Positive Mitzvah Twenty
Build a Mikdash [Temple] for G-d
Requires Beit HaMikdash
Shemot 25:8
They shall make a Temple (Mikdash) for Me,
and I will [then] dwell in their midst.
We are commanded to build a Temple [Sanctuary] for His service. There sacrifices are to be offered and the perpetual fire is to burn, thither the [prescribed] pilgrimages are to be made, and there the festivals and assemblages are to be held every year.
The
Sifre says: :The Yisraelim were obliged to fulfill three Mitzvot upon their entry into the Land: to appoint a king over themselves, to build the Temple, and to annihilate the offspring of Amalek."
(Berachot, Tosefta 7:1) Thus it has been made clear to you that the building of the Temple is a distinct Mitzvah in itself.
The provisions of this Mitzvah as a whole, that is to say, those relating to the building of the Sanctuary, its design and its divisions, the building of the Altar, and the related laws, are explained in a Tractate specially devoted to the subject, namely
Tractate Middot. In like manner the design of the Menorah (Candlestick), of the Shulchan Aruch (Table), and of the golden Mizbeach (Altar), and their positions in the Temple are explained in the
Gemara Menachot and
Yoma.
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