Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the most sacred places in Islam, where Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven, and nearby (600 feet) are the ruins of the Jerusalem Temple known to Jews as the Temple Mount, where they pray alongside its supporting Western Wall, and mourn the loss of a temple on the platform above.

There is a Holy Link between the Muslim Kaab’a and the Jewish Jerusalem Temple. Shamefully, politicalized religious leaders have turned sacred sites in both India and Israel into battlegrounds for their brand of religious exclusivity. Yet an ancient Jewish legend predicts that when the Messiah comes and resurrection day occurs, the Kaab’a in holy Mecca will go to join the Temple Mount’s Foundation Stone in holy Jerusalem, bringing the inhabitants of Mecca, and they shall be joined together. When the Foundation Stone sees the Kaab’a approaching, it shall cry out, “Peace be to the great guest.” (Zev Vilnay)

The Muslim Kaab’a in Mecca was a very ancient ruined holy site that was rebuilt under God’s direction by Prophets Abraham and his oldest son Ishmael. The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was built on a site God chose for an offering of Prophet Abraham’s youngest son, and built by Prophet Solomon the son of King David, more than four centuries after Prophet Abraham.

There is a wonderful legend that explains what linked these two sacred sites that had become holy to the descendants of the two sons of Prophet Abraham.

“Two brothers who inherited a valley-to-hilltop farm from their father divided the land in half so each one could farm his own section. Over time, the older brother married and had four children, while the younger brother was still not married.

One year there was very little rain, and the crop was very meager.

The younger brother lay awake one night praying and thought. “My brother has a wife and four children to feed and I have no children. He needs more grain than I do; especially now when grain is scarce.”

So that night the younger brother went to his barn, gathered a large sack of wheat, and left his wheat in his brother’s barn. Then he returned home, feeling pleased with himself.

Earlier that very same night, the older brother was also lying awake praying for rain when he thought: “In my old age my wife and I will have our grown children to take care of us, as well as grandchildren to enjoy, while my brother may have no children. He should at least sell more grain from his fields now, so he can provide for himself in his old age.”

So that night, the older brother also gathered a large sack of wheat, and left it in his brother’s barn, and returned home, feeling pleased with himself.

The next morning, the younger brother, surprised to see the amount of grain in his barn seemed unchanged,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)