TEMPLE of JERUSALEM

First Temple
David conquered Jerusalem in approximately 1004 BCE and made it a center of government. He brought the Ark of the Covenant to the city, and Jerusalem became the political and spiritual nexus of the Jewish people. David refrained from building the Temple, leaving the task to his son Solomon. The concentration of religious ritual at the Temple made Jerusalem a place of pilgrimage and an important commercial center.
Second Temple
Built: 516 BCE. Destroyed in the Jewish revolt against Rome in 70 CE.
This reproduction is based on the dimensions of Solomon's Temple discussed in the Torah. It depicts the Main Hall of the Temple (Hechal) which contains the Holy of the Hollies. The incense sacrifices were brought up daily by the Kohanim (Priests) in the Hechal. The Ark and tablets were in this building in the area called the Holy of Hollies, that was entered once a year by the High Priests on Yom Kippur.
Third Temple
The hope to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the Temple has been a dream of the Jewish people for the last two thousand years.

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