Who Will Ascend God's Mountain?

Ha'aretz has an interesting article about those who ascend the Temple Mount. It does contains a few libelous slurs against politicians from the Israeli Right("members who are extreme in their xenophobia, such as MK Michael Ben Ari") ,as well as a little bit of pseudo-intellectual humbug, which, unfortunately, is to be expected from that media outlet. Excluding that, the author Shani Littman did a really good job.

Personally, I do not ascend the Temple Mount, since I was instructed not to by the late Rabbi Avaraham Shapira zt"l. However, I support the right of those who follow other rabbis and take the proper halachic measures to do so.

To give you a taste of the article, here is a question that the author asked Arnon Segal and his answer:

What is the Temple meant to do?

“It is the heart of Judaism. Numerically, one-third of the 613 commandments are not fulfilled today because of the absence of a Temple. The Temple is the Jewish public sphere that we lost. I want a transnational Judaism, which will encompass all the commandments. The rabbis will not confine themselves solely to the synagogue. A Sanhedrin is needed. That is an inspirational institution. People would come there and be impressed by the light that exists in Judaism. The Jews are one religion, not a collection of sects. A temple is something that is built together.”

Read the rest.