The Temple Mount in the Teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Goren

Abstract

Rabbi Shlomo Goren was regarded as a prominent Halachic authority in his time, with a Zionist point of view. Rabbi Goren took an active part in the Six Day War and accompanied the fighting forces to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. The picture of him blowing a shofar by the Western Wall, during the war was published worldwide and is considered one of the central symbols of the war. After the war, Rabbi Goren was a strong advocate of changing the traditional halachic practice of forbidding Jews to ascend to the Temple Mount. He was active in various political and rabbinic activities to that end for the rest of his life.

Keywords: Shlomo Goren, Temple Mount, Halacha, IDF, Chief Rabbinate, Six Day War