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{{Short description|Rock at centre of the Dome of the Rock shrine}}
{{Other uses|Cornerstone (disambiguation)}}
{{Other uses|Cornerstone (disambiguation)}}
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[[File:The rock of the Dome of the Rock Corrected.jpg|upright=1.3|thumbnail|right|The Foundation Stone in the floor of the [[Dome of the Rock]] shrine in [[Jerusalem]]. The round hole at upper left penetrates to a small cave, known as the [[Well of Souls]], below. The cage-like structure just beyond the hole covers the stairway entrance to the cave (south is towards the top of the image).]]
{{Citation style|date=October 2014}}
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[[File:Bottom of the Foundation Stone.jpg|upright=1.3|thumbnail|The bottom of the Foundation Stone, photo taken from the [[Well of Souls]]]]
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[[Image:The rock of the Dome of the Rock Corrected.jpg|250px|thumbnail|right|The Foundation Stone in the floor of the [[Dome of the Rock]] shrine in [[Jerusalem]]. The round hole at upper left penetrates to a small cave, known as the [[Well of Souls]], below. The cage-like structure just beyond the hole covers the stairway entrance to the cave (south is towards the top of the image).]]
The '''Foundation Stone''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: אבן השתייה ''Even ha-Shtiyya'' or סלע ''Sela'', [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: صخرة ''Sakhrah'' "Rock") is the name of the rock at the centre of the [[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Jerusalem]]. It is also known as the '''Pierced Stone''' because it has a small hole on the southeastern corner that enters a cavern beneath the rock, known as the [[Well of Souls]]. It is the holiest site in Judaism (Midrash Tanhuma, chapter 10);{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} Jewish tradition views it as the spiritual junction of [[Heaven]] and Earth.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} Jews traditionally face it while praying, in the belief that it was the location of the [[Holy of Holies]] in the [[Jerusalem Temple|Temple]].{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
The '''Foundation Stone''' ({{langx|he|אֶבֶן הַשְּׁתִיָּה|translit=ʾEḇen haŠeṯīyyā|lit=Foundation Stone}}), or the '''Noble Rock''' ({{langx|ar|الصخرة المشرفة|translit=al-Saḵrah al-Mušarrafah|lit=The Noble Stone}}) is the rock at the center of the [[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Jerusalem]]. It is also known as the '''Pierced Stone''', because it has a small hole on the southeastern corner that enters a cavern beneath the rock, known as the [[Well of Souls]].


Traditional Jewish sources mention the stone as the place from which the creation of the world began. Classical Jewish sources also identify its location with that of the [[Holy of Holies]].<ref name=tanhuma /><ref>[[Mishnah|m.]] [[Yoma]] 5:2.</ref>
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[[File:Bottom of the Foundation Stone.jpg|250px|thumbnail|The bottom of the Foundation Stone, photo taken from the [[Well of Souls]]]]


==Location==
==Location==
The rock is located towards the centre of the [[Temple Mount]], an artificial platform built and expanded over many centuries. The current shape is the result of an expansion by [[Herod the Great]] on top of vaults over a [[summit]] called [[Moriah|Mount Moriah]] which three millennia ago was the highest elevation in early Jerusalem's proximity to the [[City of David]].{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
The rock is located towards the centre of the [[Temple Mount]], a term usually applied to an artificial platform built and expanded over many centuries at the top of Jerusalem's southern hill. The current shape is the result of an expansion by [[Herod the Great]] on top of vaults over a [[summit]] called [[Moriah|Mount Moriah]] which three millennia ago was the highest elevation in early Jerusalem's proximity to the [[City of David (historic)|City of David]].{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}


Early Muslim writings argue that the [[Dome of the Rock]], completed in 691, is the site of the [[Holy of Holies]] and therefore the location of the Foundation Stone. The [[History of the Prophets and Kings|history]] by the 9th-century writer [[al-Tabari]] has [[Kaʿb al-Aḥbār]], a Jewish convert to Islam, asking the caliph [[Umar]] to build a mosque over the rock, to which Umar responds, "O Ka'b, you are imitating the Jewish religion!" Al-Tabari then identifies the rock with the place where the Romans had "buried the temple ({{transliteration|ar|bayt al-maqdis}}) at the time of the sons of Israel."<ref>''The History of al-Tabari'', vol. XII, Albany, New York: State University of New York Press 2007, pp. 194–195.</ref> ''[[Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer|Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer]]'' (9th century) also wrote: "[[Rabbi Ishmael]] said: In the future, the sons of [[Ishmael]] (the Arabs) will do fifteen things in the [[Land of Israel]]{{nbsp}}[...] They will fence in the breaches of the walls of the Temple and construct a building on the site of the sanctuary."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 30:12|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_DeRabbi_Eliezer.30.12|access-date=2022-02-10|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>
There is some controversy among secular scholars about equating Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount and the Foundation Stone as the location where events occurred according to the Biblical narrative.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}


Jewish sources have debated the precise location of the rock. [[Benjamin of Tudela]] wrote ({{c.|1170}}) that the site was in front of the Dome, on the site of the Western Wall.<ref>The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Travels in the Middle Ages; (English translation originally published by Joseph Simon/Pangloss Press in 1993, {{ISBN|0-934710-07-4}}).</ref> The ''Travels of [[Petachiah of Regensburg|Petachia of Ratisbon]]'',<ref>A. Benisch, Travels of Petachia of Ratisbon (with English translation), London, England, 1856. pp. 60–61.</ref> {{c.|1180}}, and ''Travels of a Student of the [[Nachmanides|Ramban]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: מסעות ארץ ישראל – יערי, אברהם, 1899–1966 |url=https://hebrewbooks.org/36832 |access-date=2022-02-10 |website=hebrewbooks.org |page=81ff}}</ref> ({{c.|1400}}) state that "on the Temple Mount stands a beautiful sanctuary which an Arab king built long ago, over the place of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] sanctuary and courtyard." [[Obadiah ben Abraham Bartenura|Obadiah Bartenura]] says in a 1488 letter from Jerusalem that "I sought the Foundation Stone [which marks] the former place of the [[Ark of the Covenant]], and many told me that it is beneath a tall and beautiful dome which the Arabs built in the Temple, but the space beneath this dome is secured, such that no man may come to it, viz. to the place of the Foundation Stone, for the dome is very large."<ref>Avraham Ya'ari, ''Igrot Eretz Yisrael'', Ramat Gan 1971. p. 134.</ref> [[David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra]] was convinced ({{c.|1570}}) that "under the dome [on the Temple Mount] – there is the Foundation Stone, undoubtedly – which the Arabs call {{transliteration|ar|al-Sakrah}}".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Teshuvot HaRadbaz Volume 2 691:2|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Teshuvot_HaRadbaz_Volume_2.691.2|access-date=2022-02-10|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>
Early Jewish writings assist in confirming that the [[Dome of the Rock]], completed in 691, is the site of the [[Kodesh Hakodashim|Holy of Holies]] and therefore the location of the Foundation Stone. [[Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer]],<ref>Friedlander, Gerald, Pirkê de rabbi Eliezer, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & co. Ltd. , London, 1916, p.221</ref> a [[midrashic]] narrative of the more important events of the [[Torah]] believed to have been compiled in [[Italy]] shortly after 833 CE, writes: “Rabbi [[Ishmael ben Elisha|Yishmael]] said: In the future, the sons of [[Ishmael]] (the Arabs) will do fifteen things in the [[Land of Israel]] … They will fence in the breaches of the walls of the Temple and ''construct a building on the site of the sanctuary''”.


Other sources, operating under the belief that the [[Southern Wall]] of the Temple Mount as it stood in their time was the Southern Wall of the Biblical era, argued that the measurements given in the [[Talmud]] do not reconcile.<ref>Rav [[Ishtori Haparchi]] (14th Century), ''Kaftor VeFerach'', Provence, France.</ref> The Holy of Holies ends up being too far north and they therefore locate the Foundation Stone as being directly opposite the current exposed section of the [[Western Wall]], where no building currently stands. This is the view of [[Isaac Luria]]<ref>''Emek HaMelech'', Preface, paragraph 9.</ref> and the [[Maharsha]],<ref>[[Maharsha]], end of [[Makkot]].</ref> who state the prophecy that "[[Zion]] will become a ploughed field" indicates that no dwelling will be established there until the time of the [[Redemption (theology)|Redemption]]. It therefore follows that the footprint of the Temple courtyard and Holy of Holies is situated in the unbuilt area between the Dome of the Rock and [[Qibli Mosque|al-Aqsa Mosque]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig6.html|title=Fig. 6. The Southern System (237 K)|publisher=Templemount.org|access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref>
[[Rabbis]] have discussed the precise location of the rock. The [[Radbaz]] is convinced that “under the dome on the Temple Mount, which the Arabs call El-Sakhrah, without a doubt is the location of the Foundation Stone”.<ref>[[Responsa]] 691.</ref> The Travels of Rabbi [[Petachiah of Ratisbon]],<ref>A. Benisch, Travels of Petachia of Ratisbon (with English translation), London 1856.</ref> c.1180, The Travels of [[Benjamin of Tudela]]<ref>The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Travels in the Middle Ages; (English translation originally published by Joseph Simon/Pangloss Press in 1993, {{ISBN|0-934710-07-4}}).</ref> and The Travels of the Student of the [[Nahmanides|Ramban]] all equally state that "on the Temple Mount stands a beautiful sanctuary which an Arab king built long ago, over the place of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] sanctuary and courtyard”. Rabbi [[Obadiah ben Abraham]] who wrote a letter from Jerusalem in 1488 says that “I sought the place of the Foundation Stone where the [[Ark of the Covenant]] was placed, and many people told me it is under a tall and beautiful dome which the Arabs built in the Temple precinct".<ref>Avraham Ya'ari, ''Igrot Eretz Yisrael'', Ramat Gan 1971.</ref>


Other traditional sources disagreed; operating under the belief that the [[Southern Wall]] of the Temple Mount as it stood in their time was the Southern Wall of the Biblical era, they argued that the measurements given in the [[Talmud]] do not reconcile.<ref>Rav lshtori HaParchi (14th Century), ''Kaftor VeFerach'', Provence, France.</ref> The Holy of Holies ends up being too far north and they therefore locate the Foundation Stone as being directly opposite the current exposed section of the [[Western Wall]], where no building currently stands. This is the view of the [[Arizal]]<ref>''Emek HaMelech'', Preface, paragraph 9.</ref> and the [[Maharsha]],<ref>End of [[Makkot]].</ref> who state the prophecy that “[[Zion]] will become a ploughed field” indicates that no dwelling will be established there until the time of the [[Redemption (theology)|Redemption]]. It therefore follows that the footprint of the Temple courtyard and Holy of Holies is situated in the unbuilt area between the Dome of the Rock and the [[Al Aqsa Mosque]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig6.html|title=Fig. 6. The Southern System (237 K)|publisher=Templemount.org|accessdate=13 October 2014}}</ref>
Some believe the position is north of the Dome of the Rock, opposite the [[Golden Gate (Jerusalem)|Gate of Mercy]], which [[Immanuel Hai Ricchi]]<ref>[[Immanuel Hai Ricchi]], ''Aderet Eliyahu.''</ref> identifies as the Shushan Gate mentioned in the [[Talmud]]. This gate was described as being opposite the opening of the sanctuary.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig5.html|title=Fig. 5. The Northern System (63K)|publisher=Templemount.org|access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref>


Some believe the position is north of the Dome of the Rock, opposite the [[Golden Gate (Jerusalem)|Gate of Mercy]], which Rabbi Emmanuel Chai Reiki<ref>''Aderes Eliyahu''.</ref> identifies as the Shushan Gate mentioned in the [[Talmud]]. This gate was described as being opposite the opening of the sanctuary.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig5.html|title=Fig. 5. The Northern System (63K)|publisher=Templemount.org|accessdate=13 October 2014}}</ref>
Modern Jewish academics list four possible locations of the Foundation Stone:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/tempmt.html|title=The Hidden Secrets of the Temple Mount|publisher=Templemount.org|access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref>


Modern Jewish academics list four possible locations of the Foundation Stone:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/tempmt.html|title=The Hidden Secrets of the Temple Mount|publisher=Templemount.org|accessdate=13 October 2014}}</ref>
#The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is the one under the Dome of the Rock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig4.html|title=Fig 4 The Middle System (124 K)|publisher=Templemount.org|access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref>
#The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is the one under the Dome of the Rock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig4.html|title=Fig 4 The Middle System (124 K)|publisher=Templemount.org|accessdate=13 October 2014}}</ref>
#The stone that was located beneath the altar is now the one that is under the Dome of the Rock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig3.html|title=Fig. 3. The Central System (42 K)|publisher=Templemount.org|access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref>
#The stone that was located beneath the altar is now the one that is under the Dome of the Rock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.templemount.org/graphics/Fig3.html|title=Fig. 3. The Central System (42 K)|publisher=Templemount.org|accessdate=13 October 2014}}</ref>
#The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is now near El Kas fountain to the South of the Dome of the Rock.<ref name="auto"/>
#The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is now near El Kas fountain to the South of the Dome of the Rock.<ref name="auto"/>
#The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is now inside the Spirits Dome situated to the North of the Dome of the Rock.<ref name="auto1"/>
#The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is now inside the [[Dome of the Spirits|Spirits Dome]] situated to the north of the Dome of the Rock.<ref name="auto1"/>


==Description==
==Description==
[[File:The Holy Rock, Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|1859 watercolor of the Foundation Stone by [[Carl Haag]]]]
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Although the rock is part of the surrounding 90-million-year-old, Upper [[Turonian]] Stage, [[Late Cretaceous]] [[karst]]ed [[Meleke|limestone]],{{Citation needed|date = October 2015}} the southern side forms a ledge, with a gap between it and the surrounding ground; a set of steps currently uses this gap to provide access from the Dome of the Rock to the Well of Souls beneath it.


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Although the rock is part of the surrounding 90{{nbsp}}million-year-old, Upper [[Turonian]] Stage, [[Late Cretaceous]] [[karst]]ed [[Meleke|limestone]],{{Citation needed|date = October 2015}} the southern side forms a ledge, with a gap between it and the surrounding ground; a set of steps currently uses this gap to provide access from the Dome of the Rock to the Well of Souls beneath it.
The rock has several artificial cuts in its surface generally attributed to the [[Crusades|Crusaders]] whose frequent damage to the rock was so severe that the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Christian kings of Jerusalem]] placed a protective marble slab over the rock. The marble slab was removed by [[Saladin]]. More recently, there has been speculation that several artificial features of the rock's surface may substantially predate the Crusades.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} Archaeologist [[Leen Ritmeyer]] reports<ref>[[Leen Ritmeyer|Ritmeyer, Leen]], The Quest (2006), pp. 263-268.</ref> that there are sections of the rock cut completely flat, which north-to-south have a width of 6 [[cubit]]s, precisely the width that the [[Mishnah]]<ref>Tractate [[Middot (Talmud)|Middot]] 4.7</ref> credits to the wall of the Holy of Holies, and hence Ritmeyer proposed that these flat sections constitute ''foundation trenches'' on top of which the walls of [[Solomon's Temple|the original temple]] were laid. However, according to [[Josephus]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}} there were 31 steps up to the Holy of Holies from the lower level of the Temple Mount, and the Mishnah identifies 29 steps in total{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}, and each step was half a cubit in height (according to the Mishnah); this is a height of at least 22 feet—the height of the Sakhra is 21 feet above the lower level of the Temple Mount, and should therefore have been under the floor.


Archaeologist [[Leen Ritmeyer]] reported that there are sections of the rock cut completely flat, which north-to-south have a width of 6 [[cubit]]s,<ref>[[Leen Ritmeyer|Ritmeyer, Leen]], The Quest (2006), pp. 263–268.</ref> precisely the width that the [[Mishnah]] credits to the wall of the Holy of Holies.<ref>Tractate [[Middot (Talmud)|Middot]] 4.7.</ref> According to Ritmeyer, a rectangular rock-cutting he discovered on the Foundation Stone marks the location where the [[Ark of the Covenant]] stood within the Holy of Holies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ritmeyer |first=Leen |title=The Ark of the Covenant: Where It Stood in Solomon's Temple |url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/22/1/5 |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |publication-date=1996 |volume=22 |issue=1 |quote=}}</ref> Ritmeier's analysis was welcomed among biblical archeologists; however, scholars stated that this theory cannot be actually verified.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archaeologist says he knows where Ark of Covenant stood |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1996/01/06/archaeologist-says-he-knows-where-ark-of-covenant-stood/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Tampa Bay Times |language=en}}</ref>
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Measuring the flat surface as the position of the southern wall of a square enclosure, the west and north sides of which are formed by the low clean-cut ''scarp'' at these edges of the rock, at the position of the hypothetical centre is a rectangular cut in the rock that is about 2.5 cubits (min. 120.4&nbsp;cm SI) long and 1.5 cubits (min. 72.24&nbsp;cm SI) wide, which are the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant (according to the [[Book of Exodus]]<ref>Exodus 25:10</ref>).
[[File:Temple area, Mosque of Omar (i.e., Dome of the Rock), etc. Rock Moriah, from the south LOC matpc.23162.jpg|thumb|Picture of the Foundation Stone taken in the second half of the 20th century]]


The rock has several artificial cuts in its surface generally attributed to the [[Crusades|Crusaders]], whose frequent damage to the rock was so severe that the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Christian kings of Jerusalem]] placed a protective marble slab over the rock. The marble slab was removed by [[Saladin]].{{when|date=May 2024}}
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The Mishnah<ref>Tractate [[Yoma]] 5:3.</ref> gives the height of the rock as three thumb-breadths (min. 6&nbsp;cm SI) above the ground. Radbaz<ref>[[Responsa]] (639).</ref> discusses the apparent contradiction of the Mishnah’s measurements and the actual measurement of the rock within the Dome he estimates as a “height of two men” above the ground. He concluded that many changes in the natural configuration of the Temple Mount have taken place which can be attributed to excavations made by the various occupiers of Jerusalem since the [[Second Temple]] construction.

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Measuring the flat surface as the position of the southern wall of a square enclosure, the west and north sides of which are formed by the low clean-cut ''scarp'' at these edges of the rock, at the position of the hypothetical centre is a rectangular cut in the rock that is about 2.5 cubits (min. 120.4&nbsp;cm SI) long and 1.5 cubits (min. 72.24&nbsp;cm SI) wide, which are the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant (according to the [[Book of Exodus]]).<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|25:10|HE}}</ref>

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The Mishnah<ref>Mishnah, [[Yoma]] 5:3.</ref> gives the height of the rock as three thumb-breadths (min. 6&nbsp;cm SI) above the ground. Radbaz<ref>[[David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra|Radbaz]], [[Responsa]] 639.</ref> discusses the apparent contradiction of the Mishnah's measurements and the actual measurement of the rock within the Dome he estimates as a "height of two men" above the ground. He concluded that many changes in the natural configuration of the Temple Mount have taken place which can be attributed to excavations made by the various occupiers of Jerusalem since the [[Second Temple]] construction.


==Jewish significance==
==Jewish significance==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Even shetiya.jpg|thumb|250px|Postcard depicting the Foundation Stone, c1925.]] -->
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Even shetiya.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Postcard depicting the Foundation Stone, c1925.]] -->
{{Main article|Temple in Jerusalem}}
{{Main|Temple in Jerusalem}}
This is the holiest site in Judaism. Jews all over the world pray towards the Foundation Stone.


The Roman-Era Midrash [[Tanchuma]]<ref>[[Kedoshim (parsha)|Kedoshim]] Ch.10.</ref> sums up the centrality of and holiness of this site in Judaism:
The Roman-era [[midrash]] {{transliteration|he|[[Tanhuma]]}}<ref name="tanhuma">[[Tosefta|t.]] [[Yoma]] 2:12; [[Jerusalem Talmud|y.]] Yoma 5:3; [[Talmud|b.]] Yoma 54b; [[Pesikta de-Rav Kahana|PdRK]] 26:4; [[Leviticus Rabbah|Lev. R.]] 20:4.</ref> sums up the centrality of and holiness of the site in Judaism:
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:''As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
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:''so is the land of Israel the navel of the world...
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:''situated in the centre of the world,
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:''and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
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:''and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
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:''and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
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:''and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
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:''and the '''Foundation Stone''' before the holy place,
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:''because from it the world was founded.''


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{{poemquote|As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
(for comparison see [[omphalos]])
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so is the land of Israel the navel of the world...
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situated in the centre of the world,
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and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
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and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
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and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
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and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
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and the Foundation Stone before the holy place,
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because from it the world was founded.}}


According to the sages of the [[Talmud]]<ref>Tractate [[Yoma]] 54b.</ref> it was from this rock that the world was created, itself being the first part of the Earth to come into existence. In the words of the [[Zohar]]:<ref>[[Vayechi]] 1:231.</ref> “The world was not created until God took a stone called ''Even haShetiya'' and threw it into the depths where it was fixed from above till below, and from it the world expanded. It is the centre point of the world and on this spot stood the Holy of Holies”.
According to the sages of the Talmud,<ref>Tractate [[Yoma]] 54b.</ref> it was from this rock that the world was created, itself being the first part of the Earth to come into existence. In the words of the {{transliteration|he|[[Zohar]]}}, "The world was not created until God took a stone called {{transliteration|he|Even haShetiya}} and threw it into the depths where it was fixed from above till below, and from it the world expanded. It is the centre point of the world and on this spot stood the Holy of Holies."<ref>[[Vayechi]] 1:231.</ref>


According to the Talmud, it was close to here, on the site of the altar, that God gathered the earth that was formed into [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]]. It was on this rock that Adam—and later [[Cain]], [[Abel]], and [[Noah]]—offered sacrifices to God. Jewish sources identify this rock as the place mentioned in the [[Bible]] where [[Abraham]] fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to [[Binding of Isaac|sacrifice his son Isaac]]. The mountain is identified as Moriah in Genesis 22. It is also identified as the rock upon which [[Jacob]] dreamt about angels ascending and descending on a ladder and consequently consecrating and offering a sacrifice upon.
According to the Talmud, it was close to the Foundation Stone, on the site of the altar, that God gathered the earth that was formed into [[Adam]]. It was on this rock that Adam—and later [[Cain and Abel]] and [[Noah]]—offered sacrifices to God. Jewish sources identify this rock as the place of the [[Binding of Isaac]] mentioned in the [[Bible]], where [[Abraham]] fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son. The mountain is identified as Moriah in Genesis 22. It is also identified as the rock upon which [[Jacob]] dreamt about angels ascending and descending on a ladder and consequently consecrating and offering a sacrifice upon.<ref>[[Rashi]], Genesis 28:11.</ref>


When, according to the Bible, [[King David]] purchased a threshing floor owned by [[Araunah]] the [[Jebusite]],<ref>[[1 Chronicles]] 21:25, and [[2 Samuel]] 24:18-25.</ref> it is believed that it was upon this rock that he offered the sacrifice mentioned in the verse. He wanted to construct a permanent temple there, but as his hands were "bloodied", he was forbidden to do so himself. The task was left to his son [[Solomon]], who completed the [[Solomon's Temple|Temple]] in c. 950 BCE.
When, according to the Bible, King [[David]] purchased a threshing floor owned by [[Araunah]] the [[Jebusite]],<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Chronicles|21:25|HE}}, {{bibleverse|2 Samuel|24:18–25|HE}}</ref> it is believed that it was upon this rock that he offered the sacrifice mentioned in the verse. He wanted to construct a permanent temple there, but as his hands were "bloodied", he was forbidden to do so himself. The task was left to his son [[Solomon]], who completed [[Solomon's Temple|the Temple]] in {{c.|950 BCE}}.


The Mishnah in tractate [[Yoma]]<ref>Tractate Yoma 5:2.</ref> mentions a stone situated in the Holy of Holies that was called ''Shetiya'' and had been revealed by the early prophets (i.e. David and [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]].<ref>Tractate [[Sotah]] 48b.</ref>).
The Mishnah in tractate [[Yoma]]<ref>Tractate Yoma 5:2.</ref> mentions a stone situated in the Holy of Holies that was called {{transliteration|he|Shetiya}} and had been revealed by the early prophets (i.e. David and [[Samuel]]).<ref>Tractate [[Sotah]] 48b.</ref>


An early [[Christian]] source noting Jewish attachment to the rock may be found in the [[Itinerarium Burdigalense|Bordeaux Pilgrim]], written between 333–334 CE when Jerusalem was under [[Roman Empire|Roman]] rule, which describes a “… perforated stone to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart.”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/pilgr/bord/10Bord07aJerus.html#590|title=Bordeaux Pilgrim - Text: 7a. Jerusalem (first part)|publisher=Christusrex.org|accessdate=13 October 2014}}</ref>
An early [[Christians|Christian]] source noting Jewish attachment to the rock may be found in the {{lang|la|[[Itinerarium Burdigalense]]}}, written between 333 and 334 CE when Jerusalem was under [[Roman Empire|Roman]] rule, which describes a "perforated stone to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bordeaux Pilgrim – Text: 7a. Jerusalem (first part) |url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/pilgr/bord/10Bord07aJerus.html#590 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204134058/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/pilgr/bord/10Bord07aJerus.html#590 |archive-date=4 February 2007 |access-date=13 October 2014 |publisher=Christusrex.org}}</ref>


===Role in the Temple===
===Role in the Temple===
Situated inside the Holy of Holies, this was the rock upon which the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the [[First Temple]].<ref>[[Zohar]] [[Vayechi]] 1:231; [[Midrash]] [[Tanchuma]] [[Acharei]] Ch.3 (see ''Etz Yosef'' commentary); [[Maimonides]], Beis HaBechirah 4:1.</ref> During the [[Second Temple]] period when the Ark of the Covenant was not present, the stone was used by the High Priest who offered up the incense and sprinkled the blood of the sacrifices on it during the [[Yom Kippur]] service.
Situated inside the Holy of Holies, the Foundation Stone is believed to have been the rock upon which the Ark of the Covenant was placed in Solomon's Temple.<ref>[[Zohar]] [[Vayechi]] 1:231; [[Midrash]] [[Tanchuma]] [[Acharei]] Ch.3 (see ''Etz Yosef'' commentary); [[Maimonides]], Beis HaBechirah 4:1.</ref> During the [[Second Temple]] period when the Ark of the Covenant was not present, the stone was used by the High Priest who offered up the incense and sprinkled the blood of the sacrifices on it during the annual [[Yom Kippur]] service.


===Commemoration in Jewish law===
===Commemoration in Jewish law===
The [[Jerusalem Talmud]]<ref>[[Pesachim]] 4:1.</ref> states:
The [[Jerusalem Talmud]] states:


"נשייא דנהגן דלא למי'''שתייה''' עמרא מן דאב עליל מנהג – שבו פסקה אבן '''שתייה'''"
{{blockquote|Women are accustomed not to prepare or attach [[warp and weft|warp]] threads to a weaving [[loom]] from [[Rosh Chodesh]] [[Av (month)|Av]] onwards (till after [[Tisha B'Av]]), because during the month of Av the Foundation Stone [and the Temple] was destroyed.<ref>[[Jerusalem Talmud]], [[Pesachim]] 4:1. Aramaic text: "נשייא דנהגן דלא למי שתייה עמרא מן דאב עליל מנהג – שבו פסקה אבן שתייה".</ref>}}


''"Women are accustomed not to prepare or attach [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] threads to a weaving [[loom]]''<ref>This follows the version recorded by [[Nissim Ben Jacob|Rav Nissim Gaon]].</ref> ''from [[Rosh Chodesh]] [[Av (month)|Av]] onwards (till after [[Tisha B'Av]]), because during the month of [[Av (month)|Av]] the Foundation Stone (and the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]]) was destroyed"''.<ref>i.e. the stone became obsolete from its function in the Temple.</ref>
Citing this, the {{transliteration|he|[[Mishnah Berurah]]}}<ref>[[Mishnah Berurah]], 551:7, 8.</ref> rules that not only are women not to prepare or attach warp threads to a weaving [[loom]], but it is forbidden for anyone to make, buy or wear new clothes or shoes from the beginning of the week in which Tisha B'Av falls until after the fast, and that people should ideally not do so from the beginning of Av. This period is known as [[The Nine Days]].


⚫
In further commemoration of the Foundation Stone, it is also forbidden to eat meat or drink wine from the beginning of the week in which Tisha B'av falls until after the fast. Some have the custom to refrain from these foodstuffs from Rosh Chodesh Av, while others do so from the [[Seventeenth of Tammuz]].<ref>This is derived from the fact that another version of the same piece of Talmud reads: "למישתייה חמרא" "(to refrain) from drinking wine". This follows the version recorded by [[Hai Gaon]]. It is brought down by the ''Kolbo, [[Halakha]] [[Tisha B'Av]]'', and ''[[Machzor Vitri]]'' 263.</ref>
Citing this, the ''[[Mishnah Berurah]]''<ref>551:7, 8.</ref> rules that not only are women not to prepare or attach warp threads to a weaving [[loom]], but it is forbidden for anyone to make, buy or wear new clothes or shoes from the beginning of the week in which [[Tisha B'av]] falls until after the fast, and that people should ideally not do so from the beginning of [[Av (month)|Av]].

⚫
In further commemoration of the Foundation Stone, it is also forbidden to eat meat or drink wine from the beginning of the week in which Tisha B'av falls until after the fast. Some have the custom to refrain from these foodstuffs from [[Rosh Chodesh]] [[Av (month)|Av]], while others do so from the [[Seventeenth of Tammuz]].<ref>This is derived from the fact that another version of the same piece of Talmud reads: "למישתייה '''ח'''מרא" “(to refrain) from drinking wine”. This follows the version recorded by [[Hai Gaon]]. It is brought down by the ''Kolbo, [[Halakha|Hilchos]] [[Tisha B'Av]]'', and ''[[Machzor Vitri]]'' 263.</ref>


===Liturgical references===
===Liturgical references===
In the days when [[Selichot]] are recited, in the days leading up to [[Rosh Hashana]] until [[Yom Kippur]], the supplications include the following references:
In the days when [[Selichot]] are recited, in the days leading up to [[Rosh Hashanah]] until [[Yom Kippur]], the supplications include the following references:


טענתנו גפי קרת נתונים, ישבתנו '''שן סלע''' איתנים
{{verse translation|lang=he|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|טענתנו גפי קרת נתונים, ישבתנו שן סלע איתנים|You carried us and placed us on the [Holy] City's height, You settled us on the Patriarch's rocky peak.<ref>[[ArtScroll]] [[Selichot]], Second day, Selicha 5.</ref>}}


{{verse translation|lang=he|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|
''You carried us and placed us on the [Holy] City’s height, You settled us on the Patriarch’s '''rocky peak'''''.<ref>[[Artscroll]] [[Selichot|Selichos]], Second day, Selicha 5.</ref>
⚫
רבוצה עליו אבן שתית חטובים ...שמה בתוך לפני מזיב מאשנבים|Upon it lying the stone from which the foundation was hewn... Who gives ear from which the waters flow [i.e. the foundation stone "from which flow all the waters of the world"].<ref>ArtScroll Selichot, [[Fast of Gedalia]], Selicha 46.</ref>}}


⚫
During [[Sukkot]], the following references to the Foundation Stone are mentioned in the [[Sukkot#Prayers|Hoshanot]] recital:
רבוצה עליו '''אבן שתית''' חטובים ...שמה בתוך לפני מזיב מאשנבים


{{verse translation|lang=he|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|
⚫
''Upon it lying the '''stone from which the foundation was hewn'''… Who gives ear from which the waters flow'' (i.e. the foundation stone "from which flow all the waters of the world").<ref>[[Artscroll]] [[Selichot|Selichos]], [[Fast of Gedalia]], Selicha 46.</ref>
⚫
הושענא! – אבן שתיה – הושענא|Please save! – Foundation Stone – Please save!}}


{{verse translation|lang=he|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|
⚫
During [[Sukkot]] the following references to the Foundation Stone are mentioned in the [[Sukkot#Prayers|Hoshanot]] recital:
⚫
הושענא! – תאדרנו באבן תלולה – הושענא|Please save! – Adorn us with the elevated Stone – Please save!}}


⚫
==Islamic significance==
⚫
הושענא! – '''אבן שתיה''' – הושענא
The [[Masjid al-Haram]] in [[Mecca]], is thought by commentators of the [[Quran]] to be the place from where Muslims believe [[Muhammad]] began his [[Isra and Mi'raj|Night Journey]].<ref>{{cite journal | author = M. Anwarul Islam and Zaid F. Al-hamad | title = The Dome of the Rock: Origin of its octagonal plan | journal = Palestine Exploration Quarterly | volume = 139 | issue = 2 | year = 2007 | pages = 109–128| doi = 10.1179/003103207x194145 | s2cid = 162578242 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Nasser Rabbat |title = The meaning of the Umayyad Dome of the Rock | journal = Muqarnas | volume = 6 | year = 1989 | pages = 12–21|doi = 10.2307/1602276 |jstor = 1602276 }}</ref> Although the Quran does not specifically mention Jerusalem in name as the ascension site, labelling the site as the "farthest mosque" (from which the later-built [[Al-Aqsa]] was named), in certain [[Hadith]] it is said that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in Jerusalem.<ref name="Sahih Bukhari Hadith Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226:">{{cite web|title=Sahih Bukhari Hadith Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226|url=http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/058-sbt.php#005.058.226|access-date=2013-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425165314/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/058-sbt.php#005.058.226|archive-date=2017-04-25|url-status=dead}}</ref>


[[Tawfiq Canaan]], in 1922, recorded a local tradition that describes four living waters flowing from under the rock. To the south: Hammam esh-Shifa, to the east: Siloam, to the north: 'En Haddji and En Qashleh, and to the west: Hammam es-Sultan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Canaan |first=Tawfiq |title=Studies in Palestinian Customs and Folklore |publisher=The Palestine Oriental Society |year=1922 |location=Jerusalem, Israel |pages=15–16 |chapter=II: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine}}</ref>
''Please save! – '''Foundation Stone''' – Please save!''

⚫
הושענא! – תאדרנו '''באבן תלולה''' – הושענא

''Please save! – Adorn us with the '''elevated Stone''' – Please save!''

⚫
==Islamic significance==
The [[Noble Sanctuary]], where the Foundation Stone is located, is thought by commentators of the [[Qur'an]] to be the place to which [[Muhammad]] traveled in the [[Isra and Mi'raj|Night Journey]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} Although the Qur'an does not specifically mention Jerusalem in name as the ascension site, labelling the site as the [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]], the [[Hadith]], the recorded sayings of Muhammad, specify that the site is indeed the Foundation Stone in Jerusalem.<ref name="Sahih Bukhari Hadith Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226:">{{cite web|title=Sahih Bukhari Hadith Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226:|url=http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/058-sbt.php#005.058.226}}</ref> According to Islamic belief, angels visited the site 2,000 years before the creation of Adam. It is also thought to be the place where [[Israfil]], the angel of the trumpet, will sound his horn on Resurrection Day.


Beneath the Foundation Stone is a cavern known as the [[Well of Souls]]. It is sometimes thought of as the traditional hiding place of the [[Ark of the Covenant]].
Beneath the Foundation Stone is a cavern known as the [[Well of Souls]]. It is sometimes thought of as the traditional hiding place of the [[Ark of the Covenant]].
Line 104: Line 102:
==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Islam|Judaism}}
{{Portal|Islam|Judaism}}
* [[List of individual rocks]]
*[[Black Stone]]
*[[Navel of the World]]
* [[Axis mundi]]
*[[Jerusalem in Judaism]]
* [[Black Stone]]
*[[Jerusalem in Islam]]
* [[Jerusalem in Islam]]
*[[Mount Gerizim]]
* [[Jerusalem in Judaism]]
* [[Mount Gerizim]]
* [[Baetylus]]


==References==
==References==
Line 114: Line 114:


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Foundation Stone (Temple Mount)}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Foundation Stone (Temple Mount)}}


{{Temple Mount}}
{{Holy sites in Judaism}}
{{Holy sites in Judaism}}


Latest revision as of 05:24, 5 December 2024

For other uses, see Cornerstone (disambiguation).
The Foundation Stone in the floor of the Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem. The round hole at upper left penetrates to a small cave, known as the Well of Souls, below. The cage-like structure just beyond the hole covers the stairway entrance to the cave (south is towards the top of the image).
The bottom of the Foundation Stone, photo taken from the Well of Souls

The Foundation Stone (Hebrew: אֶבֶן הַשְּׁתִיָּה, romanized: ʾEḇen haŠeṯīyyā, lit. 'Foundation Stone'), or the Noble Rock (Arabic: الصخرة المشرفة, romanized: al-Saḵrah al-Mušarrafah, lit. 'The Noble Stone') is the rock at the center of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It is also known as the Pierced Stone, because it has a small hole on the southeastern corner that enters a cavern beneath the rock, known as the Well of Souls.

Traditional Jewish sources mention the stone as the place from which the creation of the world began. Classical Jewish sources also identify its location with that of the Holy of Holies.[1][2]

Location

[edit]

The rock is located towards the centre of the Temple Mount, a term usually applied to an artificial platform built and expanded over many centuries at the top of Jerusalem's southern hill. The current shape is the result of an expansion by Herod the Great on top of vaults over a summit called Mount Moriah which three millennia ago was the highest elevation in early Jerusalem's proximity to the City of David.[citation needed]

Early Muslim writings argue that the Dome of the Rock, completed in 691, is the site of the Holy of Holies and therefore the location of the Foundation Stone. The history by the 9th-century writer al-Tabari has Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, a Jewish convert to Islam, asking the caliph Umar to build a mosque over the rock, to which Umar responds, "O Ka'b, you are imitating the Jewish religion!" Al-Tabari then identifies the rock with the place where the Romans had "buried the temple (bayt al-maqdis) at the time of the sons of Israel."[3] Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer (9th century) also wrote: "Rabbi Ishmael said: In the future, the sons of Ishmael (the Arabs) will do fifteen things in the Land of Israel [...] They will fence in the breaches of the walls of the Temple and construct a building on the site of the sanctuary."[4]

Jewish sources have debated the precise location of the rock. Benjamin of Tudela wrote (c. 1170) that the site was in front of the Dome, on the site of the Western Wall.[5] The Travels of Petachia of Ratisbon,[6] c. 1180, and Travels of a Student of the Ramban[7] (c. 1400) state that "on the Temple Mount stands a beautiful sanctuary which an Arab king built long ago, over the place of the Temple sanctuary and courtyard." Obadiah Bartenura says in a 1488 letter from Jerusalem that "I sought the Foundation Stone [which marks] the former place of the Ark of the Covenant, and many told me that it is beneath a tall and beautiful dome which the Arabs built in the Temple, but the space beneath this dome is secured, such that no man may come to it, viz. to the place of the Foundation Stone, for the dome is very large."[8] David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra was convinced (c. 1570) that "under the dome [on the Temple Mount] – there is the Foundation Stone, undoubtedly – which the Arabs call al-Sakrah".[9]

Other sources, operating under the belief that the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount as it stood in their time was the Southern Wall of the Biblical era, argued that the measurements given in the Talmud do not reconcile.[10] The Holy of Holies ends up being too far north and they therefore locate the Foundation Stone as being directly opposite the current exposed section of the Western Wall, where no building currently stands. This is the view of Isaac Luria[11] and the Maharsha,[12] who state the prophecy that "Zion will become a ploughed field" indicates that no dwelling will be established there until the time of the Redemption. It therefore follows that the footprint of the Temple courtyard and Holy of Holies is situated in the unbuilt area between the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.[13]

Some believe the position is north of the Dome of the Rock, opposite the Gate of Mercy, which Immanuel Hai Ricchi[14] identifies as the Shushan Gate mentioned in the Talmud. This gate was described as being opposite the opening of the sanctuary.[15]

Modern Jewish academics list four possible locations of the Foundation Stone:[16]

  1. The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is the one under the Dome of the Rock.[17]
  2. The stone that was located beneath the altar is now the one that is under the Dome of the Rock.[18]
  3. The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is now near El Kas fountain to the South of the Dome of the Rock.[13]
  4. The stone that was located beneath the Ark of the Covenant is now inside the Spirits Dome situated to the north of the Dome of the Rock.[15]

Description

[edit]
1859 watercolor of the Foundation Stone by Carl Haag

Although the rock is part of the surrounding 90 million-year-old, Upper Turonian Stage, Late Cretaceous karsted limestone,[citation needed] the southern side forms a ledge, with a gap between it and the surrounding ground; a set of steps currently uses this gap to provide access from the Dome of the Rock to the Well of Souls beneath it.

Archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer reported that there are sections of the rock cut completely flat, which north-to-south have a width of 6 cubits,[19] precisely the width that the Mishnah credits to the wall of the Holy of Holies.[20] According to Ritmeyer, a rectangular rock-cutting he discovered on the Foundation Stone marks the location where the Ark of the Covenant stood within the Holy of Holies.[21] Ritmeier's analysis was welcomed among biblical archeologists; however, scholars stated that this theory cannot be actually verified.[22]

Picture of the Foundation Stone taken in the second half of the 20th century

The rock has several artificial cuts in its surface generally attributed to the Crusaders, whose frequent damage to the rock was so severe that the Christian kings of Jerusalem placed a protective marble slab over the rock. The marble slab was removed by Saladin.[when?]

Measuring the flat surface as the position of the southern wall of a square enclosure, the west and north sides of which are formed by the low clean-cut scarp at these edges of the rock, at the position of the hypothetical centre is a rectangular cut in the rock that is about 2.5 cubits (min. 120.4 cm SI) long and 1.5 cubits (min. 72.24 cm SI) wide, which are the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant (according to the Book of Exodus).[23]

The Mishnah[24] gives the height of the rock as three thumb-breadths (min. 6 cm SI) above the ground. Radbaz[25] discusses the apparent contradiction of the Mishnah's measurements and the actual measurement of the rock within the Dome he estimates as a "height of two men" above the ground. He concluded that many changes in the natural configuration of the Temple Mount have taken place which can be attributed to excavations made by the various occupiers of Jerusalem since the Second Temple construction.

Jewish significance

[edit]
Main article: Temple in Jerusalem

The Roman-era midrash Tanhuma[1] sums up the centrality of and holiness of the site in Judaism:

As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
so is the land of Israel the navel of the world...
situated in the centre of the world,
and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
and the Foundation Stone before the holy place,
because from it the world was founded.

According to the sages of the Talmud,[26] it was from this rock that the world was created, itself being the first part of the Earth to come into existence. In the words of the Zohar, "The world was not created until God took a stone called Even haShetiya and threw it into the depths where it was fixed from above till below, and from it the world expanded. It is the centre point of the world and on this spot stood the Holy of Holies."[27]

According to the Talmud, it was close to the Foundation Stone, on the site of the altar, that God gathered the earth that was formed into Adam. It was on this rock that Adam—and later Cain and Abel and Noah—offered sacrifices to God. Jewish sources identify this rock as the place of the Binding of Isaac mentioned in the Bible, where Abraham fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son. The mountain is identified as Moriah in Genesis 22. It is also identified as the rock upon which Jacob dreamt about angels ascending and descending on a ladder and consequently consecrating and offering a sacrifice upon.[28]

When, according to the Bible, King David purchased a threshing floor owned by Araunah the Jebusite,[29] it is believed that it was upon this rock that he offered the sacrifice mentioned in the verse. He wanted to construct a permanent temple there, but as his hands were "bloodied", he was forbidden to do so himself. The task was left to his son Solomon, who completed the Temple in c. 950 BCE.

The Mishnah in tractate Yoma[30] mentions a stone situated in the Holy of Holies that was called Shetiya and had been revealed by the early prophets (i.e. David and Samuel).[31]

An early Christian source noting Jewish attachment to the rock may be found in the Itinerarium Burdigalense, written between 333 and 334 CE when Jerusalem was under Roman rule, which describes a "perforated stone to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart."[32]

Role in the Temple

[edit]

Situated inside the Holy of Holies, the Foundation Stone is believed to have been the rock upon which the Ark of the Covenant was placed in Solomon's Temple.[33] During the Second Temple period when the Ark of the Covenant was not present, the stone was used by the High Priest who offered up the incense and sprinkled the blood of the sacrifices on it during the annual Yom Kippur service.

Commemoration in Jewish law

[edit]

The Jerusalem Talmud states:

Women are accustomed not to prepare or attach warp threads to a weaving loom from Rosh Chodesh Av onwards (till after Tisha B'Av), because during the month of Av the Foundation Stone [and the Temple] was destroyed.[34]

Citing this, the Mishnah Berurah[35] rules that not only are women not to prepare or attach warp threads to a weaving loom, but it is forbidden for anyone to make, buy or wear new clothes or shoes from the beginning of the week in which Tisha B'Av falls until after the fast, and that people should ideally not do so from the beginning of Av. This period is known as The Nine Days.

In further commemoration of the Foundation Stone, it is also forbidden to eat meat or drink wine from the beginning of the week in which Tisha B'av falls until after the fast. Some have the custom to refrain from these foodstuffs from Rosh Chodesh Av, while others do so from the Seventeenth of Tammuz.[36]

Liturgical references

[edit]

In the days when Selichot are recited, in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, the supplications include the following references:

During Sukkot, the following references to the Foundation Stone are mentioned in the Hoshanot recital:

Islamic significance

[edit]

The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, is thought by commentators of the Quran to be the place from where Muslims believe Muhammad began his Night Journey.[39][40] Although the Quran does not specifically mention Jerusalem in name as the ascension site, labelling the site as the "farthest mosque" (from which the later-built Al-Aqsa was named), in certain Hadith it is said that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in Jerusalem.[41]

Tawfiq Canaan, in 1922, recorded a local tradition that describes four living waters flowing from under the rock. To the south: Hammam esh-Shifa, to the east: Siloam, to the north: 'En Haddji and En Qashleh, and to the west: Hammam es-Sultan.[42]

Beneath the Foundation Stone is a cavern known as the Well of Souls. It is sometimes thought of as the traditional hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b t. Yoma 2:12; y. Yoma 5:3; b. Yoma 54b; PdRK 26:4; Lev. R. 20:4.
  2. ^ m. Yoma 5:2.
  3. ^ The History of al-Tabari, vol. XII, Albany, New York: State University of New York Press 2007, pp. 194–195.
  4. ^ "Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 30:12". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  5. ^ The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Travels in the Middle Ages; (English translation originally published by Joseph Simon/Pangloss Press in 1993, ISBN 0-934710-07-4).
  6. ^ A. Benisch, Travels of Petachia of Ratisbon (with English translation), London, England, 1856. pp. 60–61.
  7. ^ "HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: מסעות ארץ ישראל – יערי, אברהם, 1899–1966". hebrewbooks.org. p. 81ff. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  8. ^ Avraham Ya'ari, Igrot Eretz Yisrael, Ramat Gan 1971. p. 134.
  9. ^ "Teshuvot HaRadbaz Volume 2 691:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  10. ^ Rav Ishtori Haparchi (14th Century), Kaftor VeFerach, Provence, France.
  11. ^ Emek HaMelech, Preface, paragraph 9.
  12. ^ Maharsha, end of Makkot.
  13. ^ a b "Fig. 6. The Southern System (237 K)". Templemount.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  14. ^ Immanuel Hai Ricchi, Aderet Eliyahu.
  15. ^ a b "Fig. 5. The Northern System (63K)". Templemount.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  16. ^ "The Hidden Secrets of the Temple Mount". Templemount.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  17. ^ "Fig 4 The Middle System (124 K)". Templemount.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Fig. 3. The Central System (42 K)". Templemount.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  19. ^ Ritmeyer, Leen, The Quest (2006), pp. 263–268.
  20. ^ Tractate Middot 4.7.
  21. ^ Ritmeyer, Leen (1996). "The Ark of the Covenant: Where It Stood in Solomon's Temple". Biblical Archaeology Review. 22 (1).
  22. ^ "Archaeologist says he knows where Ark of Covenant stood". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  23. ^ Exodus 25:10
  24. ^ Mishnah, Yoma 5:3.
  25. ^ Radbaz, Responsa 639.
  26. ^ Tractate Yoma 54b.
  27. ^ Vayechi 1:231.
  28. ^ Rashi, Genesis 28:11.
  29. ^ 1 Chronicles 21:25, 2 Samuel 24:18–25
  30. ^ Tractate Yoma 5:2.
  31. ^ Tractate Sotah 48b.
  32. ^ "Bordeaux Pilgrim – Text: 7a. Jerusalem (first part)". Christusrex.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  33. ^ Zohar Vayechi 1:231; Midrash Tanchuma Acharei Ch.3 (see Etz Yosef commentary); Maimonides, Beis HaBechirah 4:1.
  34. ^ Jerusalem Talmud, Pesachim 4:1. Aramaic text: "נשייא דנהגן דלא למי שתייה עמרא מן דאב עליל מנהג – שבו פסקה אבן שתייה".
  35. ^ Mishnah Berurah, 551:7, 8.
  36. ^ This is derived from the fact that another version of the same piece of Talmud reads: "למישתייה חמרא" "(to refrain) from drinking wine". This follows the version recorded by Hai Gaon. It is brought down by the Kolbo, Halakha Tisha B'Av, and Machzor Vitri 263.
  37. ^ ArtScroll Selichot, Second day, Selicha 5.
  38. ^ ArtScroll Selichot, Fast of Gedalia, Selicha 46.
  39. ^ M. Anwarul Islam and Zaid F. Al-hamad (2007). "The Dome of the Rock: Origin of its octagonal plan". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 139 (2): 109–128. doi:10.1179/003103207x194145. S2CID 162578242.
  40. ^ Nasser Rabbat (1989). "The meaning of the Umayyad Dome of the Rock". Muqarnas. 6: 12–21. doi:10.2307/1602276. JSTOR 1602276.
  41. ^ "Sahih Bukhari Hadith Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226". Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  42. ^ Canaan, Tawfiq (1922). "II: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine". Studies in Palestinian Customs and Folklore. Jerusalem, Israel: The Palestine Oriental Society. pp. 15–16.
[edit]

31°46′41″N 35°14′07″E / 31.7780°N 35.2354°E / 31.7780; 35.2354

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