This midrash discusses Deuteronomy 12:5, which aims to centralize the Israelite cult in one sanctuary: “But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes as his habitation to put his name there. You shall go there” (Deuteronomy 12:5, NRSV). While this verse was originally applied to the people of Israel who were about to enter the Land, the midrash reads it in a contemporary context. The word tidreshu, which in the original verse means “to seek,” is now understood as “to request” or “to demand,” and should be translated as: “You shall request His dwelling place.” Each section of this midrash opens with the verse and is then followed by a related homily.  

Section A uses an argument of a minore ad maius (learning about a bigger issue from a smaller one), that if in the time when it was not yet clear where the Temple will be, there was an obligation to demand it, it is even more so after God has chosen his House. According to this logic the obligation to demand a House still stands today. 

Section B cites Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai, who was active during the second century CE, as saying that the verse “You shall request His dwelling place” refers to Yavneh. This town is known in rabbinic texts as the center in which the rabbis rehabilitated religious life after the destruction of the second Temple, and in which the rabbinic court was assembled. Scholars do not agree about the exact nature and scale of the rabbinic initiatives in the years after the destruction, nor do they agree over what influence the rabbis had over the Jewish population in Judea during this period. However, according to this midrash it seems that Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai argues that after the Temple was destroyed, Yavneh and the rabbinic center can also be regarded as God’s dwelling place.

Section C explains that because of this verse (“You shall request His dwelling place”), the prophets and the sages (lit. elders) decreed that the Jews should demand a rebuilding of the Temple three times a day during the prayers. The midrash even quotes the exact words of this request: “Return Your Divine Presence (shekhinatkha) to Zion and Your order of service to Jerusalem Your city.” This version is very similar to the 14^th benediction of the Amidah prayer, which is a central part of Jewish liturgy and includes eighteen benedictions on regular days. This section indicates that hope for rebuilding was channeled into prayers. While according to section A, there is still a religious obligation to demand a restoration of the Temple, section B presents Yavneh as a (perhaps temporal) substitute, and section C suggests that this obligation is fulfilled through prayers. As we shall see, section D insists that actually the People of Israel were required to “request His dwelling place” only after they have conquered, occupied and settled in the Land, and not immediately after their entrance. This understanding contradicts Tosefta Sanhedrin 4:5 and Sifre Deuteronomy 67, according to which the people of Israel were required to appoint a king, to build a Temple, and to eliminate Amalek immediately after they have entered the Land. The implication of the Mekhilta’s understanding that only after Israelites have occupied the Land they are obliged to follow these three commands is that the Jews cannot rebuild the Temple before they are the sovereigns of the entire land. Thus, in the time of this midrash, under Roman rule, they can only pray three times a day and hold on to Yavneh, while  rebuilding the Temple and resuming its cult are not a real option in this situation, nor are other biblical commands such as having a Jewish king and eliminating Amalek.