The Gates of the Har Habayis Home → The Gates of the Har Habayis Nearly 2,000 years ago, our nation witnessed the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash , a gleaming edifice of marble and gold described by the Gemara as the most magnificent building in the world. To this day, we cherish the memory of that structure along with the ever-present hope that it will soon be rebuilt. A new book, titled The Original Second Temple: An Illustrated Guide to the Layout and Design of the Pre-Herodian Beis Hamikdash (Feldheim, 2021) by local author Yoav Elan sheds a new light on this timeless topic.