlal in the pikuach nefesh. But what about the stuff that he doesn't need to be a soldier? He's carrying his own things. He's carrying his newspaper with him, whatever he's carrying. Okay, so I want you to know there's a Gemara in Eruvin, yeah? Yeah? Daf kuf daled amud beis. That says, yenale bring dvarim tameiim that became tamei from a tumas meis into a makom mikdash. The Aruch HaShulchan, I saw, brings down clearly, yeah, that you have to be careful. You have to be careful what you bring in. So a soldier should go in with the bare minimum, things that he needs for the pikuach nefesh and not more, because the chaytzim are tamei meis. The Rambam in Hilchos Beis HaBechirah, perek zayin, halacha aleph through yud, teaches us all the hanhagos of how he's supposed to behave l'choirah. It's like negea b'zman hazeh, right? We pasken the Rambam lo yeikar rosho, right? The whole sugya is on negea b'zman hazeh. So what about shoes? Are you allowed to walk with shoes on the Har HaBayis? You're not allowed to walk with shoes. So how does a soldier walk around with boots, with boots on the Har HaBayis? So some want to say that's some of the heterim that they give. He needs his boots, otherwise he can't run. Absolutely. Tell me, you can't have rubber, rubber boots? It has to be leather? It has to be the army ones, because if in time when you need... Okay, so I want you to know that the poskim, the frumi poskim in Eretz Yisrael suggested army boots are not rubber; they're made from leather. It's all leather, okay? The frumi poskim, and when I say frumi, I don't mean the derogatory, I mean Rav Churkinsky and all...

The big chashuv poskim, they want to ta'ina? Special boots, make special boots. Why? That's right. That's what they ta'ina, because according to the Chazon, you're allowed to walk onto the makom HaMikdash with shoes which are not leather. What's the issue? Let's say on Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur you're not allowed to wear shoes. What? So we wear synthetic. That's the whole sugya by us, right? No, inu, inu. Minchas Chinuch, the Minchas Chinuch says—let's see, on Yom Kippur you're not supposed to wear shoes. Could you wear rubbers? Yeah, you're not allowed to wear rubber. Makom HaMikdash is different. So the she'eilah becomes, let's make synthetic boots special, they should. It's a very good idea. It's a tremendous idea. Okay, here a few more questions. By the way, Reb Dovid Feinstein told me that on Tisha B'Av you could wear sneakers. No problem, no problem. On Yom Kippur, he says there's an inyan like the avodah of Yom Kippur, the b'shaas avodah. He said, no, sometimes I listen—remember things from Dovid told me, I realized later, years later, he said simple answers. I realized what he was talking about. It's amazing. After years and years, I appreciate that psak. Why? Because of what you just said. You don't realize what you just said. On Yom Kippur it's not only the inyan of not having the shoes, but it's also the inyan of avodah. So he said, b'shaas avodah, he said. You should die to take off your sneakers. Okay, now, let's see one more thing. Are you allowed to eat on the Har Habayis? Avadah not. So the soldiers, they should be careful. They're sitting on the Har Habayis watching. They should be careful. I'll tell you more. Ready? What about shmoozing? Are you allowed to schmooze on the Har Habayis? Our Chashulchan says that just like you're not allowed to eat and you're not allowed to... So when the soldiers sit there, they're spending their day over there on the Har Habayis, they have to be careful what? Not to schmooze. Not to schmooze. Yeah? How about smoking? You should... Because nefesh to sit and talk shmoozing? No, if you're going to talk, you could slip. You're a soldier. Let him... Okay, now, you agree with him. Okay. What about reading a newspaper? Of course not. How about smoking a cigarette? Beis Yerushalayim. Hakadosh tells the soldiers, no smoking on the Har Habayis. You know, no smoking on the Har Habayis. If you're a soldier, no smoking on the Har Habayis. All right? Final and final last thing. Final last thing. Okay. What was the last thing I want to tell you? Soldier Har Habayis. It's smoking, right? Not the smoke. Okay, this is what it is. So, l'choira, the halacha—oh, I knew there was one more thing. Once you hold that the har habayis has kedusha and it's a din me'ir mikdash, maybe shemirah. You need shomrim. You need a shomer for the makom hamikdash, just like the halachos of har habayis apply. What about the din of shomrim? And hachanami, the soldiers that are there, they should be mechaven to be mekayem the mitzvah of being the shmirah also. The only problem is, leviim and not to be shomrim, right? So atem and shomrim, so if the guy is soldiers, a Levi, he's not—he's not be mechaven l'shem mitzvah, the shmirah of the makom hamikdash. I had a question. No, no.