Your Editorial, “Temple Mount Violence” (July 28) raises several serious historical questions regarding dates. The Editorial notes that the date of the destruction of the First Temple is 586 B.C.E. We know from Jeremiah and other historical sources that there were 70 years between 586 B.C.E. and the construction of the Second Temple in 516 B.C.E.
The Editorial then correctly notes that the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. The time gap between 516 B.C.E. and 70 C.E. is 586 years. Yet the Talmud tells us repeatedly that the Second Temple only stood for 420 years. Thus, a 166-year discrepancy in the Jewish dates.
Cedarhurst, L.I.
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