The Cracked Mizbei'ach - A Story of the Future The receipt of this email inspired me to give my old friend Meir Hakohein, "Mikdash trouble shooter", a call that happily led to him inviting us over. It was always a pleasure visiting Meir and his gracious wife Yehudit. We would sit on their spacious veranda in the Upper City (aka "the Jewish Quarter") and eagerly drink in the most spectacular view in the world - the restored Beit Mikdash. We would feast our eyes on the gold and white form of the Bayit - the main structure of the Beit HaBechira - the Chosen House. Massive and magnificent, it soared high above the sacred complex of walls, courtyards, chambers, and columned porticos. "You know", Meir opened, "when the wind is right, we can actually hear the Leviyim and smell the Rei'ach Nicho'ach - the "sweet savor" - of the Korbanot from our Mirpeset. Why, we can even smell the Ketoret. Do you remember the Gemara? 'R. Eleazar ben Diglai used to say, "My father's house kept goats in the mountain of Machwar (east of the Dead Sea) and they used to sneeze from the smell of the compounding of the incense' (Yoma 39b)." I smiled. I did remember it. As we sat under the stars that hung over Yerushalayim like clusters of luminous grapes waiting to be picked, there was a soft breeze whispering in the verdant olive trees. It was eerie but at that very moment, I could have sworn that I did smell the perfumed fragrance of the Ketoret. It was then that Meir Hakohein, a veritable encyclopedia of Mikdash lore, began his story. "At the conclusion of every Aliyat Regel, after everyone returned home, the Bedek HaBayit Committee goes over the physical plant of the Mikdash with a fine-tooth comb to make sure that nothing was damaged. Five years ago, they found a loose stone in the Azara floor. If a Kohein had performed the Avoda while standing on that stone, it would have invalidated it. Fortunately, the loose stone was behind the Bayit in a corner, so there was no real problem. This year however, after a thorough inspection of the Mizbei'ach, they were surprised to find that three stones had developed tiny cracks. They immediately called the members of the Sanhedrin's" Mikdash Maintenance Committee", who are delegated to give Halachic guidance when questions like this arise. "If the Mizbei'ach is damaged, all sacrifices slaughtered there - in the Azara - are unfit" (Zevachim 59a). The construction or repair of the Mizbei'ach presents particular problems because iron tools are not permitted to be used in its construction (Sh'mot 20:25, D'varim 27:5). In fact, iron was forbidden to touch the very stones of the Mizbei'ach! "For iron was created to shorten man's days, while the Mizbei'ach was created to prolong man's days. What shortens man's life may not be rightly lifted up against what lengthens life." Ifiron did touch the Mizbei'ach stones, the Mizbei'ach would be disqualified. For this reason, an iron trowel was not used for re-plastering the Mizbei'ach (Midot 3:4)." "The Tanach gives an account of the building of Bayit Rishon. Constructed by King Solomon over four centuries after the completion of the Mishkan, I Melachim 6:7 reads, "For the house when it was in building, was made of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was being built." We know that that the stones used to construct the Mikdash were hewn (I Melachim 5: 31), but they were cut to size at the quarry, not at the actual building site. They chiseled the stones to be used in the Mikdash exactly to size in the quarry and only then transported them to the building site (as per the opinion of R. Nechemia, Sotah 48b)." Sipping orange juice, Meir Hakohein continued, "The Torah's prohibition forbidding the building of the Mizbei'ach with hewn stones was expanded to include the entire Beit Hamikdash, but only partially. It was forbidden for iron to come into contact with the stones in the Mikdash area but not in the quarry. nd so the Rambam rules" (Hilchot Beit HaBechira 1:8). Shaking his head with admiration, Meir added, "Incidentally, one can only wonder at the skill of the engineers and masons who shaped the stones and were able to implement the specifications of the architectural drawings and plans with such exactitude at the quarry. 'All' that remained was 'merely' to fit the various elements together at the building site like a giant puzzle without recourse to iron tools. However, the Mizbei'ach was different. It made no difference whether the stones were touched by iron in the quarry, while being transported or in the Mikdash itself. The prohibition was all-encompassing. No iron. Period! The Mishna reads, "Both the stones of the ramp and the stones of the Mizbei'ach were (taken) from the valley of Beit Kerem where they were quarried from below virgin soil and brought up from there as whole stones upon which no tool of iron had been 'lifted' up." (Beit Kerem was a city in Judah 7 miles southeast of Beit Lechem. "The stones brought from there were smooth without defects." Midot 3:4, Tif'eret Yisrael 34). The Rambam suggests raising them up from the bottom of the sea" (ibid. 1:14). "Anyway, when the "Mikdash Maintenance Committee" arrived, the Kohanim showed them the cracks in the Mizbei'ach. The Sages from the Committee just about needed a magnifying glass to see them! It was a real sight. Shaking their heads, they took turns running their nails over the "damaged" stones and found that their fingernails stuck in the crack of only one of them. That was the sign.(ibid. 1:14-16). The offending stone had to be replaced and quickly! They immediately called the Mikdash Chief Engineer and explained the situation to him. Bringing their equipment (kept in a state of purity), the Chief Engineer and his efficient staff arrived within minutes and went right to work. Setting up their "cameras" and using the latest technology, they were able to take a computerized "CT scan" of the damaged stone. Instantly, the "specs" were emailed to the master computer in the "ironless", ultra hi-tech plus ritually pure "workshop". A duplicate stone for the Mizbei'ach would be prepared - not by using the fabled Shamir of King Solomon's day - but rather by using extra powerful computer controlled concentrated laser beams capable of cutting stone. At the same time that the Chief Engineer was removing the damaged stone from the Mizbei'ach by means of laser beams, his proficient assistant was preparing an exact duplicate in the "workshop" to replace it! Within the shortest possible time, the Kohanim were able to continue the Avoda." When Mier Hakohein finished his tale, I was silent. There, under the stars, gazing at the luminescent gold and white Bayit, opalescent under the silver moon, I thanked the Kadosh Baruch Hu that I was living in Yerushalayim and was worthy of seeing "the great and holy house" in its glory. Bimheira V'yameinu! Kein Yehi Ratzon! Catriel's book in progress: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrim’s Perspective; A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service [The
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