Do we fulfill any mitzvot by going up to Har Habayit?
These are the mitzvot that one fulfills (in our time) by going up to Har Habayit: 1) The mitzva of prayer. King Solomon asked at the dedication of the first Temple that the people pray to God in that house. The Rambam explains in the Sefer Hamitzvot (positive commandment 5) that the mitzva of prayer is preferably done in the Temple; if this is not possible, it is done facing the Temple. The Sefer Hachinuch explains similarly in mitzva 95. 2) The commandmanth of fearing the Temple. It is a mitzva for a Jew to approach the Temple in fear, and to bow and pray before God there. Someone who refuses to go up shows a lack of respect for God’s house, since this is an obligatory mitzva which is only possible to do by ascending to Har Habayit. The Rambam in Sefer Hamitzvot (positive commandment 21) says that this mitzva applies always, even when the Temple is not standing. 3) Some say that going up to Har Habayit fulfills the mitzva of conquest, since we are demonstrating our control over Har Ha
