Vision of the Temple

 

Vision of the Temple: The Image of the Temple of Jerusalem in Judaism and Christianity

Helen Rosenau

Oresko Books, 1979

ISBN: 090536824X

(Amazon)

Read by the author in 2023, purchased for $8.84

"Shmuel said: 'And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the Temple and its contents.' (Ezekiel 43:11). And does the form of the Temple still exist? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: 'Since you are learning about [the form of the Temple] it is as if you are building it." (Leviticus Rabbah 7:3) 

I am working on a paper about one specific plan of the Temple, and purchased Rosenau's book as part of my research. Rosenau explores the ways in which the Temple has been depicted historically, starting with coins from the Bar Kochba revolt and continuing through synagogue design in the 1970s, when the book was written. 

More than a discussion about specific examples, she deals with general trends. Early Temple drawings showed the Temple in elevation with a prominent role for columns. Medieval illustrated manuscripts often focused on the tools used in the Temple, along with depictions of the Temple in the architectural styles of the day. There was a trend to use the Dome of the Rock as a stand-in for the Temple. (I recall once hearing a lecture in Bezalel in which the lecturer claimed this trend was a Jewish effort at cultural appropriation, which did and still does sound deranged.) In the Renaissance, the trend was to use as many primary sources to show the Temple as accurately as possible, and this trend persists to today. 

This short book contains many illustrations as helpful examples as well as brief discussions of the specific artifacts. For more in depth discussions one needs to turn to other papers and books on the subject, of which there are many. But as a survey this is as good a place to start as any.