Rabbi Tzvi Kostiner Warns Temple Mount Visits Risk 'Destruction of Torah' Authority

Rabbi Tzvi Kostiner, head of the Metzpe Ramon Yeshiva, issued a strong warning against visiting the Temple Mount today, arguing that the main danger is not just the destruction of the Temple but the "destruction of the Torah" due to undermining the authority of leading rabbis. He emphasized that while some believe ascending the Temple Mount brings the rebuilding of the Temple closer, without loyalty to the Oral Torah and the great rabbis, there will be no Temple.

Rabbi Kostiner based his stance on rulings from prominent Torah sages of recent generations, recalling their firm opposition to visiting the Temple Mount. He cited figures such as Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rabbi Shaul Israeli, Rabbi Shlomo from the mountain, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, who all ruled against ascending the site. He also shared Rabbi Abraham Shapira’s account of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook’s harsh criticism of a pamphlet attempting to permit entry, calling it a cause for spiritual harm.

Addressing claims by some young scholars who argue that study permits entry, Rabbi Kostiner noted that this is not a new interpretation unknown to previous authorities. Although certain laws allow a ritually impure person to enter parts of the Temple Mount, today it is impossible to precisely identify these areas, leading nearly all recent great rabbis to forbid entry to the entire site.

Rabbi Kostiner stressed that the issue is not merely halachic but also concerns respect for rabbinic tradition and authority. Quoting Rabbi Kook, he said that only the greatest sages of the generation have the right to rule on such matters, which affect all Jews across generations. He warned that the erosion of respect for rabbinic authority is spreading to other areas such as female military service, conversion, and fast-day observance, describing this as a destructive process threatening the Torah and Judaism itself.