Commento su 'Eduyyot 8:6

שמעתי שמקריבים אף על פי שאין בית – [since] the holiness that Solomon sanctified the Temple, he sanctified for its time and he sanctified it for the future. And similarly, the holiness of Jerusalem was sanctified forever. But the sanctification of the rest of the Land of Israel, he did not sanctify during the first conquest other than for its time [alone] until those who came up from Babylonia returned and they sanctified it a second time, and that sanctification was sanctified for the future.

Introduction In this mishnah both Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua give testimony about the Temple and issues of its holiness.

Rabbi Eliezer said: I have heard that when they were building the Temple [complex] they made curtains for the Temple and curtains for the Temple-courts; but in the case of the Temple they built from the outside, and in the case of the Temple-court they built from the inside. This section discusses the building of the walls of the Temple. Rabbi Eliezer states that when they built the Second Temple and the surrounding courtyards they first demarcated the areas by hanging curtains. When it came to building the Temple itself they built the walls from the outside of the curtains. This way they did not actually see the Temple and become distracted by its splendor and not be able to build properly. Another possible reason is to prevent unnecessary infringement upon the Temple confines. However, when it came to the courtyard they built the walls from within the curtains.

Rabbi Joshua said: I have heard that sacrifices may be offered even though there is no Temple, and that the most holy sacrifices may be eaten even though there are no curtains, and the less holy sacrifices and second tithes even though there is no wall [around Jerusalem]; because the first sanctification sanctified both for its own time and for the time to come. Rabbi Joshua claims that although the Second Temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed, and the walls of the Temple, its courtyards and Jerusalem have been torn down, it is still, at least theoretically possible to offer sacrifices and to eat them in the places that they would have been eaten while the Temple stood. In other words even though there is no wall surrounding the Temple, the priests can still eat the sacrifices that had to be consumed within the Temple precents and even though there are no walls to Jerusalem, the people can still eat the sacrifices and second tithes that had to be consumed within Jerusalem. This is because when the Temple mount was sanctified originally when the First Temple was built by Solomon the area was sanctified permanently, and the sanctity of the place continues to exist even though the Temple no longer stands. Historians have paid careful attention to this statement by Rabbi Joshua, asking the question, did the Jews continue to offer sacrifices after the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E.? Although there is some evidence that the Jews did continue to do so, the overwhelming evidence is that they did not. Rabbi Joshua’s claim is likely to be more theoretical/ideological than realistic. Certainly after the Bar Kochba rebellion in 135 C.E., when hopes of restoring the Temple were crushed, the Jews simply did not have the ability to offer sacrifices on the Temple mount. Nowadays, although Jews do have sovereignty over the Temple mount, few believe that we may return to offering sacrifices, although some fringe groups do and have attempted to do so.

Questions for Further Thought:
What might be the connection between these two sections?