Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups Frequently Asked Questions and Answers URL: www.scjfaq.org/faq/11-08-04.html

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Question 11.8.4:
Sacrifices: Will sacrifices be restored if the Temple is rebuilt?

There is some disagreement about this. Most authorities believe that with the rebuilding of the temple would mean the reestablishment of animal sacrifices. Rav Kook suggests that animal sacrifices would not be brought back, he connects this to a suggestion that animals will be more humanlike in messianic times, and hence we will return to an Eden type vegetarian existence. The actual positions of the movement differ:

• Orthodox. Orthodox Judaism calls for restoration of Temple and resumption of animal sacrifices.

• Conservative. Conservative Judaism calls for the restoration of Temple, but does not ask for resumption of animal sacrifices. Most of the prayerbook passages relating to sacrifices are replaced with the Talmudic teaching that deeds of loving-kindness now atone for sin. In the Amidah the phrase na'ase ve'nakriv (we will present and sacrifice) is modified to read to asu ve'hikrivu (they presented and sacrificed), implying that animal sacrifices are a thing of the past. The petition to accept the "fire offerings of Israel" is removed.

• Reform. Most of Reform Judaism calls neither for the resumption of sacrifices or the rebuilding of the temple, although some prayerbooks are moving towards calling for the latter.

Note that we do not rebuild the Temple yet for a simple reason: ignorance. We do not know where on the Temple mount the altar or holy-of-holies are supposed to be. And places it a few feet off would violate the notion of only making offerings "in the place where I will show you." In fact, if we had the proper location down pat, we could rededicate the altar without building the Temple.

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