B”H


AN OPEN LETTER TO
מכון המקדש


I have been to מכון המקדש twice and I was very impressed with the work you are doing. It is holy work and it is being carried out with every holy intention – except one. There is one כלי קודש that you have not provided for – בני צדוק.

Not long ago a Rabbi came to my hometown of צפת with a model of המקדש that he and others had constructed. The model is based on the vision of המקדש that was shown to יחזקאל בן-בוזי הכהן הנביא. The model was meticulously constructed. It was lovely. Tremendous effort had obviously been invested in it. Yet, the Rav never took בני צדוק into consideration. In fact, I had to remind him of the name of הכהן הראש during the time of דוד המלך who anointed שלמה המלך. He did not so much as remember the name צדוק. He did not mention the fact that בני-צדוק are mentioned by ה' יתברך no less than four times in
ספר יחזקאל בן-בוזי הכהן while הנביא was being shown המקדש.

The first time בני-צדוק are mentioned in ספר יחזקאל is in verse
מ:מו:

והלשכה אשר פניה דרך הצפון לכהנים שמרי משמרת המזבח המה בני-צדוק הקרבים מבני-לוי אל-ה' לשרתו

The second time בני-צדוק are mentioned in ספר יחזקאל is in verse מג:יט:

ונתתה אל-הכהנים הלוים אשר הם מזרע צדוק הקרבים אלי נאם אדנ-י ה' לשרתני פר בן-בקר לחטאת

The third time that בני-צדוק are mentioned in ספר יחזקאל is in verse מד:טו:

והכהים הלוים בני צדוק אשר שמרו את-משמרת מקדשי בתעות בני-ישראל מעלי המה יקרבו אלי לשרתני ועמדו לפני להקריב לי חלב ודם נאם אדנ-י ה'

The fourth time בני-צדוק are mentioned in ספר יחזקאל is in verse מח:יא:

לכהנים המקדש מבני צדוק אשר שמרו משמרתי אשר לא-תעו בתעות בני ישראל כאשר תעו הלוים

When I asked him if he took the model of המקדש that is described in מגילת המקדש into account he was surprised by the question. “Why should I?”, he had the temerity to answer, though if he had read ספר יחזקאל he could not but have read the passages above and he would know that בני-צדוק did not err. I answered that one must take their model of המקדש into account because בני-צדוק are the only כהנים who kept the התורה and performed העבודה correctly when all others erred and went astray. He told me that mine is not the accepted opinion and that if I disagree with the majority then the onus of proof is on me. No, my dear confused brother who refuses to see, the onus of proof is not on me. The proof is already written in ספר יחזקאל four times.

And now I will speak plainly to you: Unless we return to the way of בני-צדוק, those broke away from the corrupted priesthood, those who formed היחד, those who left us the מגילות in the place we call “Qumran”, which they called דמשק (an anagram of מקדש), those who left us מגילת המקדש so that we may know how to construct the Third Temple, all that you are doing is at best an exercise in futility or, at worst, the beginning of another cosmic cataclysm for the Jewish People and all of Humanity, as was the destruction of the Second Temple. ה' יתברך has written whose sacrifices of חלב ודם will be accepted. All others will be an abomination. The החשמונאים, aided and abetted by הפרושים, arrogated both the Kingship and the High Priesthood and desecrated the Temple. You know that הפרושים sided with and even supported החשמונאים until they began to persecute even הפרושים, although they had no right to serve in the Temple as High Priests, and certainly not to crown themselves Kings על פי הלכה. You know the unspeakable cruelty and perversion they became capable of as they became drunk with wealth and power. Do you imagine our generation is better than theirs?

הי ישתבח שמו has let it be known by the hand of a נביא who was also a כהן that בני-צדוק are הכהנים favored to make the sacrifices on המזבח. The work you are doing will not be blessed if you do not do it in accordance with the Will of ה', no matter how artistically constructed the כלים may be and no matter how otherwise well intentioned you may be.

With blessings,
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat