Making of: Aravos on the Mizbeyach

Here is a little behind-the-scenes look at the simple image from the last post.

Daf Yomi: Aravos on the Mizbeyach (Succah 45a)

Inspired by a recent passage in Daf Yomi, I took out my Lego® Mizbeyach and a handful of white-clad minifigures for an impromptu photo shoot.

So Close Yet So Far Away (Part 2 of 2)

This is the continuation of last week's post:

The answer emerges from a curious ambiguity in the laws governing the sanctity of the Beis HaMikdash. The Mishnah (Keilim 1:8-9) teaches that the various parts of the Beis HaMikdash possessed increasingly higher levels of sanctity as one progressed inward toward the Kodesh HaKodashim. We learn, for example, that the Har HaBayis — the large, outer portion of the Beis HaMikdash complex that measured 500×500 amos (Middos 2:1) — was restricted to certain types of tahor people, whereas the Main Azarah — an area measuring 135×187 amos (Middos 5:1) — had an even higher level of sanctity. Although these areas are clearly defined physically in Tractate Middos and spiritually in Tractate Keilim, we are not told the dimensions or status of the thickness of the walls dividing these areas. Thus, as a person walks from the Har HaBayis into the Azarah through one of its gates, at what point is he considered to be “in” the Azarah — when he crosses the threshold of the gateway at the outer edge of the wall or when he enters the Azarah proper?

So Close Yet So Far Away (Part 1 of 2)

The following post first appeared in the Beis Medrash of Ranchleigh Pesach Kuntress 5781: 

     Mordy was late. There had been that last-minute dithering over whether to purchase a goat or a lamb for his Korban Pesach, and then a crowd of foreign tourists created a massive backup at the Chuldah Tunnel. Only by detouring to the Kiponos Gate in the west did Mordy stand of chance of joining the third and final shift of people entering the Azarah to offer their korban.

Beis Hamikdash Experience is now online

By popular demand from my mother and others of the general public, the virtual Beis Hamikdash presentation that I helped create for the Daf Yomi siyum of Maseches Yoma is now on my Vimeo page.

Siyum on Yoma by Ki Heim Chayeinu

Coming up this Thursday the daf yomi will be finishing Maseches Yoma. To celebrate this momentous siyum, the organization Ki Heim Chayeinu (a division of the National Agudah) put together a program that includes a number of speakers, entertainers, and me. Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at some of the material I prepared.

Beis Hamikdash Models as seen on Inside Artscroll

In the last post I linked to an interview I did on Inside Artscroll. During the interview I showed two of the 3D printed models that I designed to teach about the Beis Hamikdash. One of the models was made of sandstone and the other was made of steel. Read on for a description of how these models are printed.

Inside Artscroll Interview

Artscroll's new edition of Avodas HaKorbanos takes the reader through a day in the life of the Beis Hamikdash with an elucidated text, explanatory notes, and diagrams. I contributed to this volume by helping out with the diagrams. For that, I was invited to be interviewed on Inside Artscroll, their video podcast series where, as they like to say, "The books you read and the people who write them come to life!" I had a chance to talk about this book, how I got started with Artscroll, and about my personal work on the Beis Hamikdash.

The Ship Has Arrived!

 In early March, after some brief delays, the ship carrying The Original Second Temple arrived off the coast of New York.

TOST shipping container location on March 8, 2021

TOST is about to be served!

After many years in the making, my book on the Beis Hamikdash is about to be released in stores, BH! The Original Second Temple is a hard cover, full-color compendium of my work on the Second Beis Hamikdash. It features over 270 pages of detailed explanations, more than 130 diagrams and illustrations, and numerous source citations and footnotes to make the study of the Beis Hamikdash accessible to all.

The Original Second Temple is being printed and distributed by Feldheim. The printing has just been completed in Israel and the book is due to arrive in America in late February 2021. Please visit the updated Book tab for more information and for special offers on the abridged Digital Edition available now!

High Holiday Custom Minifig

 In honor of the upcoming yom tov here is a custom minifig I built using Cinema 4d and Bricklink Studio.

Happy Tu B'Av!

On this day the Temple completed its annual harvesting of firewood. It was known as the Day of the Breaking of the Hatchet.

לבי במזרח ואנכי בסוף מערב

A quote from Yehudah HaLevi (poet and philosopher, 1075-1141) as we approach the 1,950th Tisha B'Av still on the western side of the Wall.

Rebuilding A Personal Jerusalem

 During this time of the year as our hearts and minds turn to Jerusalem and the Temple, I have been working on rebuilding our holy city in my own small way. Brick by brick, over 3,000 in all, I assembled a microscale Lego® model of the Old City of Jerusalem as it would have looked during the heyday of the pre-Herodian Second Temple era.

New Temple Mount Model

It has been nearly two thousand years since Mount Moriyah has seen a Jewish Temple, but thanks to the efforts of Yitzy Kasowitz and jbrick, we can now see the Temple and surrounding areas in miniature. As a follow-up to jbrick's successful Holy Temple model they are now offering an add-on model of the entire Temple Mount.