From the San Angelo Standard Times
Israeli Rabbi to speak in San Angelo on conflict
By Ami Mizell-Flint
Originally published 08:29 p.m., June 11, 2010. Updated 07:36 p.m., June 11, 2010
SAN ANGELO, Texas — With tensions rising once again in the Middle East, San Angeloans will have a rare opportunity on Monday to learn and ask questions from an Israeli rabbi in the middle of the conflict.
Rabbi Chaim Richman, a prominent figure in Jerusalem, is the international director of The Temple Institute. The purpose of the organization is to highlight the importance of the Temple site for the Jewish faith and as a place of holiness for people of all Bible-based faiths.
Richman is traveling the country, offering his insights into Israeli-American relationships.
The rabbi said he speaks to groups of different faiths, emphasizing a universal message. He will be in San Angelo on Monday evening as part of an informational and educational tour throughout the United States.
He will speak at 7 p.m. in the conference room of the La Quinta hotel, 2307 Loop 306.
He will cover a variety of topics, but Richman said he will specifically speak about the recent confrontation on the sea off Gaza in which several people trying to run the blockade were killed by Israeli forces. He believes that Americans do not have all the facts they need to fully understand the situation.
He is also traveling as a teacher. Richman said that there is "quite a movement of non-Jews in this part of the country to study the Torah," and that he has many students in this area.
The rabbi says he is not attempting to convert people from other faiths; rather, he hopes to share with them the promise of every prophet of Israel, and what the building of the Holy Temple means for Jerusalem and all mankind.
One objective of The Temple Institute is to prepare for the building of the Third Temple. In doing so, they have been working on garments for the high priest, and restoring sacred Temple vessels such as the menorah and stones from the high priest’s breastplate.
Richman said he will have the breastplate stones on display at the presentation on Monday.
Reconstruction of the temple has been a goal for millennia. The first temple was built by Solomon in 957 B.C.E., and destroyed by the Babylonians about 375 years later; the second temple was built on the site about 70 years afterward and stood until it was razed by the Romans during a siege in 70 C.E. The site is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock, a 1,200-year-old Islamic shrine.
The second temple is the location in the New Testament where Jesus drove out the money-changers.
Richman will also cover President Barack Obama’s push for Israel to give up land for peace.
"If Israel is forced to give up all the land Obama wants us to, Israel will be reduced to a country that at one point is nine miles wide," Richman said.
For most Texans, he said, it is difficult to imagine how small Israel is.
"Two hundred forty-three states of Israel can fit in the state of Texas," he said.
"My message is spiritual and religious," Richman said.
He said he hopes people who attend will take a stand with Israel.
"Israel stands for everything good in the world," he said. "We have to take a stand with the God of Israel."
Sam Peak, a Torah teacher from Abilene, is traveling with Richman. He said that Richman will provide a "panoramic view of our understanding of God," as well as an understanding of universal Jewish values for the world.
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Temple Talk
