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The Mishkan — and the Torah’s Directions for a Brighter Future for Judaism
A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.
One of the most mysterious structures in all of Jewish history is the Mishkan, known in English as the Tabernacle. It was crafted to be mobile — packed up and carried from place to place — so that it could be a sacred home for the Divine Presence in the middle of a restless, wandering nation as they traversed the Sinai desert.
But here’s the curious part: when the Israelites finally entered the Land of Israel, and the need for portability supposedly ended, the Mishkan didn’t disappear or get replaced by something more permanent. Instead, it settled in one spot — the town of Shiloh, a modest location in the territory of Ephraim, about twenty miles north of Jerusalem — where it stayed for 369 years.
Think about that. The Mishkan was in Shiloh for nearly four centuries. And yet — how often do you hear anyone talk about Shiloh with the same awe as they do about Temple Mount? Almost never. To be honest — I was no different. For me, Shiloh was a name, a footnote, and nothing more. But last week, I went there, and everything changed. And now, I can’t stop talking about it.
Standing there among the ruins, where scattered stones seem to whisper the stories of ancient priests and trembling pilgrims, where you can almost hear Hannah’s desperate prayer for a child, where the Ark of the Covenant once rested in a humble sanctuary beneath nothing more than a cloth roof — I found myself wondering: Why have we forgotten Shiloh?
Why has this place, which housed the Mishkan for 369 years, faded from Jewish consciousness? After all, it was here that Samuel the prophet was raised. It was here that the transition to a monarchy first took root. It was here that Jewish life had its first true national center.
The Mishkan was destroyed by the Philistines after the disastrous battle at Eben-Ezer, when the Ark was captured, Eli the High Priest died, and Shiloh was reduced to a ruin. Eventually, King David brought the Ark to Jerusalem.
His son Solomon built the First Temple on a modest hilltop surrounded by higher peaks — Mount Scopus to the north, so named because you could “scope” Temple Mount from its peak, and the Mount of Olives to the east, from where the people witnessed the sacred Yom Kippur rituals unfold.
Solomon’s Temple stood for 410 years before it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian forces in 586 BCE. Seventy years later, a Second Temple was built by Ezra and Nehemiah. This more modest temple was later expanded — first by the Hasmoneans, following their miraculous victory in 164 BCE, and then dramatically enlarged and beautified by Herod the Great, the architect-king whose building projects across Judea rivaled those of Rome.
Despite Herod’s reputation for paranoia and cruelty, which earned him the disdain of the Talmudic sages, the Talmud records a remarkable statement (Bava Batra 4a): “Whoever has not seen Herod’s Temple has never seen a truly beautiful building.”
But this edifice was also destroyed — by the Romans in 70 CE — just like Solomon’s Temple and the Mishkan at Shiloh before it. Which brings me back to Shiloh. Because even though the Mishkan was razed to the ground, and even though there are no grand Herodian stones or giant underground catacombs in Shiloh, there is something profoundly moving about the site. Something… pure.
It was never meant to be permanent, and yet it endured. It was simple and rudimentary, but it worked. And its memory has lasted — at least for those who choose to remember it.
Unlike Temple Mount, where access remains restricted for various reasons, there is no controversy regarding walking freely on the site where the Mishkan once stood. Archaeologists and historians are reasonably sure about the exact location, although some debate remains over whether the Holy of Holies was on the eastern or western side of the site.
But think about it: you can literally walk on the very ground where the priests once carried out their sacred duties. Where sacrifices were offered. Where the Menorah was lit each day. Where the Ark of the Covenant rested.
Once the Mishkan was destroyed and the Ark relocated, the holiness of Shiloh was gone forever. Interestingly, according to the great medieval commentator Raavad, the same is somewhat true for Temple Mount — at least until the Third Temple is built. Maimonides famously ruled that the sanctity of Temple Mount is eternal, based on a Mishnah in Eduyot (8:6), meaning that even today, entry into sacred zones carries a severe penalty.
But Raavad, in his gloss to Rambam’s Mishneh Torah (Hilchot Beit HaBechira 6:14), sharply disagrees: “This is his own opinion, and I do not know from where he derives it… it has been revealed to me as a secret of God to those who fear Him: one who enters there today incurs no penalty whatsoever.”
Nevertheless, despite Raavad’s lenient view, we tread carefully. We don’t walk where we are sure the Temple once stood — out of both awe for the hallowed location and respect for the more stringent opinion.
But the Temple Mount area is far larger than just the footprint of the Temple itself. Herod expanded it into a massive trapezium-shaped platform — roughly 37 acres in size — and it includes vast areas that are unquestionably outside the original sacred zones. Visiting those areas is absolutely permitted.
Thankfully, more and more Jews are going there. Over Pesach this year, more than 6,500 Jews ascended Temple Mount — an unprecedented number in modern history. And among them was me — not once, but twice.
I’ve visited Temple Mount several times before, but for the first time in my life, I was finally able to pray there, together with my sons — unhindered by the intolerant Jordanian guards and anxious Israeli border police.
We walked the carefully charted permitted path around the perimeter, singing Hallel and offering heartfelt prayers. We sang joyously — zeh hayom asah Hashem, nagilah venismecha bo — “this is the day that God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” — acknowledging that we were witnessing prophecy come to life before our eyes.
The world can deny it, and politicians can ignore it. But the slow, steady reclamation of Jerusalem — of our historic rights to the site of our holiest structure — is happening. And no amount of international indignation can change that.
It all began in Parshat Shemini, where we read about the original dedication of the Mishkan — assembled for the first time by a newly liberated people still finding their way. Then, Moshe and Aaron were at the helm. It was a key spiritual moment that set in motion a chain of events stretching through time: to Joshua and the conquest of the Land; to the Judges and the prophets; to the kings of Israel and the builders of Jerusalem; to Ezra and Nehemiah; to the Hasmonean heroes; to Shimon HaTzaddik and the Great Assembly; to the sages of the Sanhedrin, who once deliberated on Temple Mount.
This is our story. This is our legacy. And it is coming back into focus.
To be clear, prophecy won’t be realized through passive longing. It can only happen through meaningful action. Through visiting Shiloh. Through ascending Temple Mount. Through reconnecting with the real places where Jewish history unfolded — and where Jewish destiny is being rewritten in our time.
Because Judaism is not merely nostalgia for a glorious past. It’s about doing what has to be done to ensure a glorious future.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post The Mishkan — and the Torah’s Directions for a Brighter Future for Judaism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pledges of Unity in Beijing Mask Deep Skepticism Among Iran, China, Russia
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they meet, in Beijing, China, Sept. 2, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to Beijing on Tuesday, joining Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the three nations aim to project a united front against the West, even as the stability of their partnership remains uncertain.
Iranian and Russian officials, along with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, will attend Beijing’s military parade this week to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The high-profile gathering comes after Pezeshkian and Putin held talks in China on Monday on the sidelines of the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin.
During a joint press conference, the Iranian president hailed Tehran’s cooperation with Moscow as “highly valuable,” adding that continued implementation of their 20-year treaty signed earlier this year would further strengthen ties and expand collaboration.
Putin also noted that the relationship between the two countries is “growing increasingly friendly and expanding” amid mounting pressure and sanctions from Western countries.
However, these remarks come after an Iranian official accused Russia without evidence of providing intelligence to Israel during the 12-day Middle Eastern war in June which allegedly helped the Jewish state target and destroy Iran’s air defense systems.
Mohammad Sadr, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council and close adviser to former President Mohammad Khatami, claimed Israel’s precise strikes on Iranian air defense systems were suspicious.
He noted Russia’s refusal to support Iran during the war, saying that Moscow had shown a “bias in favor of Israel” and that the recent conflict demonstrated the “strategic agreement with Russia is nonsense.”
“This war proved that the strategic alliance with Moscow is worthless,” Sadr said during an interview with BBC Persian, referring to the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
“We must not think that Russia will come to Iran’s aid when the time comes,” he continued.
Earlier this year, Moscow and Tehran signed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement, further strengthening military ties between the two countries.
According to Janatan Sayeh, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based think tank, Iran views all partnerships with deep suspicion, and its relationship with Russia is no exception.
“Tehran has long accused Moscow of enabling Israeli strikes against its assets in Syria — well before Assad’s collapse — by deliberately switching off its S-400 systems,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner, referring to recently deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian air defense systems.
“The Moscow–Tehran relationship is less an alliance in the traditional sense than a transactional partnership,” he continued. “At this stage, it is unclear whether either side truly benefits from the arrangement.”
With European powers now formally pursuing the reimposition of UN sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, Sayeh explained that the Iran-Russia partnership is further complicated, as the restrictions will once again limit arms sales and nuclear-related trade with the Islamic Republic.
“This may drive the regime to lean more heavily on Beijing, and some reports suggest it already has,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner.
According to some reports, China may be helping Iran rebuild its decimated air defenses following the 12-day war with Israel.
“The unresolved question is whether China views Tehran as a worthwhile bet, one worth risking violations of UN sanctions for, or whether it is instead watching Iran’s overlapping crises of water shortages, power outages, and economic decline with caution, skeptical of openly extending support,” he continued.
China is the largest importer of Iranian oil, with nearly 90 percent of Iran’s crude and condensate exports going to Beijing. The two sides also recently signed a 25-year cooperation agreement, held joint naval drills, and continued to trade Iranian oil despite US sanctions.
At the SCO summit in Tianjin earlier this week, Tehran described its ties with China as “flourishing,” pointing to a strategic pact similar to the one it signed with Russia.
“The 25-year agreement with China is under implementation and progressing. Our bilateral relations are very good and expanding. We value our relationship with China,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said during a press conference.
According to Jack Burnham, a research analyst at FDD, China’s assistance to Iran reflects Beijing’s long-standing practice of offering support when convenient and remaining discreet when tensions escalate.
“Still set firmly on its back foot, the [Iranian] regime may be looking for any possible friend in its foxhole, but the 12-day war should have convinced Tehran that Beijing only arrives when the weather is fair and risks tolerable,” Burnham told The Algemeiner.
After European countries moved to begin the process of reimposing UN sanctions on Tehran last week, China and Russia sided with Iran in opposing the move, once again favoring cautious diplomacy over direct support for their supposed partner.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Chinese, Russian, and Iranian foreign ministers condemned Britain, France, and Germany’s attempt to restore economic sanctions under the “snapback mechanism,” calling the move “legally and procedurally flawed.”
Our joint letter with my colleagues, the Foreign Ministers of China and Russia, signed in Tianjin reflects the firm position that the European attempt to invoke “snapback” is legally baseless and politically destructive. By declaring the E3’s move null and void, we have placed on… pic.twitter.com/YC4LKNkxMX
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) September 1, 2025
Both China and Russia are signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, along with the three European countries known as the E3.
In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear agreement.
The US and E3 have sought to reignite talks aimed at reaching a new nuclear agreement following Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June.
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Teachers Unions Across US Under Fire for Alleged Antisemitism
National Education Association president Becky Pringle leads hundreds of demonstrators in chants during a rally to end US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, in Washington, DC, US, on, June 9, 2025. Photo: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Teachers unions across the United States have come under intense scrutiny from both Jewish activists and federal lawmakers for allegedly promoting antisemitic ideas and fostering a hostile environment toward their Jewish members.
The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, for example, has opened an investigation into the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, over allegations that its policies and materials discriminate against Jewish members.
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), the committee’s chairman, sent a letter late last month to NEA President Becky Pringle demanding documents tied to what he described as “antisemitic content” in the union’s 2025 handbook and its decision to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) over its support for Israel.
“The NEA’s 2025 handbook … contains passages and priorities that are hostile towards the Jewish people,” Walberg wrote, citing language that he said downplays the uniquely Jewish suffering of the Holocaust and promotes lessons on the so-called Palestinian “nakba,” the Arabic term for “catastrophe” used by Palestinians and anti-Israel activists to refer to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.
In July, the NEA refused to adopt as policy a ban on the ADL voted for by the group’s Representative Assembly during an annual conference.
“The National Education Association stands firmly for every student and educator, of every race, religion, and ethnicity, and we unequivocally reject antisemitism,” the NEA told JNS in response to Walberg’s letter. “We have fought against all kinds of hate, including antisemitism, throughout our history and remain focused on ensuring the safety of Jewish students and educators.”
The congressional probe comes as teachers unions across the country face mounting criticism from Jewish educators and civil rights advocates who say the organizations are failing to protect them, and in some cases are actively fostering hostility.
In Massachusetts, the Zionist Organization of America filed a sweeping civil rights complaint last week against the Massachusetts Teachers Association, accusing the organization of creating a discriminatory environment. The filing cites union-distributed images and posters viewed as antisemitic, including one showing a dollar bill folded into the shape of a Star of David and another reading “Zionists [Expletive] Off.” Some Jewish educators say they have already left the MTA over its stance.
In New York, meanwhile, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) has come under fire from its own Jewish members for their responses to antisemitic incidents in schools. The criticisms stem in part from an incident at Hillcrest High School, where a Jewish teacher was reportedly forced to lock herself in an office during an anti-Israel protest. Union critics also blasted the UFT for endorsing New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a supporter of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel who has been accused of antisemitism.
“How can we feel safe? When our teachers get attacked, our union says little and does nothing. When our protected rights are infringed upon, our union says little and does nothing. When they need us, they pretend we matter, and when they don’t, they ignore our concerns,” Moshe Spern, head of the United Jewish Teachers caucus, said last week at an “End Jew Hatred” rally, according to the New York Post.
Spern noted that more than 150 teachers are moving to cancel their union dues in protest.
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Iran’s Executions in August Jump 70 Percent Compared to Previous Year as Rights Groups Warn of Troubling Surge
Illustrative: A February 2023 protest in Washington, DC calling for an end to executions and human rights violations in Iran. Photo: Reuters/ Bryan Olin Dozier
The Islamic regime in Iran accelerated its execution machine last month, killing at least 152 prisoners according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
The figure represents a surge of 70 percent compared to the 94 executions conducted in August 2024.
While Hengaw has identified 148 of those killed last month, four individuals remain unknown. Two people killed include Roozbeh Vadi, alleged to have engaged in “espionage for Israel,” and Mehdi Asgharzadeh, an alleged ISIS member. Iran executed at least five women for murder and one woman on drug charges.
According to Hengaw, two or more of the executions took place in public in Beyram and Kordkuy, cities in the country’s southern and northern provinces, respectively.
On Monday, the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) released a report of human rights violations in Iran during August, noting that the number of executions had increased 40 percent compared to June and July, bringing the total execution count to 837 for the year. In comparison, the Islamic regime executed 930 people for the entire year of 2024.
HRANA broke down last month’s executions by charges, finding 87 drug offenses, 60 murder charges, two rapes, one for security offenses, and one person’s offenses are unknown. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, during the first half of 2025, nearly half of Iran’s executions targeted those convicted over drugs.
Iran killed one person on the charge of “corruption on earth,” which translates from the Koranic term “mofsed-e fel-arz” (مفسد فی الارض), a vague concept that Islamic judges have often applied toward political dissidents, alleged spies, or religious converts.
One tool that HRANA identifies Iran regularly deploying in its judicial system is forced confessions.
“Extracting forced confessions from political and ideological defendants, followed by broadcasting them on state television, is one of the regime’s routine practices against its opponents,” the human rights group stated. “In 2024, HRANA documented 28 cases of forced confessions. This month as well, Iran’s state television aired the forced confessions of a group of Christian converts.”
HRANA also found 73 arrests last month for citizens speaking out about their political views and beliefs; in addition, the state sentenced 27 people to 658 months in prison, 132 months of exile, and 130 lashes for speech offenses.
United Nations spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani warned last week that the human rights situation in Iran could be even worse than documented figures suggested.
“The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants,” Shamdasani said. “Public executions add an extra layer of outrage upon human dignity … not only on the dignity of the people concerned, the people who are executed, but also on all those who have to bear witness”
Shamdasani warned that “the psychological trauma of bearing witness to somebody being hanged in public, particularly for children, is unacceptable.” She argued that the death penalty “should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday announced the capture of eight people accused of aiding Israel’s Mossad espionage agency. During Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, police arrested as many as 21,000 individuals.
Australia announced the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador on Aug. 26, giving the diplomat seven days to leave following the discovery that the Islamic regime had directed antisemitic terrorism against the country’s Jews.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.”
Mike Burgess, director general of Australia’s security agency, said “they’re just using cut-outs, including people who are criminals and members of organized crime gangs to do their bidding or direct their bidding,”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Aug. 24 that “they want Iran to be obedient to America. The Iranian nation will stand with all of its power against those who have such erroneous expectations … People who ask us not to issue slogans against the US … to have direct negotiations with the US only see appearances … This issue is unsolvable.”