Children on the Temple Mount
Children on the Temple MountTemple Institute

Hundreds of children and teenagers are expected to arrive at the Temple Mount Tuesday in what has become an annual event – the ascending of groups of children to the Mount, coordinated and organized by the Women for the Holy Temple Organization.

Speaking with Arutz Sheva, Ya'el Kabilio, one of the event's organizers, said that the ascent was the apex of three days of visits by hundreds of Jews to the Temple Mount that have taken place this week, during the intermediate days of Sukkot. Children and youths visiting the site will receive special instructions on how to prepare for their visit, and which areas are off limits according to Jewish law due to their immense holiness. Many of the children will be visiting with their families, who will also receive those instructions.

Kabilio herself will be working with the youngest children – those of kindergarten age – and will present to them a special program, including a puppet show, that will teach about the holiness of the site, and the special place the Temple Mount holds in Jewish tradition, she said.

In a special event for the visitors, a recreation of the “nisuch hamayim” ceremony – the drawing of water for splashing on the Altar – will take place, Kabilio said, in order to give kids a taste of the ceremonies of the Temple. The event, called “simhat beit hasho'eva,” will feature music, singing, jugglers, and other special surprises. The youths will march to the Temple Institute in the Jewish quarter, where they will view many of the real-life recreations of items used in the Temple.

The event is being held in full coordination with police, Kabilio said, and participants and visitors need not worry about finding themselves in the middle of an Arab riot. Police are in constant touch with organizers, and will alert them before the event if there are any security issues – and if there are, alternative activities will take place in the area, she added.

The Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site. It is the location of the two Holy Temples of Jerusalem - the latter of which was destroyed by the Romans in 70CE - and according to some Jewish traditions it is the point from which the creation of the world began.