A critical reminder: Although your experiences in the tunnel feel real, keep reminding yourself that you're inside a video game, exploring a model of the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple) in Jerusalem, the holiest site for Jews.

A cool, damp darkness presses against your skin, and the hair on the back of your neck stands straight up, like tiny soldiers on parade. Why didn't you accept that warm sweat shirt when the game offered it to you on Level Two? That was a bad decision, but it doesn't matter now. You're on Level Three, called "Exploring Herod's Temple in Jerusalem," walking safely inside the tunnel that leads from the Kiphonus Gate to the Azarah Courtyard, where God's Presence dwells in the Holy of Holies. But how can you be sure you're heading in the right direction? After all, King Herod built three other entrances to the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple) along the Western Wall. Perhaps one of them would have brought you closer to your objective: to discover where the Maccabees found the miraculous cruse of oil. Go ahead; check your cheats. (See Cheat #1 at the bottom).

Gateway to the Temple

Your cell phone vibrates in your pocket, and you reach to answer it quickly. A group of your friends is lost somewhere on the first level of the game. They've been hunting for a gate into the Temple Mount for hours (or has it been days?), and now they're panicking. "Can you help?" they scream. The cheats tempt you, but when you consult them you lose points in the game.

Instead of depending on the cheats, you struggle to remember something about Level One. It would help if you knew in which period of the Temple's history your friends are stuck: the First Temple period (967 B.C.E.-586 B.C.E.), the Second Temple period (516 B.C.E.-70 C.E.), the restoration and rededication of the Second Temple by the Maccabees (164 B.C.E.-63 B.C.E.), Herod's reconstruction and expansion of the Second Temple (20 B.C.E.-64 C.E.), where you are now, or one of the many centuries after the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 C.E.

A garbled voice crackles from the cell phone, "I see a cemetery!" At last you have a clue about your friends' whereabouts, but the memory of Level One remains elusive. You'll need to check the cheats (see #2 at the bottom) if you want to help your friends.

Cruse Control

When you emerge from the tunnel into the Azarah Courtyard, the east wall of the Heikhal towers more than 100 feet above you. Inside that gleaming white building is the Holy of Holies; the spot where Jewish tradition recalls that Avraham bound Yitzchak, where Yaacov dreamed of a ladder reaching toward heaven, and where the Ark of the Covenant rested until Jeremiah hid it from the Babylonians, who conquered Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E.

Your strategy to win the game worked perfectly. First you acquired the status of a Kohen- a member of the priestly class descended from Moshe's brother Aaron, who performed the sacrifices and rituals on the Temple grounds- and then you found the most direct path to the Beit Hamikdash. Because only Kohanim are allowed access to all areas within the Azarah (except inside the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest was allowed on Yom Kippur), you're free to search the entire Temple Mount for the spot where the cruse of oil was hidden two centuries before Herod rebuilt the Second Temple.

The game clock buzzes, informing you that there are 3 minutes left to play. You've narrowed your search to two locations, but there may only be time to check one site. You must decide now, so you swallow hard and run across the courtyard to the oil chamber. The choice seemed obvious, but with 90 seconds left, you realize the room is empty. Although you hate the idea, you need the cheat sheet if you want to win this game. Check out Cheat #3 to find out where some people believe the Maccabees stumbled upon the cruse of oil.

Cheats for Newbies

1. To enter directly into the Azarah Courtyard from the west, you must find the gateway near the gigantic stone in the wall. This stone weighs 400 tons, and it’s the largest single building stone in the world. Remember to proceed respectfully because the Azarah is sacred ground. Within its boundaries stand the Heikhal (the Sanctuary containing the Ark of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments inside), the chambers of the Sanhedrin (the highest court in Israel), and the Altar (where priests offer sacrifices daily).
2. Today, an Arab cemetery blocks the Shushan Gate, the only entrance to the Temple Mount along the Eastern Wall. Jewish tradition says that Eliyahu (Elijah) will enter the Beit Hamikdash through the Shushan Gate and announce the coming of the messianic age. According to Jewish law, however, priests defile themselves (become ritually impure) if they walk through a cemetery. Because Eliyahu is descended from a priestly family, Muslims long ago thought they could humiliate the Jews by building a cemetery in front of the Shushan Gate. Fortunately, according to Jewish law, non-Jewish cemeteries will not be an obstacle to Eliyahu. Tell your friends about the Shushan Gate.
3. An ancient tradition teaches that during the six days of creation, God created many of the miracles that the Jewish people would need throughout our history. The Talmud (Sukkah 49a) says that one of the miracles produced at the dawn of creation was the hiding place for the cruse of oil. Go to the Altar, the spot in the Priests’ Courtyard where our ancestors sacrificed animals to God. Look for a marble tile with a hoop set into it. The tile is the cover to a drain that took debris from the Altar into a sewer (called the Sheet) that ran beneath the Temple Mount and out into the Kidron Valley. Some authorities say that the jug of oil was found hidden in this sewer.