Why do we continue to mourn the loss of the Beit HaMikdash (Great Temple of Jerusalem)? What was so special and unique about such a sacred place?

To understand this matter, we must consider and ponder one issue. The revelation of the Torah to the people of Israel brought with it a revolution in human thought: the idea of humanity.

Until then, each national, ethnic or religious group considered itself the only truly valuable one: only the members of their own tribe were human, and the rest were inferior beings, whose lives were worth little or nothing. In the ancient pagan conception, those who were not part of the same group were inhuman, treated like cattle or enslaved.

The Torah broke with that pagan conception and brought to the world a new and progressive idea: humanity. For the Torah, all members of the human family are people with rights and obligations, part of the same group. He who is not part of my tribe is not an enemy or an adversary but a brother to whom I owe respect and consideration.

The Beit HaMikdash was a spiritual center that synthesized this revolutionary idea of the Torah: a meeting place for all humanity under the protection of God. People were received there, regardless of their national or religious status. Everyone had their place.

This idea reached its peak at the time of the Second Beit HaMikdash, when – at the height of the Roman Empire – Judaism became a religion with supporters throughout the Empire. At that time, millions of people came to the Beit HaMikdash to witness and participate in the sublime rite that was performed there, with the aim of connecting with God.

However, human beings tend to be selfish and individualistic. We emphasize differences and focus on other people’s shortcomings. When those tendencies deepen, the distance between people increases and conflicts begin. Then the idea of humanity is diluted in a sea of fights and confrontations. Dogmatic people, violence and hatred appear.

When the Beit HaMikdash encourages separation and division instead of union, its existence is meaningless. Without a humanity unified under moral ideals, the Beit HaMikdash no longer has a reason to exist, because it can no longer fulfill its function of being a beacon for all people.

There is only one way to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash: to foster peace and respect for all peoples, nations, ethnicities, religions, cultures and genders. Renewing the commitment to humanity as a whole is the only way to recover the essence that makes the Beit HaMikdash so sacred.