The Southern Sanctuary: A Renewed Vision for the Temple Mount

Rediscovering Sacred Space For centuries, the longing to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem has stirred theological devotion, halachic caution, and geopolitical friction. But a growing body of architectural, halachic, and mystical evidence points to a location for the ancient Temples not under the Dome of the Rock, but further south on the Temple Mount. This proposal, grounded in the research of architect Tuvia Sagiv, supported by insights from the Arizal and Maharsha, and re-evaluated through a modern lens of peace and coexistence, offers a revolutionary vision: a Temple that does not replace but coexists, inviting both Jews and non-Jews into a space of spiritual elevation.

I. The Southern Temple Theory: A Case from Structure and Spirit

The Dome of the Rock sits atop the highest natural point of the Temple Mount, a rock platform with a chamber beneath it known as the Well of Souls. While traditionally identified by the Radbaz and later poskim as the site of the Kodesh HaKodashim, infrared thermal imaging conducted by Tuvia Sagiv reveals the remains of a massive pentagonal foundation beneath the Dome— larger than the current Islamic shrine. This structure, extending beyond the Dome, likely predates it and may correspond to the Hasmonean Baris and Herodian Antonia Fortress, a military compound described by Josephus as guarding the Temple from its northern side.

This challenges the assumption that the Dome marks the Temple’s exact location. Sagiv’s proposal, aligning ancient gates, the Mount of Olives, and the altar placement described in the Mishnah and Josephus, places the Temple to the south of the Dome, a location that fits both spiritual and architectural parameters.

II. Spiritual Support: The Arizal, Maharsha, and Southern Alignment

The Arizal, in his mystical teachings, identifies the flow of divine energy as emanating from the south—associated with chesed (lovingkindness). The Maharsha, commenting on Zevachim 54b, insists on the strict alignment of the Holy of Holies, the altar, and the Eastern Gate. Current topography suggests that such alignment only works if the Temple is situated further south than the Dome.

These perspectives, while not always conclusive alone, together create a compelling vision of a sacred site anchored not in the center of modern assumptions but in the elevated spiritual geometry of tradition.

III. The Role of the Dome of the Rock: Fortress or Palace?

If the Temple stood to the south, what then was the Dome of the Rock? Several historical possibilities arise:

• The Baris, a Hasmonean fortress guarding the Temple. 
• The Antonia, Herod’s Roman-style palace-fortress. 
• The enigmatic “Maru”, the palace King Solomon built for Pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kings 7:8), which some midrashim and kabbalistic sources link to spiritual misalignment. 

Sagiv’s findings support a military or royal function, not a Temple structure, at least not one in the familiar shape we would expect for the Jewish Temples, for the foundations beneath the Dome. This interpretation preserves the sanctity of the Dome in Islamic tradition while relocating the Jewish Temple to its historically and spiritually accurate location just a bit to the south of the Dome.

IV. Before the Temple: Canaanite High Places and the Purity of Aravna’s Threshing Floor

Jerusalem’s history stretches back over 5,000 years. By the time of the Amarna Letters (14th century BCE), the city—then ruled by Abdi-Heba (whos name can be translated as “servant of Ḫebat”, a Hurrian goddess)—was already a major regional capital, likely with its religious and political center on the highest elevation: the current Temple Mount. Archaeology supports this, as significant Bronze Age remains are found not in the City of David but higher up. It is plausible that a Canaanite or Jebusite temple stood on the site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock is situated at the highest point on top of Mount Moria, and there is a cave known in Islamic traditions as the Well of Souls.

This high place, built over a cave or chamber in the rock, may reflect an older Hurrian-style religious pattern—one that closely resembles what was discovered at Urkesh, the Hurrian capital of Mittani, the region which the Egyptians referred to as Naharain (or Naharaim), identified by some with Ur Kasdim, the birthplace of Avraham. At Urkesh, a temple stood atop an acropolis with a ritual shaft (the abi) leading downward into the earth. The similarity of architectural and cultic patterns suggests a shared symbolic language: a sacred mountaintop with a cave connected to the underworld.

The Bible tells us that David did not build the Temple on the existing high place, but purchased a threshing floor from Aravna the Jebusite—a site without previous pagan associations (2 Samuel 24). Solomon then built the Temple on this site, suggesting a conscious rejection of earlier cultic locations in favor of spiritual purity.

Meanwhile, the Dome of the Rock area may have been repurposed by Solomon for his Egyptian wife as the “Maru,” a controversial structure that remained outside the Temple’s sanctity. Later, this site became the Hasmonean Baris, then the Antonia Fortress, and finally the Islamic Dome of the Rock.

This layered history implies that the southern Temple location was chosen not just architecturally but spiritually—to establish worship on a site untouched by idolatry and to affirm the Abrahamic break from the Hurrian cosmology of sacred caves and high places.

V. The Roman Temple and Byzantine Church: Layers of Displacement

After the destruction of the Second Temple and the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Roman Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina. On the Temple Mount, he constructed a Temple to Jupiter Capitolinus, the chief deity of the Roman pantheon—most likely on the very site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock. This was an intentional act of desecration, overwriting the Jewish spiritual center with the imperial cult.

Based on the layout of a similar Temple of Jupiter built by Emperor Hadrian in Balbek Lebanon, we can see that the current structures on the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque with a space in between mirror this same temple design. The arrangement of Hadrian after the destruction of the Jewish Temple reflects how we see the site today. 

Later, in the Byzantine period, a Christian church was likely built on the same platform—possibly dedicated to Saint Mary or another holy figure. Early pilgrims described ruins and Christian structures on or near the Mount. These layers of Roman and Christian appropriation demonstrate that the Dome’s site became a space of replacement theology, overlaid again and again with religious and political meaning.

This only strengthens the argument that the true site of the Temple lies to the south, untouched by this chain of imperial imposition.

Tuvia_Sagiv, Tuvia’s Southern Temple Proposal (Red) in Jerusalem with the Hadrian temple of Jupiter in Baalbek in Lebanon (blue) overlaid on top of the current structures.

VI. Halachic Advantage: Building in a Zone of Doubt

The Radbaz’s identification of the Dome as the site of the Even HaShetiyah (Foundation Stone) and Kodesh HaKodashim is authoritative but not conclusive. The Southern Proposal suggests not only that the Jewish Temple was not only to the south of the Dome but also, based on aquidect heights, that the original Temple floor was in fact quite a bit lower than the current Temple Mount floor, perhaps even 7-10 meters below the current floor.

If we acknowledge a safek (halachic doubt) as to the Temple’s original placement, and if the proposed southern location is both horizontally and vertically removed (by 7–10 meters elevation) from the presumed sacred zones, then we are not violating any halachic prohibitions.

This permits:

• Building a structure without entering the Kodesh HaKodashim. 
• Bypassing the need for Red Heifer purification, since we are not accessing sacred Temple areas. 
• A framework of gradual sanctification, aligned with the Ramban and Sefer HaChinuch’s view that sanctity can develop over time.
  

VII. Sacrifices, Pilgrimage, and What We Can Do Now

A Temple in the southern zone can begin as a center for prayer, study, and symbolic ritual. Sacrificial practices may follow in stages:

• Korban Pesach could be reinstated as soon as possible, as some halachic opinions allow its offering even in a state of national impurity. 
• Other offerings (Tamid, Olah, etc.) would wait for a Red Heifer and verified kohanim. 
• Aliyat HaRegel can resume as pilgrimage and prayer, even without full Temple service. 

This phased approach honors tradition while remaining spiritually and socially responsible.

VIII. Interfaith Harmony and Sacred Zoning

A southern Temple allows for peaceful coexistence:

• The Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque remain untouched. 
• Clearly defined zones allow Muslim worship, Jewish prayer, and interfaith interaction. 
• A joint council could govern access and ensure mutual respect. 

The Temple would not be a symbol of conquest but of shared sanctity, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 56:7 — “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations.”

IX. A Vertical Chamber: Reconnecting to the Holy of Holies

When the Red Heifer is restored, a vertical shaft within the Temple structure could be excavated to reach the original height of the ancient Kodesh HaKodashim without desecration. This preserves halachic integrity while physically reconnecting to the deepest spiritual root.

X. Sanctity Without Supremacy: A Temple Rooted in Chesed, Not Height

The southern Temple vision is not just a return to a more accurate physical location — it is a spiritual rejection of dominance. By building not over the Dome of the Rock but beside it, we reject both the ancient Hurrian/Canaanite high place cult and any modern theology that demands spiritual superiority.

Just as Solomon chose the lower threshing floor over the former high place, we now choose to build in a way that does not displace others but honors God’s presence in humility and coexistence. The south is the direction of chesed (lovingkindness) in Kabbalistic tradition — a divine attribute that reflects inclusion, generosity, and peace.

By not asserting vertical or religious supremacy, we embrace a more deeply Abrahamic vision — one that does not require domination to be holy. It is in this lower, gentler, holier space that we might once again find the Shechinah.

Conclusion: A Temple for Our Time

This vision is not only halachically viable and architecturally sound — it is morally and spiritually urgent. It honors Jewish tradition, respects Muslim heritage, and models coexistence. The Temple of the future may begin not with sacrifice, but with prayer, education, and openness — a sanctuary rooted in ancient truth and rising toward a shared divine horizon.

Temple Mount – AI-generated image of the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aqsa Mosque, and the Proposed Southern Temple