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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
The disappearance of the Temple vessels since the churban,
the search for them and the secrecy and mystery surrounding
their absence have struck the imagination of people around
the world. After centuries of searching, many despaired of
finding them and tried to produce forgeries or claimed seeing
them in secret basements and museums, but even today some
people continue the quest.
Many have tried to make miniature replicas of the Mishkon
and Beis Hamikdosh as teaching aids and to imprint
a vibrant image in people's memories. At first there were
just illustrations and drawings but over the generations
there have also been miniature, large and even nearly life-
size models.
This article surveys replicas of Beis Hamikdosh and
its vessels over the generations, the history of the searches
for the original vessels and the desperate attempts to forge
them.
Drowning in a Sea of Tears
After Churban Beis Hamikdosh some Tanoim reported
seeing certain vessels from the Temple. After Titus conquered
and burned Yerushalayim he took the paroches with him
to Rome, wrapping another few vessels in it while traveling.
R' Eliezer the son of R' Yossi reported seeing the
paroches in Rome with a few drops of blood on it and
the golden head-plate of the Cohen Godol.
Chazal tell us the Ohel Moed and its vessels, the
Aharon Hakodesh and the broken pieces of the tablets
are hidden in Yerushalayim. The table, the menorah, the
paroches, the head-plate and the mortar and pestle
belonging to Beis Avtinas, are hidden in Rome (Gittin
56b, Ovos DeRabbi Nosson 41, 12, Yoma
Yerushalmi 41, 3 and other places).
Titus' victory procession was immortalized by his brother
Domitian with a famous relief on an arch in Rome now known as
the Arch of Titus. The relief depicts Jewish captives
transporting the spoils and the Temple vessels, including the
chatzotzoros, the trays for Lechem Haponim and
of the course the large menorah.
Ever since then there have been many accounts of sightings of
the vessels, but only He Who Examines Every Heart knows where
the dividing line lies between imagination, fantasy and
yearning, and the sad truth.
The renowned Jewish traveler Binyomin of Tudela recounts
seeing a cave in which the vessels were deposited by Titus
while roaming the world in the year 4932 (1172) when he went
to pray in the Cave of the Ten (Roman) Martyrs in Rome. He
also says that a local church has two bronze columns taken
from the Beis Hamikdosh that are the work of Shlomo
Hamelech. Each has engraved on it: Shlomo ben
Dovid.
A careful examination of other travel journals and a
comparison of descriptions done by expert historians, shows
one source that tells of two ancient pillars that were in the
Beis Hamikdosh, remnants from the time of Shlomo
Hamelech, that were taken to Rome. Binyomin of Tudela records
that the Jews of Rome told him that every year the pillars
would shed copious "tears" every Tisha B'Av.
According to some of the findings the pillars are located in
the Vatican. Others place them in the Church of St. John in
the Lateran.
An official description of a stone building reads, "Stone
statues stretching up from the roof of the building pierce
the sky. An impressive, narrow and elongated structure.
Supported by high pillars crowned with spectacular stone
carvings artistically engraved. Tall trees with wild foliage
spreading over large patches of grass."
What is this stone structure? HaRav Menachem Bornstein claims
the original stones were hidden in warehouses and replaced
with replicas created by artists and then erected in the
Vatican. The real pillars are off-limits.
According to a legend told by Roman Jews, while passing along
the banks of the Tiber River during the great procession to
Rome, the captured Jews could no longer bear the disgrace of
seeing the appropriated menorah. Whether it was planned or
spontaneous nobody knows, but as they crossed the bridge
suddenly the menorah dropped from their hands and fell into
the river, sinking down to the muddy bottom with just a few
fleeting large waves on the surface.
An Italian engineer named Joseffe Forteza believes in this
legend wholeheartedly and submitted a detailed plan to search
the river bottom. While serving as foreign minister, Shimon
Peres met with him, but due to the Italian government's
skepticism Forteza has nothing to show except grand plans.
Roaming Between Jerusalem and Constantinople
(Kushta)
The fate of the Temple vessels has fired the imagination of
investigators around the world. Tales travel from one person
to the next, becoming more dramatic with every telling.
According to one such tale the Romans conquered Jerusalem but
many subsequent wars took place on Roman soil and with every
new victor the Temple vessels changed hands, bringing a new
twist in the story.
According to a reliable Roman witness, when Geiseric the king
of the Vandals brutally conquered Rome his soldiers sacked
the city, pillaging and destroying for 14 days and
demolishing all remnants of the glorious Roman empire. They
plundered the Temple vessels on display in the Hall of Peace,
taking them when they went on to Africa.
At this point opinions begin to diverge. Some historians hold
the ship sank during the long journey because it was over-
laden with war spoils. Others maintain the vessels reached
Carthage, where they were used to adorn King Geizeric's
magnificent palace.
But soon Justinian, the King of Byzantine grew jealous and
dispatched his general Belisarius to reconquer North Africa
and in particular to bring the spoils of the vainglorious
African king to Constantinople. Following a brief war they
carried general Belisarius back to Kushta with the
vessels.
Non-Jewish sources continue spinning an imaginative tale
about the outcome of the vessels, claiming that the Byzantine
king's advisor warned him that the vessels bring calamity
upon their possessors and persuaded him to bring them to
Jerusalem. There they arrived at a church in ancient
Jerusalem and when it was destroyed they were brought to the
Valley of the Cross right next to Rechavia, and then . . .
?
The Height of the Mystery
On May 7, 1911 the lead headline of the New York Times
read, "Did the Englishman Find the Temple Vessels?" The topic
soon became the talk of the day in salons and on street
corners. Mystery and secrecy surrounded the ten crates
researcher Montague Parker managed to smuggle from the depths
of the Har Habayis ruins to the US.
The first excavations under Har Habayis were conducted in the
19th century, starting with British researcher Charles
Warren, who dug shafts in various spots in search of the
missing vessels. Eventually he gave up and returned to
England in frustration. In 5629 (1869) a second British
researcher decided to try his luck in the shafts but all of
his searches failed to uncover even an ancient shard of
pottery.
After consulting with one of the members of the Islamic Wakf,
Montague began searching from the direction of the City of
David. Before performing the excavations he had to secure
permission by giving large sums of money to the leaders of
the Muslim community. In addition to the bribes, he had to
promise the Wakf that when the vessels were found they would
receive a share of the profits.
To cover up the major excavation project and its purpose, the
local newspapers reported that construction on a hospital
would soon be underway. Three hundred workers were hired to
build the great "hospital construction" project. The fruit of
their labor: a few ancient shards of no significance.
The quest continued in earnest until the digging reached deep
into the mountain where they ruptured a water pipe, flooding
the upper chambers on the Har Habayis. Parker decided to
scrap the whole plan rather than imperil his life at the
hands of agitated Muslims.
Before the public learned what had happened underground
Parker and his associates took some ten crates and fled to
Jaffa, where a waiting British ship set sail in the middle of
the night.
The crates and the furtive escape piqued the media's
curiosity. Had Parker found the Temple vessels?
The Islamic world was enraged. A delegation of distinguished
Muslim figures was sent to investigate the affair and to
determine whether the corruption had spread to the Wakf who
were supposed to watch over Har Habayis.
Once safely on British soil Parker felt he could dupe the
whole world and published an article saying the contents of
the crates included King David's crown and King Solomon's
sword. However nobody ever set eyes on them and they were
never displayed in any museum.
Finding Golden Vessels in a Basement
According to rumor, in the not-so-distant past the Rothschild
family funded searches for the Temple vessels.
After the Six-Day War, Professor Yaakov Meshorer, a
numismatics expert at the Israel Museum, arrived at a
monastery near the Old City's Lion's Gate to examine some
ancient coins, following a long correspondence with that
monastery.
He was placed in a locked room for several hours to study the
coins. Finishing his examination before the appointed time he
looked around the room and discovered a hidden door handle.
As someone who lived and breathed the mysteries of history,
as he turned the handle he felt this was the moment he had
been waiting for. Behind the door were a few stairs and,
unable to contain his curiosity, he descended.
Once his eyes had adjusted to the dim light he discovered
numerous golden implements—shovels, fire-pans and other
similar items. Before he had a chance to take it all in, the
booming voice of one of the monks brought him back to
reality.
"You're not allowed to be in here," he said, his voice
echoing in the thick darkness. Soon the professor found
himself escorted off the premises.
A short time later the coin collection was stolen. The
insurance company and the police summoned Professor Meshorer
as a witness to estimate the value of stolen property. He
agreed to come on condition he was allowed to visit the
basement once again. The monks looked at him and just
shrugged their shoulders, as if they didn't understand what
he meant.
Today Professor Meshorer says, "Those are fabulous forgeries,
on a par with the Shapira ones . . . "
Shapira was one of the all-time greats in the art of forgery.
In March 1884 Moses Wilhelm Shapira died following gunshots.
Police investigators determined that Shapira, one of the
world's leading collectors and forgers, had apparently taken
his own life. Exhibiting considerable talent he fabricated
historical writings on genuine, ancient scrolls and
succeeding in hoodwinking some of the world's most respected
museums.
He began his major counterfeiting efforts following the
discovery in Transjordan of the Misha Memorial, which
depicted the King of Moab's victory over the kings of Judea,
Israel and Edom (see Melochim II, Chap. 3). The
discovery led to a tremendous surge of interest in
antiquities worldwide and with his broad knowledge, expertise
and talent Shapira tried to turn an easy profit by taking
advantage of the public's ignorance.
At first he laid the groundwork with all sorts of ancient
earthenware vessels and statutes he claimed to have found or
bought from Bedouin traders in Transjordan which bore early
Jewish writing. Scientists and historians, museums and
universities, clamored for his findings, studying and
scrutinizing them until a competing researcher from France
named Clairemont Ganou, who also engaged in archaeology,
revealed them to be no more than a big hoax. Ganou would not
keep quiet. He went and sniffed around everywhere Shapira had
made an appearance and continued to pursue him, thwarting
Shapira's schemes and pursuing him wherever he took his so-
called discoveries.
The British were prepared to pay one million sterling to
Shapira for a long scroll supposedly found in the Arnon
riverbed and purchased from a Bedouin sheik, but Ganou was
keeping tabs on him and published an article ridiculing the
new "discovery" Shapira brought to the world. A meticulous
examination indeed revealed that whoever wrote the text did
not distinguish between "tes" and "tov," as
well as between "ches" and "chof." Not
restricting himself to pottery and scrolls the counterfeiter
even tried his hand at the Temple vessels and he may have
even been behind the articles found in the monastery
basement.
Heavenly Fire Descends
Fifteen years ago HaRav Sa'adia Chozeh, an elder member of
the Yemenite community, told this writer an amazing story
about an attempt to build a living model of the mishkon
in the city of Shar'ab, Yemen—and the price paid by
all those involved.
A major debate developed among the Yemenite rabbonim over the
appearance, size and construction of the mishkon.
Forty chachamim held one view, while another forty
chachamim had a different interpretation. The two
sides debated but did not find any middle ground. In their
heated war—milchamto shel Torah—the two
camps decided to leave the matter of who was right to be
decided by attempting the actual construction according to
their respective approaches, and they would await a decision
from Heaven as to who was correct.
Each side immediately set about trying to build the
Mishkon according to its interpretation. They gathered
the materials from all over. Their substitute keroshim
and brichim were made from the pegs of their tents and
from the roofing of their stores and the support beams they
finished the other parts. The substitute yeri'os were
made from used clothing and from rolls of cloth that they
used in trade.
The site where they would build was divided into two. Each
group measured the other's site to check whether the
construction accorded with their opinions and once the work
was complete the two sanctuaries were again checked to verify
that they were properly proportioned.
Then there was a tragic turn in events. One group decided
that since it was working according to a Divinely inspired
approach, its replica of the mishkon had the correct
dimensions. They thus felt that they could make HaKodosh
Boruch Hu Himself, as it were, agree to their work and
they thought to do so by bringing a korbon. In the
heat of the debate they forgot about the prohibition against
making sacrifices outside of the Azoroh (shechutei
chutz), and proceeded to shecht a calf and lay it
on their altar.
The calf was specially purchased, with a sincere expectation
that if their model truly resembled the mishkon built
by Moshe Rabbenu, fire would come down from Heaven and take
the korbon that they offered.
And then it happened. A pillar of fire did descend from
Heaven — but seconds later there was an oppressive
silence. Where the model of the mishkon had stood only
scorched earth remained. And where the 40 chachamim
had stood, only piles of ash were left.
The members of the second group all feared for their lives.
They felt hollow inside, as if only their skin remained. Upon
regaining their composure they pinched themselves to make
sure that they were still alive and then they quickly took
apart their mishkon. Nobody believed it happened, but
within one year all 40 of the surviving chachamim went
to their graves.
HaRav Chozeh investigated the story for many years. He was
shown the scorched earth in the desolate spot where the
fateful incident took place. Nothing grew there—not
even a flower or a wild bush—and none of the local
residents dared to set foot on the spot.
The local residents were serious people who made their work
incidental to their study of Torah which was their main focus
(keva). Whenever they would meet they would discuss
their learning, entering into debates and constantly trying
to clarify halochoh. Monday was market day throughout the
area and all of the Torah scholars would gather on that day
to spend their time clarifying halachic matters. In fact they
would build the entire week around these opportunities to
speak with colleagues to delve into learning.
Fifty years after the tragic incident, also during parshas
Terumoh, they again began to argue over the appearance of
the mishkon. Again they decided to build a model
— but in light of the bitter experience they agreed to
leave a part out and to stipulate that no kedushoh
would inhere to the site. The project would be solely to
clarify their learning. After it was built and scrutinized it
was taken apart in peace. The parts were stored away in a
cave and nobody dares to touch them.
Elderly Yemenites now living in Eretz Yisroel report having
seen the opening of the cave where the glinting tops of the
posts and the planks that remained can be seen. In silence
they tell the story of the replica that was eaten by Heavenly
flames. A pillar of fire goes before the camp to show that it
is forbidden to violate the words of the Torah, even to
clarify a halachic matter, and to illuminate the proper path
to follow.
The $7,000 Menorah of Gold
Throughout the generations many Jews engaged in replicating
the Mishkon in one form or another, whether through
drawings and illustrations or building miniature models. Who
is not familiar with the large and impressive model of
ancient Jerusalem, Har Habayis and Beis Hamikdosh
at the Holyland Hotel (soon to be moved to a new site)?
Groups of students and tourists come from around the world to
study its construction.
Several museums in Eretz Yisroel and in other parts of
the world have other models of the mishkon and its
vessels on display. Artists and experts have produced wood
and stove carvings and metalworkers have even made bronze,
silver and gold renditions. Not surprisingly these works
seldom conform with halochoh and certainly not the majority
of opinions, but few claim that their work matches the Temple
vessels perfectly. Rather they are put on display for
aesthetic and artistic purposes alone.
An exception is the exhibit being built in Jerusalem and
other places under the title, "Klei Hamikdash." They are
endeavoring to create shovels, fire-pans, tools for the
altar, the menorah and the showbread table as they really
looked. Some of them are driven by Messianic and nationalist
motivations. They have spent astronomical sums on gold and
silver toward their misguided intentions of preparing the
Temple vessels for Moshiach and the Kohanim.
In Jerusalem they built a menorah of pure silver valued at
$7,000. The menorah was assembled from separate parts rather
than made as a single unit as the Torah requires for a gold
menorah. Many of them do not bother to consult the great
morei horo'oh of the generation to find out what is
permissible and what is not. They have already made garments
for the Kohen Godol and the poroh adumoh is
ready and waiting for the right time.
These institutes are forcing matters before their time: They
want to bring sacrifices and light the menorah on Har
Habayis, looking for a shortcut to the complete geuloh
as if they've forgotten the Three Oaths that we were
sworn to, with the stipulation that if we do not fulfill them
our flesh will be left like the ayalos of the fields
Rachmono litzlan . . .
Many talmudei Torah, schools and seminaries across the
country have a display illustrating the mishkon and
its vessels. One such exhibit is made of wood and metal
painted golden and sturdy glass and is constructed with
reasonably large dimensions. It is available for rent and
travels from one school to another in large crates to
illustrate the study material in a tangible way.
In the yellowing newspapers of 35 years ago we find a vibrant
description of a visit by the Ponovezher Rav, HaRav Y.S.
Kahaneman, at the home of a wealthy Tel Aviv personage. With
the help of artists he had designed a model of the mishkon
based on many halachic sources. The vessels and posts of
the mishkon were overlaid with real gold and silver. The
parts specified in the pesukim to be gold were real
gold, the silver parts were real silver, even the copper and
cloths and woven fabrics were of the highest quality and the
correct materials.
The Ponovezher Rav was unable to hold back the tears. "I'm a
kohen," he said. Although he had intended to stay for
just a few minutes and had even left the car engine running,
he began to scrutinize the mishkon and its vessels to
verify whether all accorded with halochoh, checking every
detail over the course of three hours.
Once dozens of non-Jewish professors came from the US to
visit the exhibit. After examining it thoroughly based on
what they understood from indications by chazal and in the
Torah itself they determined that it was consistent with the
original, except for one detail. To the great surprise of Mr.
Moshe Levine, the director of the exhibit, they said that the
keruvim were standing whereas in the Torah they are
sitting. To prove his point the professor quoted the words,
"yosheiv keruvim."
"But `yosheiv keruvim' is a designation for
HaKodosh Boruch Hu," said the owner of the place.
The professor nodded and admitted his mistake. "You can see I
think like a goy."
*
The stories above only provide an overview on the dramatic
quest for the Temple vessels. There have been many other
searches in various parts of the world. All of them share in
common a yearning to see the complete rebuilding of the
Temple and the joyous return to Tzion.
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