I currently live in Israel and I am thinking of going to the Dome of the Rock, but have read that a Jewish person is forbidden to go there. Why is this so (I would like to go someday)?
Answer:
The Dome of the Rock is situated in the location where the Temple used to stand. According to mainstream halachic authorities, it remains forbidden, even today, to enter the site of the Temple in a state of ritual impurity. Because today, everybody is assumed to be in a state of ritual impurity, it is forbidden to enter the site.
Sources: Although there is some debate in earlier works of acharonim (such as Radvaz, Maharit, and others) concerning whether or not one may enter the Temple Mount after immersion in a mikvah, the concensus of leading modern-day authorities is that the practice is prohibited. See Pe’as Hashulchan 2:11; Iggros Moshe, Orach Chaim II, no. 113; Minchas Yitzchak vol. 5, no. 1; Tzitz Eliezer vol. 10, no. 1; Yabia Omer, Yoreh De’ah vol. 5, no. 27; and see a well written overview of the subject in Rabbis Gedaliah Meyer and Henoch Messner, “Entering the Temple Mount — in Halachah and Jewish History,” in Hakirah, 2010.
