Harav Ovadia zt"l: "even if he goes a thousand times to the mikveh - remains impure, chayav karet"

While the subject of ascending to the Temple Mount is flaring, and various sources accuse those who go up to the Mount of indirectly providing a boost to the current wave of terrorism, the halakhic discussion on this issue arises too.




Behadrey Haredim reveals clear and sharp words said by Hagaon Rabi Ovadia Yosef zt"l, in a rare family shiur he gave some 20 years ago, in memory of his wife the Rebbetzin. The shiur dealt with Mishnayos Brachos, and it opens with the words: "'Mishna' has the letters of 'neshama'. We'll start to say a few things about the laws of Kriat Shema on the Minshna in Brachot, in memory of Margalit bat Zachia, may the spirit of Hashem place her in Gan Eden". The shiur was given by the editors of "Magid Harakia" - book of remembrance in honor of Maran zt"l.

During the lesson, Maran addressed the subject of going up to the Temple Mount, and notes that "even if a person tovels a 1000 times, he still remains impure, because we do not have a red heifer." The Rav also implies that since we have, thank G-d, the Western Wall in our hands to pour out our prayers before Hashem, what is the point to go up to the Temple Mount? He ends that need to be very careful and warn others.

And these are his holy words verbatim: "Unfortunately, to our dismay, they do not listen to us. There are many people – they go. MKs are not embarrassed to say explicitly that they allow to go inside the Temple Mount, they enter inside the temple, they not ashamed, they are chayav karet who do it! They enter, they have no religion and no law, they do not care about anything, they go inside and it's a big pitfall!!" "Even if we did not have the Western Wall, we should thank G-d so that Jews would not fail with the sin of karet, but on the one hand we thank G-d have the Wailing Wall in our hands, we can go and pour our words before G-d.

"On the other hand those who enter it is a great pitfall, they enter into the Temple Mount, we are all impure it has no purification. And even if a person goes into a Mikveh a thousand times, he still remains impure, because there we do not yet have upon us ashes of the red heifer.

"During the time of the Sages the Amoraim, they had still ashes of the red heifer, they had a tradition where the ashes of the red heifer are, and they would sprinkle on those who are impure and was able to eat Trumah and Kodshim. But after a few generations, it was over, everything is gone, one cannot know where it is, so we are all bechezkat tme'ei metim, and tame met who goes into the Azara, about this the verse states "that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the waters of Nida were not thrown upon him, impure he shall be, his impurity is still in him."

"It's something that is concluded by most halachic authorities, the Rambam writes that it is karet, and so too most of the Rishonim agree with him - Rashba, Ramban, Meiri, who can disagree with all these great authorities? And this is the opinion of Maran (the Shulchan Aruch). So we very much need to be careful and warn others not to enter through the gate of the Mugrabim inside, for this way one enters the Temple Mount and there is a chiyuv karet", so far the words of Maran.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!