“Will the Third Temple (Bait HaMikdash) be built physically by human hands—specifically by King Mashiach—or will it descend miraculously from Heaven, fully constructed by G-d?”

While it seems like a simple dilemma, delving into the Talmud, Rishonim (early commentators), and Kabbalah reveals a deep, multi-layered reality.

1. The Talmudic Paradox: Can the Temple Be Built at Night?

To understand how the Temple will be rebuilt, Rabbi Pinto guides us through an intriguing contradiction between two tractates in the Babylonian Talmud: Rosh Hashanah 30a and Shevuot 14a.

The Debate in Tractate Rosh Hashanah (30a)

The Mishnah discusses the prohibition of Chadash (eating from the new grain harvest). According to Biblical law, new grain cannot be eaten until the Omer offering is brought on the 16th of Nisan (the second day of Passover).

When the Temple stood, the Omer was offered in the morning, permitting the grain. However, after the Destruction, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai decreed that Chadash remains forbidden for the entire day of the 16th of Nisan.

Why? “Lest the Temple be rebuilt speedily!”

If the Temple were rebuilt late on the night of the 15th of Nisan, the people—unaware that the Temple was active again—might eat new grain early on the 16th before the Omer offering was brought. This scenario clearly implies a premise: The Temple could potentially be built at night or on a Festival (Yom Tov)!

The Contradiction in Tractate Shevuot (14a)

Conversely, Tractate Shevuot deals with the laws of expanding the sanctified borders of Jerusalem and the Temple Courtyard. The Talmud establishes a firm rule derived from Biblical verses:

• Building the Temple overrides neither the Sabbath nor Yom Tov.
• The Temple cannot be constructed at night.

How can Rosh Hashanah 30a suggest the Temple might be built at night on the 15th of Nisan, while Shevuot 14a explicitly states that night-time construction is strictly forbidden by Torah law?

2. Rashi vs. Rambam: Two Pathways to Redemption

To resolve this Talmudic conflict, two major approaches emerge among the classic commentators.

Rashi’s Approach: The Heavenly Temple

Rashi (Rosh Hashanah 30a) resolves the contradiction by making a critical distinction:

The prohibition against building the Temple at night or on Yom Tov applies only to human construction. However, the future Third Temple will be built by Heaven itself!

Rashi cites the verse from the Song of the Sea (Az Yashir):
“The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established” (Exodus 15:17).

According to Rashi, Midrashim (such as Pirkei Moshe), and the Tosafot, G-d is currently building the Third Temple in the celestial realms using divine fire, gems, and precious stones. When the time of Redemption arrives, this pre-fabricated Heavenly Temple will instantly descend to Earth. Because it is an act of G-d, it is not bound by human work prohibitions and can land at night or on a holiday.

Rambam’s Approach: The Mitzvah of Human Hands

On the other hand, the Rambam (Maimonides) in his Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment #21) and Hilchot Melachim (Laws of Kings 11:1, 11:4) takes a normative, halakhic stance:

• Building the Temple is a perpetual commandment incumbent upon the Jewish nation.
• One of the key indicators of the authentic King Mashiach is that he will physically rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem and gather the dispersed of Israel.

If building the Temple is a human obligation led by Mashiach, how do we reconcile it with the heavenly vision described by Rashi and the Midrashim?

3. The Kabbalistic Secret of the Zohar: Parshat Balak

To bridge these two seemingly opposing views, Rabbi Meir Pinto highlights a profound teaching from the Holy Zohar (Parshat Balak).

In the Zohar, a skeptic challenged Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, pointing to a verse in Haggai (2:9): “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former.” The skeptic argued that history only speaks of two physical Temples, denying the concept of a Third.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed a mystical reality: In truth, there is no separate “Third Temple.” The Third Temple is the ultimate spiritual synthesis and resurrection of the First and Second Temples combined!

The Divine Plan Since the Exodus

When Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, Almighty G-d intended to grant them an eternal, angelic existence. Had they not sinned with the Golden Calf and the Spies, G-d would have lowered the Heavenly Temple immediately upon their entry into the Land of Israel.

Because of human shortcoming, the spiritual Temple remained hidden above, and Israel was required to build physical structures—first the Tabernacle (Mishkan), then the First Temple built by King Solomon, and later the Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah.

The Zohar explains that in the Messianic Era:

1. The First Temple represents the hidden, spiritual essence (Divine light).
2. The Second Temple represents the revealed, physical vessel.
3. Almighty G-d will fuse these two aspects together. The spiritual framework constructed by G-d will descend from Heaven and clothe itself within the physical structure prepared on Earth.

4. Synthesis: How Heaven and Earth Meet

How do all these sources come together in practice?

Many commentators, including the Abarbanel and the Maharsha, explain that the rebuilding of the Third Temple will involve both human participation and Divine miracle:

1. Human Action (The Rambam’s View): King Mashiach and the Jewish people will initiate the physical building on Earth, fulfilling the Biblical commandment to erect a Sanctuary for Hashem.

2. Divine Revelation (Rashi & Zohar’s View): Once the physical preparations or foundational structures are laid down by human effort, the Heavenly, spiritual Temple constructed by G-d’s “own hands” will descend and fuse into the earthly structure.

This synthesis resolves the Talmudic paradox: The physical groundwork follows standard halakhic restrictions (built during the day), while the ultimate Divine completion—the descent of the Heavenly Sanctuary—can occur instantaneously at any moment, even at night or on a festival!