This intriguing midrash builds both on the dream of Jacob (Gen. 28:12-17), and especially on the verse This is none other than the abode of God (Gen. 28:17), as well as on the tradition that Moses did not only ascend to the top of Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, but ascended all the way into heaven. In the most famous version of this legend, found in B. Shabbat 88b-89a, God reaches down and pulls Moses into heaven, so that he finds himself standing before God’s Throne of Glory and sees God creating the crowns of the letters of the Torah. In the version from Pesikta Rabbati 20:4, Moses sees the angel Sandalphon standing behind God’s throne, and God steps down from His throne to reassure Moses. In this version from Bereshit Rabbati, Moses sees God building the heavenly Temple. Note that in the earlier midrash, God is creating the crowns of the letters of the Torah and here He is building the heavenly Jerusalem. Thus is God portrayed as taking an active role in the process of creation, especially as it relates to the people of Israel.
This midrash also builds on the existing legends about the death of Moses. In most of these, Moses is very reluctant to die, and resists the Angel of Death. Here both God and the Angel of Death politely refrain from threatening to take Moses’ soul until he is ready to release it. Still another midrash, in B. Sota 14a, asserts that Moses did not realize he was dying and was unaware of what was happening to him. In Likutei Moharan 1:4, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav explains this by saying that Moses gave himself completely to God, so that when God spoke to him he was unaware of his own existence. Therefore he was unaware of his own death.
The version of this midrash found in Bereshit Rabbati takes an unusual turn in suggesting that God will bring the heavenly Temple down to earth. At first this might appear to be a way to describe the messianic era as if it were heaven on earth. But, in fact, it is probably intended to be understood literally, as it is described in another text, Tefillat Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai in Beit ha-Midrash 3:78-82: “Then a fire will come down from heaven and consume Jerusalem .... Then the perfect, rebuilt Jerusalem will come down from heaven .... Then the already constructed Temple will descend from heaven, for it is bound to the celestial abode, as Moses saw by the Holy Spirit: You will bring them and plant them (Exod. 15:17).” It seems likely that these texts are referring to the same tradition, in which the heavenly Jerusalem would descend to earth at the time of the advent of the Messiah. See “The Descent of the Heavenly Temple,” p. 512.
However, the version of this myth found in Pesikta Rabbati suggests that rather than bring the heavenly Temple down to earth, God will see to it that an earthly Temple will be built. Also, in this version Moses asked to know when the earthly Temple would be destroyed and God tells him that although it will be destroyed and the people of Israel will be scattered among all the nations, the day will come when He will gather all those who were exiled.
See “The Ascent of Moses,” p. 261.
Sources:
B. Sota 14a; B. Shabbat 88b-89a; Pesikta Rabbati 20:4; Bereshit Rabbati in Beit ha-Midrash 6:22-23; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:34; Midrashei Geulah.
Studies:
“The Celestial Temple as Viewed in the Aggadah” by Victor Aptowitzer.
528. THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM AND THE EARTHLY JERUSALEM
Everything that God created in heaven, He also created on earth. There is a heavenly Jerusalem that mirrors the earthly city, and a celestial Temple that is the mirror image of the one King Solomon built in Jerusalem. So too was the earthly Holy of Holies a counterpart of the heavenly one. But while the earthly Temple was destroyed, along with the Holy of Holies, the heavenly Temple still exists in all its glory.
The Jerusalem on high faces the Jerusalem below. For out of God’s great love for the earthly Jerusalem, He made another one on high, as it is said, Your walls are ever before Me (Isa. 49:16).
The Jerusalem constructed in heaven is joined together with the one on earth. God has sworn that He will not enter the heavenly Jerusalem until the earthly one is rebuilt, as it is said, I will not enter the city (Hos. 11:9). God said, “What is there for Me in Jerusalem after My people have been taken from there?”
God created a lofty palace on high, a holy city, the supernal city of Jerusalem. Whoever wishes to enter into God’s presence may do so only from this city. That is the meaning of the verse This is the gateway to the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it (Ps. 118:20).
One of the key principles of kabbalah is “as above, so below.” The idea is that this world was created as a mirror image of heaven. Thus Jerusalem exists in both places, and there is still a heavenly Temple standing, although the earthly one was destroyed. Just as Jerusalem on earth is the holiest Jewish city, so the Jerusalem on high is the gateway to God’s presence. One of the goals of the mystics who tried to ascend to Paradise was to find their way to the heavenly Jerusalem.
“As above, so below” has another important meaning—that prayer and some kinds of mystical study in this world could affect the world above. Therefore tikkun or repair done below, heals the world on high and brings God and His exiled Bride that much closer.
According to one version of this myth, God has vowed to stay out of the heavenly Jerusalem until the earthly one is rebuilt. This would be a great sacrifice on God’s part, similar to the exile the Shekhinah experiences since being cast out of Her home in this world, the Temple.
Sources:
B. Ta’anit 5a; Y. Berakhot 4, 4:5; Exodus Rabbah 33:4; Midrash Tehillim 30:1, 122:5; Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, Pekudei 1; Zohar 2:50b-51a.
Studies:
Midrash Yerushalem: A Metaphysical History of Jerusalem by Daniel Sperber, pp. 82-88.
529. HOW MOUNT MORIAH WAS CREATED
In the beginning Moriah was a vale, but God decided to make it the site of His sanctuary, so that His Shekhinah could reside there. So He made a sign to the mountains around the valley to come together, to make an abode for the Shekhinah. Then all the nearby mountains moved together and fused into one. That is how Mount Moriah was created.
Others say that God created seven mountains, and of these He chose Mount Moriah as the site of the holy Temple, for that was the mountain which God desired as His dwelling (Ps. 68:17).
So too was Mount Sinai created out of Mount Moriah, for God said, “Since their father Isaac was bound upon this mount, it is fitting that his children receive the Torah upon it.” So Mount Sinai plucked itself out of Mount Moriah as a priest’s portion is plucked out of dough, and that is how it came into being.
Mount Moriah is the mountain where God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22). However, in the midrashic tradition it becomes identified with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and even comes to include the place where Cain and Abel made their offerings, as well as the offering of Noah at the end of the Flood. Here it is said to have had a supernatural creation, as it was God’s intention from very early in Creation that it serve as His sanctuary on earth.
Just as there is a creation myth about Mount Moriah, so there is one about how Mount Sinai was created out of Mount Moriah. This powerfully links these major biblical episodes, as well as tying them both to the Temple in Jerusalem. For the mount in Jerusalem where the Temple was built and where the Temple Mount is found today is called Mount Moriah (2 Chron. 3:7).
The image of Mount Sinai plucking itself out of Mount Moriah is compared to the priest’s portion being plucked out of dough. This refers to the priest’s share of the bread as mentioned in Numbers 15:20.
Sources:
Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, Va-Yera 22; Midrash Haserot ve-Yeterot 19; Midrash ha-Gadol; Midrash Tehillim 68:9; Beit ha-Midrash 5:72-73.
530. THE ALTAR OF ABRAHAM
Abraham and Isaac arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there (Gen. 22:9). Some say that was the same altar on Mount Moriah where Adam made offerings, because the gate of the Garden of Eden was close by. Adam erected an altar to the Lord there, and on it he sacrificed an ox with one horn on its forehead. So too was it the same altar on w
hich Cain and Abel made their sacrifices, and the same altar where Noah and his sons sacrificed.
Others say the altar that Adam built was demolished by the waters of the Flood. Noah rebuilt it, but it was demolished in the generation of the Tower of Babel. Then Abraham built the altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood (Gen. 22:9).
That was the site where in the future the Temple in Jerusalem would be built, and the place of the altar was the same as that of the Temple altar, where the High Priests made their sacrifices.
This myth presents an archetypal altar on which many of the key biblical sacrifices prior to the building of the Temple were made. It asserts that the same altar was used by Adam, Cain and Abel, Noah and his sons, and it was situated on the same holy mountain, Mount Moriah, where God directed Abraham to go to offer his son Isaac. Further, the Temple Mount, known as Mount Moriah, is believed to be set in the same place. This is an example of mythic geography, with little consideration for actual geographic location. Instead, what matters is linking together these sacrifices in order to portray the existence of this archetypal altar for sacrifices to God.
Others say that Adam and Eve lived on Mount Moriah, because the gate of the Garden of Eden was close by. Adam erected an altar to the Lord there, and on it he sacrificed a remarkable ox with one horn on its forehead. So too did Adam’s sons, Cain and Abel, make use of that altar.
Sources:
Targum Pseudo-Yonathan on Genesis 8:20, 22:9; Genesis Rabbah 34:9, 34:20; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 31; Midrash Tehillim 92:6; Zohar 1:70a.
531. GOD PRAYS FOR THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE
God has prayed for the building of the Temple since the days of Abraham, and even before. Why should God pray for this? Because man must build the earthly Temple first, and afterward God will send the heavenly Temple to rest upon it. All of Israel, together, is responsible for rebuilding the Temple. Everyone has an equal share, and everyone is obligated to participate. Once it is built, the earthly Temple will serve as the foundation for the one that will come from the heavens.
The ultimate stage of the messianic era will be the descent of the heavenly Temple, which will come to rest on the earthly one. See “The Descent of the Heavenly Temple,” p. 512. Before this can take place, the earthly Temple must be built, or, since the first two Temples were destroyed, rebuilt. This will prepare the necessary awakening from below that must precede the descent of the Temple from on high. According to Metzudat David, once the earthly Temple is built, God will take so much delight in it that He Himself will carve designs on the stones in order to beautify them. Thus God prays for the building of the earthly Temple so that the time may be hastened when the messianic era begins and He can lower the supernal Temple onto it. This belief serves as one of the primary motivations of fervent groups in Israel that are devoted to the building of the third Temple despite the fact that the Muslim Dome of the Rock has already been built on what is usually regarded as the site of the Temple.
Sources:
Genesis Rabbah 56:10; Tikkunei ha-Zohar 21, p. 60b; Emunot ve-ha-De’ot 8, chap. 5-6; Em ha-Banim S’mehah; Metzudat David; Ezrat Kohanim.
532. THE CELESTIAL TEMPLE
God’s dwelling place above is directly opposite His dwelling place below. Just as there is an earthly Jerusalem, so too is there a celestial Jerusalem; just as there was an earthly Temple, so there is a celestial Temple located in the most sacred part of the heavens, not far from the Throne of Glory. The stars are its ornaments, and the angels serve as its priests.
This is the Temple of God, standing on the summit of the firmament, its brilliance illuminating all the rooms of heaven. A thousand hosts stand before the Shekhinah in the celestial Temple, calling “Holy, holy, holy.” And every host consists of many thousands of ministering angels.
Some say that the celestial Temple existed on high even before the world was created, as it is said, O Throne of Glory exalted from the first (Jer. 17:12). Thus the upper Temple existed first, and God commanded that the lower Temple be made according to the secrets of the upper one. Others say that God began the creation of His world at the foundation stone, and built the world upon it. Then He created the Celestial Temple, as it is said, The place You made to dwell in, O Yahweh (Exod. 15:17).
Just as there is a High Priest in the Temple below, so there is a High Priest on high. Some say that Logos, the divine word, the first angel, serves as the heavenly High Priest. Others say that it is Metatron, while still others say that it is Michael, the prince of Israel, who serves as the High Priest, and offers sacrifices on the altar every day. What does he offer up? The souls of the righteous.
When the earthly Temple still existed, the High Priest would make sacrifices and burn incense below, while Michael would do the same on high. After the earthly Temple was destroyed, God said to Michael, “From this time forward you shall offer me the good deeds of My children, their prayers, and the souls of the righteous, which are hidden beneath the Throne of Glory.”
Others say that since the heavenly Temple and the earthly one were built as counterparts as long as the one stood, the High Priest offered up sacrifices and burnt incense, and the angel Michael offered up the souls of the righteous who dwell beneath the Throne of Glory, and all the angels came to the altar with incense, and they burned it until the cloud of incense covered the canopy of heaven. But once the earthly Temple was destroyed and the sacrifices abolished, the offerings on high came to an end as well. But in the future God will restore them.
At the End of Days, when the time has come for the earthly Temple to be rebuilt, the heavens will open up, and the glory of the Temple’s holiness will be revealed. Then God will bring the heavenly Temple down to the earthly Jerusalem, and the footsteps of the Messiah will be heard by one and all.
Working on the principle of “as above, so below,” Jewish lore postulates the existence of a heavenly Jerusalem that is the mirror image of the earthly one, except that the heavenly Temple still stands, while that in this world has been destroyed. As is apparent from the large number of sources that refer to the celestial Temple, this was a widely recognized tradition.
Isaiah 2:3 suggests the existence of the heavenly temple: “Come, let us go up to the Mount of Yahweh, to the House of the God of Jacob” (Isa. 2:3).
Philo offers an allegorical interpretation of the two temples: “There are, it seems, two temples belonging to God, one being this world, in which the High Priest is the divine word (Logos), his own firstborn son. The other is the rational soul, the representation of the universal heaven.”
See “God Builds the Heavenly Temple,” p. 412.
Sources:
1 Enoch 14:16-20; 2 Enoch 20:1-4; B. Hagigah 12a; Y. Berakhot 4:5; Genesis Rabbah 1:4, 55:7, 69:7; Numbers Rabbah 12:12; Midrash Tanhuma, Naso 19; Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, Pekudei 3; Midrash Eleh Ezkerah; The Testament of Levi 3:4-6, 5:1-2, 18:6; The Book of Jubilees 31:14; Philo, De Specialibus Legibus, 1:966; Philo, De Somniis 1:215; Aseret ha-Dibrot in Beit ha-Midrash 1:62; Alpha Beta de-Ben Sira; Pirkei Mashiah in Beit ha-Midrash 3:68; Wisdom of Solomon 203-205; 2 Baruch 4:3-5; The Apocalypse of Moses 33; Midrash ha-Ne’elam in Zohar Hadash 24d-25a; Sh’nei Luhot ha-B’rit 2:48b; Em ha-Banim S’mehah.
Studies:
“The Celestial Temple as Viewed in the Aggadah” by Victor Aptowitzer.
“The Angelic Liturgy at Qumran” by John Strugnell.
“The Temple Within: The Embodied Divine Image and Its Worship in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Early Jewish and Christian Sources” by C.R.A. Morray-Jones.
533. THE TRUE TEMPLE OF GOD
The highest and truest temple of God is the whole universe. Heaven, its sanctuary, is the holiest part of all existence. Its priests are the angels, who serve God. Its offerings are the stars, which were placed in the pure temple of heaven that they might give light.
Here Philo envisions the whole universe as a temple of God. This is related to, but distinct from, the mythi
c tradition that there is a celestial temple in heaven that is the mirror image of the temple in Jerusalem. Philo’s description of the heavenly temple might be viewed as a metaphor, a way of saying that God inhabits all of creation. It might also be viewed as a statement that this world is God’s temple.
Sources:
Philo, De Specialibus Legibus 1:66; Philo, De Opificio Mundi 55.
534. THE DESCENT OF THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM
Some say that in the future God will cause the Jerusalem on high to descend from heaven fully built, and will set it on the tops of four mountains: Mount Sinai, Mount Tabor, Mount Carmel, and Mount Hermon. Then the Temple will sing aloud, and the mountains will answer the song. So too will Jerusalem serve as a beacon to all of the nations, and they will walk in her light. Thus will God announce the Redemption.
One of the key events of the messianic era will be the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. In this myth the problem of rebuilding the Temple is solved by having the heavenly Jerusalem—including the heavenly Temple—descend to earth and settle on the tops of three (or in some versions, four) mountains.
Others say that a beautiful and great city, built of precious stones and pearls, will descend from heaven, resting on 3,000 towers. How will the people ascend these towers? Like clouds and winged doves, for they will become flying beings. The houses and gates of the pious will have doorposts made of precious stones. The treasuries of the Sanctuary will be open to them, for there will be love of Torah and peace among them.
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