The ''Most Holy Place'' is said to be the place where the presence of God dwelt. In the wilderness, on the day that the Tabernacle was first raised up, the cloud of the Lord covered the tabernacle. There are other times that this was recorded, and instructions were given that the Lord would appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat, and at that time the priests should not enter into the tabernacle (Leviticus 16:2).
In terms of ancient Temple architecture, the Most Holy Place corresponded with the Greek Naos or the Roman Cella: the house for the deity and the center of the religious structure.
The ''Most Holy Place'' was a place where the High Priest would go in, once a Year , on the Yom Kippur , to sprinkle the blood of an animal upon the Ark Of The Covenant and the Mercy Seat which sat on top of the ark. The animal was sacrificed on the Brazen Altar and the blood was carried into the most holy place. The golden Censer s were also found in the Most Holy Place.
''Tabernacle's floorplan''
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In order that God may dwell permanently among the Israelites, they are given instructions for erecting a
Sanctuary . The directions provide for:
#A
Wooden Ark , gilded inside and outside, for the
Tablets Of The Covenant , with a cover similarly gilded as the "
Mercy Seat " for the
Divine Presence ;
#A gilt table for the so-called "
Table Of Showbread ";
#A golden candlestick for a
Light never to be extinguished;
#The dwelling, including the curtains for the
Roof , the
Wall s made of boards resting on
Silver feet and held together by
Wood en
Bolt s, the
Purple Curtain veiling the Holy of Holies, the table and
Candlestick , and the outer curtain;
#A
Sacrificial Altar made of
Bronze d boards for its ''
Korban '';
#The outer court formed by
Pillar s resting on bronze
Pedestal s and connected by
Hook s and
Crossbar s of silver, with embroidered curtains;
#Preparation of the
Oil for the candlestick.
Presently it is conjectured that it is located near the
Muslim Mosque Of Omar under the
Dome Of The Rock which stands on the
Temple Mount in
Jerusalem , though the exact location of the Most Holy Place is not known with any certainty. Orthodox Jewish visitors to the
Temple Mount , who come especially from those groups associated with the movement to rebuild the
Temple , seek to conform to the minimal requirements for entering the holy place, such as only wearing linen and not showing their back towards its presumed location out of reverence. Most
Orthodox Jews today completely avoid climbing up to Temple Mount, to prevent themselves from accidentially stepping on the ''Most Holy Place''. They consider this as something forbidden to all but a future high priest, to be ordained only after the coming of the
Messiah .
Within . This spot is considered to be a miniature embodiment of the original
Tabernacle 's and
Temple In Jerusalem 's ''Qodesh HaQodashim'' — the ''Holy of Holies''. During all
Jewish Services in all synagogues, the worshipers face in the direction of the Holy Ark, the symbol of the ''Holy of Holies'', which contains the holy Torah scrolls belonging to every
Jew ish congregation. When the Holy Ark is opened so that the
Sefer Torah may be taken out for
Torah Reading , all worshippers (except the elderly or ill) usually rise as a mark of respect for its holiness and importance.
The
Salt Lake Temple of
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints contains a "Holy of Holies" wherein the church's
President —acting as the "Presiding High Priest"—enters to fulfill the relationship between the High Priest of Israel and
God . This is done in accordance with LDS interpretation of the
Book Of Exodus (
Ex 25:22 ).
Although the LDS church operates over 100
Temples , only the Salt Lake temple has this feature. During the construction of the
Salt Lake City temple from
1853 -
1893 , the
Manti Utah Temple in
Manti, Utah housed a "Holy of Holies," though it is no longer used as outlined above.
