The Cornerstone of the Second Temple is Placed

"But many of the priests and levites and the chiefs of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the First Temple, wept with a loud voice; but many shouted aloud with joy: so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people." (Ezra 3:12)

The Second Temple was built under conditions of great hardship and duress. Its construction was accompanied by fierce struggles with Israel's neighboring enemies. Years of drought coupled with Persian subterfuge and plots intensified these difficulties.

Despite these difficulties, after twenty-two years the labors were completed - and so at the end of seventy complete years from the final destruction of the First Temple in the days of King Zedikaiah, the Second Temple was dedicated in great joy on the third day of the month of Adar, as described in the book of Ezra (6:15).

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