The desire to fulfill the commandment of the korban Pesach (Passover lamb offering) is both understandable and noble. In a generation that yearns for the renewal of Temple service, the impulse to ascend the Temple Mount with a lamb and knife, even with governmental permission, reflects a deep longing to obey the Torah’s command. Yet noble intention alone does not validate a mitzvah. The Torah and the Oral Law impose precise, non-negotiable conditions for the offering of the Passover lamb. When these conditions are not met, the act fails to fulfill the positive commandment and risks violating several prohibitions.

A careful examination of the relevant sources reveals that any slaughter performed on the current platform of the Temple Mount falls short in multiple critical respects. The fundamental requirements of location, altar construction, elevation, and ritual integrity cannot be satisfied without first excavating to the original bedrock level of the Azarah (the inner sanctified Temple courtyard). Until that foundational work is undertaken, no surface-level offering can be considered valid.

The Immutable Location and the Altar of Earth

The Torah commands that the Passover sacrifice be brought only at the place that God shall choose (Deuteronomy 16:5-6). The Rambam codifies that the precise location of the altar in the Azarah is fixed and immutable (Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 2:1-4). This location is not approximate. It must correspond to the historical site where the altar stood during the First and Second Temples.

Central to this requirement is the nature of the altar itself. Exodus 20:24 states, “An altar of earth you shall make for Me.” The Oral Law interprets this verse to mean that the altar must rest directly upon natural bedrock or virgin earth, without any intervening artificial platform, fill, arches, or detached layer (Rambam, Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 1:13). The current Temple Mount platform consists largely of ashlar stones and paving laid over fill and leveled surfaces. These are cut and dressed stones, many worked with iron tools. Placing an altar upon them, or slaughtering directly on them, violates the fundamental requirement of direct contact with the earth.

Furthermore, Exodus 20:25........

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