Amongst the various groups of Jews, there have been different ideas about whether and when the Temple should be rebuilt. The desire for the Third Temple is sacred in Judaism, especially among Orthodox Jews. The Hebrew Bible holds that Jewish prophets in the Old Testament called for its construction prior to, or in conjunction with, the coming of the Messiah.
As we know, at present it would be practically impossible to build a new Temple on the Temple Mount, since the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque there late in the seventh century. The site is regarded as occupying the actual location of the Second Temple.
Over the years, several attempts have been made to rebuild the Temple. Early in the second century AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian granted permission to rebuild the Temple, but later changed his mind. Then the Jews under Simon bar Kokhba revolted against the Romans and captured Jerusalem in 132 AD. They held the city for some three years, during which time they began construction of a new Temple. But when the Romans regained control, they named Jerusalem Aelia Capitolina and forbade Jews even to live in the city.
In the fourth century, the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) permitted the Jews to begin building a Temple at extravagant expense, and he committed the task to Alypius of Antioch. But Rabbi Hilkiyah, one of the leading rabbis, rejected Julian’s money, arguing that gentiles should play no part in rebuilding the Temple. According to some sources, the project of rebuilding under Alypius was aborted because each time the workers tried to build, they were forced back by fierce flames coming from inside the earth. In any case, an earthquake in 363 destroyed what had been built.
An Armenian chronicle from the seventh century, written by Bishop Sebeos, relates how a Muslim named Muhammad gave a sermon urging the Jews and Muslims to unite under the banner of their father Abraham. He adds that the Jews then began to rebuild the Temple, but the Muslims expelled them and used the place for their own prayers. The Jews then built another Temple in a different place.
As regards the different attitudes of Jews today to the rebuilding of the Temple, most Orthodox Jewish scholars reject any attempts to build the Temple before the coming of the Messiah. A minority, following the opinion of Maimonides, a twelfth-century Jewish rabbi, believe that Jews should endeavour to rebuild the Temple whenever they can, so that sacrifices can be carried out in it again. Following this opinion, a small minority of Orthodox Jews want to rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount in present times.
As regards whether sacrifices will be carried out in the Third Temple, the generally accepted view among Orthodox Jews is that the full order of animal and grain sacrifices will be resumed once the Temple is built. This belief is expressed in Orthodox Jewish prayer services. Three times a day, these Jews recite the Amidah, which contains prayers for the Temple’s restoration and for the resumption of sacrifices, and every day there is a recitation of the order of the day’s sacrifices and the psalms the Levites would have sung that day.
Conservative Judaism rejects belief in the resumption of animal sacrifices if ever the Temple is rebuilt. Some believe that only grain offerings will be made.
Reform Judaism, on the other hand, does not believe in the rebuilding of a Temple at all. It regards the Temple and sacrifices as belonging to a more primitive form of worship, from which Judaism has evolved and should not return.