in online JN Digest from page 71 Selected news and feature stories from the Detroit Jewish News. www.detroitjewishnews.cominews THE TEMPLE Back In Time Herod even wanted to overlay the stones with gold, but the sages told him, "Leave it as it is. This way, it is more beautiful, for the stones appear like the waves of ,, the ocean. Look for Alexis R Rubin's "This Month in Jewish History" for August. www.detroitjewislmews.com What's Eating Harry Kirsbaum? wwwdetroitjewishnews.comlopinion New Column from Brian Blum: Making the News Brian addresses the contro- versy generated by an article in last week's San Diego Union Tribune about the death of Marla Bennett, who was killed in a bombing at Hebrew University one year ago. The article "compared" the death of Marla, Brian's cousin, with that of pro- Palestinian protester Rachel Corrie. Read the full article at -www.jewish.com . Get a Jewish Perspective on Interfaith Families The InterfaithFamily.com channel is dedicated to pre- serving Jewish traditions and achieving mutual understand- ing within interfaith families. Visit vvww.jewish.com to browse articles focusing on child-raising, holidays, life- cycle celebrations and much more. One of history's most eminent leaders, Alexander 0 the Great, also was a friend to the Jewish community. After conquering all the ancient world, Alexander came to Jerusalem, where he was met by the Temple's High Priest, Simon the Just. Alexander promptly bowed before Simon and exclaimed, "This is the face which is victorious before me in battle." He explained that he had had numerous dreams where he saw an image of Simon, whose work in the Temple he believed had helped protect him from harm and ensure his success in war. Alexander became one of the greatest protectors of the Temple and on more than one occasion saved it from destruction. Prayers in Jerusalem on the day of mourning for the Temples. It took seven years to build the First Temple, and 22 to CD create the Second. 0 On Rosh Hashanah, the sound of the shofar in the Temple was accompanied by shorter blasts from silver trum- pets. (See Psalms 98:6: "With trumpet blasts sound off before the King, God.") Unlike most other shofarim, both of past and present, this one was not humble in appearance. Instead, it was covered with gold. The Lamentations read today in congregations on Tisha 0 b'Av were known to have been recited in public — also to mark the destruction of the Temple — for literally thousands of year. online PARTIES Patti's Parties 8/ 1 2003 72 ... www.pattisparties.invitations.com For online advertising, call 248-354-6060 Sacrifices brought to the Temple could be either from Eretz Yisrael the Land of Israel, or anywhere in the Diaspora — with one exception. The omer, whose counting marks the days between Pesach and Shavuot, had to be from barley grown within Israel. c o The divine name of God, known as the Tetragrammaton, was spoken aloud only one day and in only one place and by only one person: on Yom Kippur, the High Priest would utter the name 10 times in the Temple. After those assembled heard the name, they would bow down and prostrate themselves. When you visit Jerusalem, don't be surprised if someone stops you if you try to visit the Dome of the Rock, located just beside the Kotel, the Western Wall. Most scholars believe this Arab mosque is atop what used to be the Temple, and specifi- cally areas inappropriate for casual visitors (such as the site of the sacrifice of Isaac and the former location of the Ten Commandments). (1) The menorah contained in the Temple was made from one kikar of pure gold — a single piece, rather than several placed together. Exactly how this was done remains a mystery to this day. Among the secular leaders — to name just a few — who donated items to the Temple were Ptolemy Philadelphus, who gave a table and vessels of gold; Seleucus IV, who provided funds to cover the entire cost of sacrifices; Antiochus III, who also gave a substantial amount for sacrifices, in addition to wheat, salt and flour; Demetrius, who donated his own money Throughout history, various groups have called for the 0 building of a third Temple. The first known efforts came sever- `Man Praying on the Ninth of Av," from the 1492 Rothschild www.detroitjewishnews.com/advertisers for use in the Temple; and King Monobaz, who provided gold for the handles of all vessels used on Yom Kippur. C) The building of the Temple is a mitzvah, among the 613 commandments God gave the Jewish people. al years after the Second Temple was destroyed. The Talmud recounts, "In the time of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Chananya, the evil empire (Hadrian) decreed that the Temple may be rebuilt. Two wealthy Jews, Papus and Lulianus, were appointed to finance the project ... "Meanwhile, the Samaratins [who opposed the building of any Temple] went to the emperor and they lied. They said, `Know, 0 King, that the Jews are rebelling against you! When they rebuild the Temple, they will cease to pay the royal taxes.' "Hadrian replied, 'What shall I do? I already authorized the decree.' "They responded, 'All you need to do is send a message to them saying, 'Change the location of the Temple just a bit — or, add on another five cubits to the site. Then they will with- draw of their own accord.' [The Temple was to be built to extremely specific direc- tions.] "The whole nation had gathered in the valley of Beit Rimon when the emperor's edict arrived. They began to wail and cry. They considered rebelling against Hadrian, but Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Chananya rose and spoke before them. 'It is enough that we have escaped from these people with our lives,'