Taken and Rebuilt Sacred Space

With the temple destroyed, so was Jerusalem. Jerusalem is described as no longer habitable and “unclean,” because of the psychological effects of such catastrophe (Armstrong 80). Those who once admired the city, eyed it with contempt and Lamentations compares Jerusalem to a girl- “groaning and turning her face away, her garments covered in menstrual blood.” This analogy is quite profound, because it suggests the authors of the book knew Yahweh destroyed the temple as a result of the sins of the people of Israel, and paints a picture of the despair the people in Jerusalem were experiencing. It must have been extremely difficult for the exiles to follow Jeremiah’s advice and integrate themselves into Babylonian society, when they felt they had lost the possibility of making contact with their God, through the temple (Armstrong 79). It made me proud that despite the incentive to move on, many kept to their old traditions such as circumcision of male children, refraining from work on the Sabbath, and adopting special food laws to distinguish them as people of the covenant (Armstrong 82). Finding comfort and sacristy when prayer was not as conventional a form of connecting with God, probably felt daunting and scary without the sacred space that the temple in Jerusalem provided (Armstrong 83). 

Forward to about 19 BCE…and Herod has decided to rebuild the Temple. The sanctity of the temple can be noted be in its construction-planned so that sacrifices were not interrupted for a single day and that work was completed within eighteen months. This construction plan made it so that worship could be continuous. That the temple was completely useable and remained sacred during its construction is novel, because it speaks volumes about the people’s need for sacred space-the sacred space they were missing since the exile and the temple’s destruction. Furthermore, because Herod was not allowed to change the size or shape of the shrine, sanctity could further be preserved (Armstrong 130). While it was no doubt a strenuous and fast-paced process, the rebuilding of the temple appears to be a powerful moment in history, as the Temple remained “the pivot of Jewish spirituality” during Herod’s reign and may have spurred other paths of exploration to God (Armstrong 137). It almost as if the city is no longer unclean, the people have a place to worship and connect with Yahweh or their God-they may feel washed free. The ability to recreate sacred space and the propensity for overlapping sacred space is of similar importance, as it further lends evidence to the need for this space in order to feel connected to Yahweh. Without it, as the destruction of the Temple brought, the people feel as though they can’t go on. 

1st pic- from https://www.nybusinessdivorce.com/2012/07/articles/dissolution-defenses/unclean-
hands-defense-defeats-petitioners-shareholder-status-in-corporate-dissolution-suit/

2nd pic-from https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Holy-Water