Will the Third Temple First Be Revealed in Beit Rabbeinu Shebebavel?

Question

A question has circulated in recent years: Is it true that the Third Temple will first descend and be built in Beit Rabbeinu Shebebavel, and only afterward travel from there to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem? Some attribute this idea to statements made by the Rebbe, leading to confusion and, at times, concern that mystical teachings are being misunderstood or exaggerated.

Answer:

The clear answer is: this is not accurate if understood literally. It is forbidden to build the Temple anywhere other than the Temple Mount. Jewish law is unequivocal on this point. No authority—legal or mystical—permits the physical construction of the Beit HaMikdash in any other location, even temporarily. Any suggestion that a physical Third Temple would be built, descend, or stand anywhere outside of the Temple Mount contradicts halachah and accepted tradition. So what was actually meant?

The Concept of a Spiritual Temple

There is a well-established concept in Jewish thought that the physical Temple on earth corresponds to a spiritual Temple above. This idea appears in earlier rabbinic and kabbalistic sources and is reiterated in Chassidic teachings as well. The “Temple above” is not a physical structure of stone, but a spiritual reality that serves as the divine source and blueprint for the earthly Temple.

In a well-known discourse of Beit Rabbeinu Shebebavel, the Rebbe introduced an important innovation—not found explicitly in earlier sources—regarding the future revelation of this spiritual Temple. He explained that the heavenly Temple, which already exists in a perfected state above, will ultimately be revealed within the physical world. The novelty was not the existence of a Temple in Heaven, but the manner and sequence of its revelation. According to this teaching, the spiritual level of the Third Temple will first be revealed in Beit Rabbeinu Shebebavel. From there, it will proceed to Jerusalem, where it will fully manifest in connection with the physical Third Temple that is built on the Temple Mount.

This does not mean that a building will descend from Heaven and stand next to Beit Rabbeinu Shebebavel. Nor does it mean that stones, walls, or architectural elements will move from one location to another. Rather, it refers to a spiritual revelation, a disclosure of divine reality associated with the Temple.

Even according to those opinions that maintain the Third Temple will “come from Heaven,” one of the main approaches—an approach the Rebbe himself emphasized on numerous occasions—is that this refers to the spiritual Temple, not a physical structure descending from the sky.

It is therefore entirely reasonable, and consistent with his broader teachings, to understand this discourse as referring to the initial revelation of the spiritual Temple, not to any physical construction outside of Jerusalem.

This understanding is also evident from the continuation of that same discourse. There, it becomes clear that the discussion cannot be referring to a physical structure descending or relocating, but rather to the Shechinah associated with the Third Temple. The language used emphasizes spiritual revelation and divine presence, not architectural movement or construction.

Conclusion

The claim that the Third Temple will physically descend and be built in Beit Rabbeinu Shebebavel before traveling to Jerusalem is incorrect. What was taught is far more refined: that the spiritual dimension of the Third Temple will first be revealed there, and only afterward be expressed fully in Jerusalem alongside the physical Temple on the Temple Mount.

Sources:

Kuntrus Beis Rabbeinu Shebibavel, printed in Toras Menachem 5752 Vol. 1 p. 418-419

See regarding the prohibition to build the Temple anywhere other than on Har Habayis: Rambam Hilchos Beis Habechira 1:3

See regarding the Third Temple coming from Heaven and its meaning: From Heaven: Rashi Sukkah 41a and Rashi Rosh Hashanah 30a “Yigaleh Veyavo Mishamayim” based on Pasuk Beshalach 15:17 Mikdash Adniy Konenu Yadecha; Tosafus Sukkah 41a; Shavuos 15b based on Tanchuma Pekudei 11; Zohar Vol. 1 28a; Vol. 2 59a; 108a; Vol. 3 221a; Yalkut Tehillim Remez 1048 in end; See Tanchuma Bereishis 17 in end; Rosh Sukkah ibid; Ritva ibid; Raavan Rosh Hashanah 30a; Sefer Hachinuch end of Mitzvah 95; Built by Mashiach: Rambam Melachim 11:1 and end; Yerushalmi Megillah 1:11; Pesachim 9:1; Tosefta Pesachim 8:2; Vayikra Raba 9:6; Answering the contradiction: See Aruch Laner Sukkah ibid; Ramchal in Sefer Mishkinei Elyon; Likkutei Sichos 11:98; 13:84; 18:408; Toras Menachem 5744 2:1029; 5747 Vol. 4 p. 157; 5748 2:560; Sefer Pear Halevanon p. 47