When we speak about the obligation to tear one’s clothes upon seeing the place of the Beis HaMikdosh, what does one have to see? Does one have to see the actual ground where the Beis HaMikdosh stood on Har HaBayis, also called Har HaMoriah, the top of the mountain where the Beis HaMikdosh stood? Perhaps it is sufficient to see the mosque or the Dome of the Rock that stand where the Beis HaMikdosh once stood? Or is it sufficient just to see the Kosel HaMaravi, which is the wall surrounding the Har HaBayis?
There are poskim who hold that performing keriah opposite the Kosel HaMaravi fulfills the mitzvah (Shu”t Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim 4:70:11; Halichos Shlomah, Tefillah, chap. 16, footnote #15). However, this matter is disputed, since the Kosel HaMaravi is the wall surrounding the Har HaBayis, the top of Mount Moriah, and is not where the Beis HaMikdosh stood. Although Har HaBayis has kedusha, and the gedolim of previous generations across the hashkafic spectrum banned entering the Har HaBayis until we again have ashes of the parah adumah, many poskim rule that tearing keriah is for seeing the area of the Beis HaMikdosh itself or signs of its destruction.
Some authorities contend that it is preferable to see the actual floor of the Har HaBayis before tearing. This involves finding a high enough point from which one can see over the walls surrounding Har HaBayis, such as from parts of Har Hazeisim, Har Hatzofim, or perhaps a rooftop within the Old City (Shu”t Teshuvos V’Hanhagos, 1:331 in the name of the Brisker Rav). However, most authorities rule that seeing the mosque or the Dome of the Rock is sufficient. After all, the Gemara states that something attached to the ground is considered like the ground itself (see Shabbos 81a; Gittin 39a). Therefore, since both the mosque and the Dome of the Rock standing on Har HaBayis are connected to the ground, seeing either of them is the equivalent to seeing the ground itself (Zichron Betzalel 38:2).
More importantly, there is perhaps no greater indication of the churban than seeing a mosque on the site where the Beis HaMikdosh should be (Sefer Eretz Yisrael; Halichos Shlomah, Tefillah, chap. 16, footnote #15).
Oops, I Tore Too Early
The Mishnah Berurah (561:7) brings from the Elyah Rabbah, that if one tore his clothes when he could see, but couldn’t see properly, when he gets closer to the Makom HaMikdosh and can see better, he doesn’t need to perform keriah a second time.
