In the first temple of Jerusalem, the so-called Temple of Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant was kept, with the tablets of the law that the God of the Israelites gave to Moses together with the Ten Commandments. Solomon, son of King David, unified the faith of the twelve tribes of Israel and replaced the tabernacle with a temple. The God of Israel would never again live in a tent in the desert.

In the time of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonians destroyed the Temple for the first time. The Temple fell and with it the menorah. It would be 587 BC. And the Hebrews were slaves of the Babylonians, that is, of the Persians (if I may be allowed the license) and it took time to return from the banks of the Euphrates to Jerusalem.

It is a story of comings and goings, of exiles and conquests and reconquests of lands permanently bathed in blood.

In 515 BC, under the Persian rule of Darius I, Zorobabel (yes, it is almost named after an anti-nationalist forum that was there for our verals) rebuilt the temple after a diaspora that dispersed his people. Although to say that he rebuilt it is perhaps an exaggeration, because, with the Maccabean revolt in the middle (Judas Maccabeus, around 165 B.C.), the temple was not really erected in its splendor until the end of the 1st century B.C. Herod as king of Judea and Ezra as main figures.

A few years – relatively – later, the Romans would destroy the Temple for the second time. And so far The revolt was that of the Zealots. And Rome hesitated, because Nero had died and Vespasian was sitting on Caesar’s throne. It was Titus, son of Vespasian, who laid siege to Jerusalem and, perhaps by choice or by accident, razed the second temple. Even today you can see in Rome, in the Arch of Titus, how his legionnaires took the menorah away. But it must also be remembered that Titus did not want to celebrate his triumph over the Jews in Rome. He left the Wailing Wall standing because it was useful for partially fortifying the Roman garrison. And there the Jews still pray, mourning the destruction and loss of their temple, which was where the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque are now, which has given its name to Hamas’s armed incursion into Israeli territory.

Flavius ??Josephus, a historian of Jewish origin, is the Roman source that Titus used as a mediator, which almost cost him his life. And he continues to be the narrator who tells us how the second temple fell in the year 70 of our era.

The foundational rock deserves separate mention, which is so important to explain that on it Abraham was going to sacrifice his son and that on top of that same rock Muhammad traveled to heaven riding Buraq, a mythological horse that left his mark on that stone Although it could also be the archangel Gabriel or even an impression of Muhammad’s turban. It’s better that we turn around and don’t get involved…

Emperor Adrian returned, in 135, to burn Jerusalem. It was the third rebellion or the second Judeo-Roman war. According to nuances. In any case, proof that blood and rancor continue to be what waters those lands.

After what we have seen in these dark days, I fear that Gaza is doomed along with its inhabitants. And Israel will pay a high price in death and pain. The third temple in Jerusalem is supposed to come when the long-awaited Messiah arrives. But I fear that this third temple will be a pantheon. We must return to Oslo and the chimera of the two nations. Or will only the Lamentations and that precarious canvas of the wall remain. Pray and cry.