Temple Institute Raises $100k For Third Temple Plans

By Yaakov Levi

The Temple Institute’s crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the modern architectural plans for the Third Holy Temple in Jerusalem came to a close on Rosh Hashanah after surpassing its $100,000 goal in 60 days. The initiative began on the first day of the month of Av, when Jews commemorate the destruction of the ancient Holy Temples. Almost 900 pledges have come in from more than 30 countries worldwide.

Crowdfunding is a new method of fundraising that leverages the power of the Internet to gather investments or contributions from around the world. The Temple Institute used the Indiegogo platform to reach out to supporters, with links to social media pages, like Facebook, where the campaign page received 10,000 shares. A promotional video on the Facebook and Indiegogo pages, which depicts a digital rendition of the Holy Temple on the modern day Temple Mount, has been viewed by over 160,000 people.

Jews have prayed to rebuild the Temple, three times daily since its destruction by Roman Legions in 70 CE. The Temple Institute's project to draw up architectural plans began three years ago with the Chamber of Hewn Stone, depicted in this video.

The funds raised from the Indiegogo campaign will be used to continue the research of the Institute and to commission additional architectural plans. The architects will fuse Jewish law with modern technology to prepare for a fully modern third Temple, Kosher to the letter of the law but including modern conveniences like underground parking, heating and computerized washing stations that minimize water waste.

Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute explained why they chose the novel approach of fund raising through crowd funding: "We are constantly looking for ways to include as many people as possible in our mission to rebuild the Holy Temple. This is not about one group or organization, it's about bringing about a spiritual reunification of mankind, today with the help of the internet our message is resonating across the globe. Our decision to use Indiegogo for this campaign was an extension of our success on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter".