The Reading

The Summary

Melakhim Alef Chapter 10

The Queen of Sheba has heard of the reputation of Shelomo and his kingdom and arrives with a delegation of officers to investigate. She challenges Shelomo with riddles and questions and he is able to answer all of them. She is furthermore impressed by the wealth of the king, the beauty of the Temple and the palace, the extravagance the king’s court and servants, the abundant meals served on his table, and the worship of God he performs in the Bet Hamiqdash.

The Queen of Sheba’s breath is taken away by what she observes, which is far beyond what she had expected to witness based on the reports she had received. She praises the officers and attendants of Shelomo who are so fortunate to have the opportunity to hear his wisdom on a regular basis, and she blesses Hashem, God of Israel, for having chosen such a wise and just monarch to rule over his people. The Queen bestows lavish gifts of gold and spices upon Shelomo. The king returns this favor by providing her with any knowledge she seeks as well as sharing with her from his royal bounty; the Queen then departs for home.

The boats of Hiram not only bring gold back to Shelomo from Ophir; they also carry exquisite wood and precious gems back from their journeys. King Shelomo uses the wood to fashion pillars for the Bet Hamiqdash and for his palace, as well as to make instruments for the musical accompaniment of the Temple service. Shelomo amasses a tremendous amount of gold on an annual basis, both from the taxes he levies on the population and from the exploits of his navy. Shelomo uses this excess gold to design heavy, solid gold, decorative shields and targets that adorn the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

Shelomo overlays his ivory throne with gold and constructs six steps leading up to it; on either side of each step is an ivory lion covered in gold, for a total of twelve lions. No other king in the world could boast of such an exceptional throne. All of the vessels used in the palace and in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were made of gold. In addition to precious metals and stones, Shelomo’s navy would arrive every three years with rare animals like peacocks and monkeys as well. There was such an abundance of gold and fine goods in Israel at this time that items like silver and cedar wood became commonplace.

Shelomo surpassed all of the kings in the land in both material wealth and wisdom. People would come from all over the world to hear his wisdom, bringing gifts of gold, silver, garments, armor, and animals to the king as a tribute. Shelomo accumulated many chariots and horses, purchasing them from Egypt at a hefty price.

In this chapter we see both sides of the tension in Shelomo exemplified, exacerbated and interwoven with one another. The account of the visit of the Queen of Sheba is historic because it describes the fulfillment of the whole purpose of the Torah. The objective of all of the commandments is that the nation of Israel sanctify the name of God in the world, inspiring the gentiles to inquire about and acknowledge His existence. Our patriarch Avraham dedicated his life to this cause and we are obligated to perpetuate his legacy. When the Prophets speak of the Messianic era, they portray the nations of the world streaming to Jerusalem to learn of the ways of God from the Jewish people.

During the times of Yehoshua, the Giveonim pretended to be emissaries from a faraway land who had learned of the great deeds of Hashem and wished to accept His kingship and join the Jewish people. In reality, they were local Canaanites who feared for their lives. However, we see how excited Yehoshua and the elders were by the mere thought that they had accomplished their mission of spreading awareness of Hashem across the globe. In their state of elation they hastily accepted the false story of the Giveonim and welcomed them into the fold of Israel. Sadly, it was later revealed to be a hoax.

The case of the Queen of Sheba, however, is the “real deal” and is very exciting; motivated by sincere curiosity and interest, she has come to learn more about the God of Israel and His wisdom. In this sense, she is a latter-day “Yitro”; like the Midianite father-in-law of Moshe, she left the comfort of her homeland to investigate the reports she had “heard” about the wisdom of Hashem and His Providence. Like Yitro, she has an even further “epiphany” once she witnesses the greatness of the Torah and the people of God with her own eyes and is even more impressed than she had expected to be. She praises not only the wisdom of Shelomo but the One God of Israel, and recognizes that Shelomo has been chosen to implement “tzedaqa umishpat”, charity and justice.

The use of these words is critical because they refer us back to at least two fundamental Biblical characters. King David was described, at the height of his career, as doing justice and charity for his people. As the founder of the monarchy, his example establishes the ideal to be emulated by all future kings. More essentially, “tzedaqa umishpat” are the terms Hashem uses to describe the ethics of the household of Avraham and the principles he taught his children; they define the core values of Judaism.

Shelomo’s kingdom functioned in such a wise, judicious, equitable and charitable manner, that the Queen of Sheba was able to perceive exactly what Judaism and the God of Israel are all about. In this way, too, she is similar to Yitro, who recognized Hashem because of the justice of His actions in punishing the Egyptian oppressors and saving the persecuted Jews.

At the same time, we find Shelomo accumulating excessive wealth contrary to the laws of the Torah, indulging in luxury and extravagance beyond measure, and transgressing the prohibition of acquiring many horses. The Torah explicitly forbids the king to have a multitude of horses so he will not go to Egypt to acquire them; this, in fact, is exactly what our chapter says that Shelomo does, in contravention of the word of Hashem. Although Shelomo shares his vast wealth with the Temple, dedicating many of the fine items he receives to the improvement or beautification of the sanctuary, the majority of it seems to be invested in his palace, his throne and his treasuries.

Fascinatingly, when the palace of the king, Hall of Judgment and the House of the Forest of Lebanon were initially constructed, we noted that there was no “gold” associated with them. We interpreted this absence of gold as a symbolic demonstration of the idea that the Bet Hamiqdash, with its plethora of gold, was of greater stature and significance than Shelomo’s residential complex. The king serves to maintain a just and equitable society so that its citizens can serve Hashem properly; he is, ultimately, a servant of Hashem.
The fact that we now see that there are innumerable gold vessels, fixtures, and decorations in the palace, on the throne of the king and in the House of the Forest of Lebanon is shocking – why wasn’t this mentioned earlier?

It is possible that these adornments were added at a later time, when Shelomo’s wealth increased. Alternatively, it is possible that they were present from the outset, but the text specifically neglected to mention them in order to convey a message. Regardless of the historical timeline, the concept is the same – although Shelomo’s intentions in constructing the royal complex were sincere and God-centered in the beginning, the purity of his motives declined over time. He began to fall prey to the allure of his own riches, power and fame.

When Shelomo started out, he saw these extravagances as a necessary evil “justified” by the need to present a spectacle of majesty and power to the nations of the world. Eventually, however, building the empire became an end in itself. We see the decline elegantly chronicled in this chapter, which moves from the “pinnacle” of spiritual success (the visit of the Queen of Sheba), to grey areas in which the spiritual and self-aggrandizing impulses overlapped (the use of precious wood to adorn both the House of Hashem and the king’s residence), to the low of pure, unadulterated materialism described in the final verses of the passage (accumulation of gold, acquisition of rare items, and pursuit of lavish decoration for their own sake.)

The Reading

The Summary

Melakhim Alef Chapter 9

Shelomo has completed the two primary objectives he yearned to attain – the construction of the Temple and of his royal residential complex. Hashem appears to Shelomo in a dream for a second time and tells him that He has indeed sanctified and chosen the site of the Bet Hamiqdash as the place in which His presence will dwell for eternity. However, he reminds Shelomo that his career and legacy as king will only be secure if he continues to walk in the ways of his father, David, remaining true to the Torah and its statutes.

If Shelomo or his descendants turn away from Hashem, the Jewish people will be rejected by the Almighty and exiled from their homeland. The Temple, which now stands as a magnificent tribute to the closeness between the Jews and God, will be destroyed. Its ruins will then become a reminder to the nations of the world of the tragic downfall of the Children of Israel who betrayed their sacred covenant with Hashem.

The chapter proceeds to detail further “exploits” of Shelomo, including building projects he undertook that were unrelated to the Temple or his residence. Shelomo continues his relationship with Hiram, King of Tzor, and receives an abundance of fine lumber and gold from him. Shelomo gifts twenty cities to Hiram as a gesture of friendship, but Hiram is disappointed in the quality of the land that he is given.

Shelomo levies taxes on the community to fund the restoration or development of several cities in Israel, including Gezer, which was conquered by Pharaoh as a present for his daughter, the wife of Shelomo. Shelomo also constructs a wall around Jerusalem and fortifies the Millo.

(The precise definition of the Millo is unclear and widely debated; what is important, and will become critical later on in the story, is that this landfill, wall or structure stood in between the city of Jerusalem and the area in which the royal residence and Temple were located, creating some sort of separation between the king’s palace and the Temple on one side and the city on the other).

At this time, the daughter of Pharaoh finally moves to the new home her husband constructed for her. Shelomo builds store houses and cities for his vast array of chariots, horses, officers and other possessions throughout Jerusalem, Lebanon and his entire empire.

Shelomo does not employ Jews to implement his projects; instead, he enslaves the descendants of the Canaanites who still reside in Israel and presses them into hard labor. Jews were chosen to serve as the king’s officers, soldiers, advisers and overseers of the work. Shelomo is not neglectful of the Bet Hamiqdash; he still offers sacrifices there three times a year, on the appointed festivals, and supports and funds the institution as necessary. Shelomo creates a fleet of ships and hired navy men who, accompanied by the men of Hiram, go to Ophir to acquire large quantities of gold.

At first glance, the purpose of all of this detail is unclear. What prophetic message is being communicated to us through these descriptions? I would like to suggest that there is a hint in the text that reveals to us the “function” of this chapter – the use of the word “hesheq Shelomo”, the desire of Shelomo, twice. The first time, the “desire of Shelomo” refers to the building of the Temple and the royal complex. The second time, however, the “desire of Shelomo” refers to additional projects unrelated to the sacred mission of the Jewish people.

This latter “desire” was for the activities that aimed to increase the wealth and prestige of the nation and its rulers for its own sake. Shelomo is apparently struggling with conflicting “desires” – one is to glorify the God of Israel and the other to glorify his own empire. We see Shelomo dabbling in prohibited pursuits as well. For instance, the Torah explicitly forbids the king to amass horses and gold, laws that seem to have been disregarded by Shelomo. King David was quite meticulous about observing these rules and, as a result, remaining humble and grounded in his perspective and leadership.

Shelomo, of course, does not intentionally and flagrantly violate the Torah. He surely rationalizes that elevating the wealth and status of the Jewish people will gain it the respect of the nations of the world and will promote acknowledgment of the God of Israel Whom they represent. This is why, almost as an interruption in the flow of the chapter, the text mentions that Shelomo continued worshipping at the Bet Hamiqdash and supporting its upkeep. He still had a sense of his ultimate divine purpose.Nevertheless, the involvement of Shelomo in conventional politics and development projects, the engagement with Pharaoh and marriage to his daughter, and the sheer opulence and power of Shelomo’s regime will ultimately pose serious problems for him in the future.

The brief incident with Hiram is very unusual. Why must the text tell us about the gift Shelomo conferred upon Hiram, and about the recipient’s disappointment in it? This seems, at best, like an inconsequential matter. I would suggest that it indicates that Shelomo was either unable or unwilling to provide a nicer present to his good friend, and that this reflects poorly on him.

If he was unable to do so, this may hint to the fact that his “urbanization” of Israel has had a negative effect on its agricultural prospects. Undue focus on construction and trade at the expense of cultivating the land has taken a toll on the country. Perhaps Shelomo’s priorities have become confused; under the influence of other nations and their expectations, he has elevated the glory of human accomplishment and acquisition over the Divine blessing Hashem promised to Israel – a naturally fertile land of abundant fruit, flowing with milk and honey.

If, on the other hand, Shelomo was unwilling to part with finer cities, on the other hand, this implies that he had grown more possessive and stingy than he had been in the past; he was growing more self-involved and less generous as a result of his remarkable success. Either way, the episode provides us with insight into a possible flaw in Shelomo’s character that will become increasingly significant as the story progresses.

The Reading

The Summary

Melakhim Alef Chapter 8

Shelomo assembles the elders and leaders of Israel in Jerusalem and eventually the entire nation gathers there for a ceremony dedicating the new Bet Hamiqdash. The event is held in the month of Tishre just prior to the holiday of Sukkot. The Kohanim and Levites carry the Ark, the Tabernacle and all of its original vessels to Jerusalem and many sacrifices are offered. The Kohanim then bring the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies and deposit it beneath the wings of the large Keruvim that Shelomo Hamelekh had placed there.

Shelomo had fashioned new staves/poles for the Ark that were especially long and protruded from the Holy of Holies such that they could be seen by someone standing in the Hekhal. Once the Kohanim left the Sanctuary, a cloud, representing the Divine Presence, filled the Bet Hamiqdash, making further entry or service there temporarily impossible. This was the same manner in which the Tabernacle of the wilderness was consecrated in the times of Moshe, and underscored the continuity between that structure and the “new and improved” permanent home of the Shekhina.

Shelomo then delivers two “speeches”. The first is a lengthy but beautiful and moving monologue known as the “Prayer of Shelomo”. As with all Biblical poetry, it needs to be read word for word to be truly appreciated. Shelomo begins by acknowledging Hashem’s fulfillment of His promise to David that he will have a worthy successor on the throne of Israel, and praying that he will continue to merit that honor.

Shelomo identifies the paradox of creating a “house” for God – He is infinite, incorporeal and transcendent and cannot be contained even by the Heavens, much less in a home constructed by human hands. Shelomo therefore beseeches Hashem that He take special note of the prayers offered in the Temple, and catalogues an array of circumstances under which people supplicate to God – for example, when they have sinned and repented, when there is a crisis or famine, when they must head out to battle, or when they have been taken into captivity.

Shelomo specifically requests that Hashem answer the prayers of non-Jews who arrive at the Bet Hamiqdash in search of a relationship with the God of Israel. Over the course of his speech, Shelomo stresses multiple times that while the worship of Hashem will occur on Earth at the Temple, Hashem will hear the supplications in “Heaven”, His true dwelling-place, and respond accordingly.

Finally, Shelomo offers a shorter prayer, addressed to the assembled populace. He thanks Hashem for having fulfilled all of the promises He made to the Jewish people, and asks the Almighty to help the Jews maintain their faithfulness to Torah so they can continue to merit His blessings and to teach the world the truth of monotheism. Shelomo closes by exhorting his fellow Israelites to carefully observe all of the laws of the Torah; the future will depend on their proper exercise of free will.

Tens of thousands more sacrifices were offered that day and the people celebrated the dedication of the Temple for seven days, followed by the seven days of Sukkot. On the eighth day, Shemini Atseret, the king blesses the people and sends them home.

There are a number of ideas worth highlighting in this beautiful chapter. Shelomo uses the words “makhon leshivtekha” (a place for Your dwelling) several times, borrowing the phrase that was used by the Jews when they crossed the Sea of Reeds, “You have made a place for Your dwelling, Hashem.” This is another instance of the theme that the dedication of the Bet HaMiqdash was really the final stage of the Exodus journey. Shelomo’s references throughout his prayer to the Exodus and the establishment of the Jews as God’s people accentuate this theme.

Two critical theological notions are articulated in this chapter. Many people assume that the struggle against anthropomorphism and the belief that God is outside of space and time are modern phenomena, and that the personalities of the Bible had a much less sophisticated concept of Hashem’s relationship with His creation. Shelomo’s prayer demonstrates that, on the contrary, from the very beginning of the consecration of the Bet Miqdash it was NEVER understood to be Hashem’s home in a literal sense.

Hashem transcends all of His creation. While the experience of entering and worshiping in the Bet Hamiqdash is immensely powerful and promotes tremendous concentration and depth of thought, the purpose it serves is a human one. Hashem is not limited to any one location nor does He hear prayer any less when it is offered outside of the Temple. Shelomo merely asks that the Temple be a worthy and effective vehicle of uplifting the prayers of those who visit it and that it testify clearly to the relationship between the Creator and the Jewish people.

The second theological idea Shelomo expresses is the focus on prayer rather than sacrifice in the Temple. Again, one hears very often that our downplaying of sacrifices is the result of modern sensibilities that see such ritual forms as archaic. Many people have a bloody and negative perception of the Bet Hamiqdash as a result, and feel that it is incongruous with today’s world. Yet from Shelomo’s words it is quite evident that he understood the Temple primarily as a national center of prayer, not sacrifice. Nowhere in his lengthy supplication does he mention the offering of sacrifices in the Temple nor does he request that such sacrifices be accepted, even though he himself offers tens of thousands of animals in sacrifice the same day.

As Isaiah famously declares, the house of God is meant to be the quintessential house of prayer. Although sacrifice is a part of the Temple operation and is respected for the function it serves, it is not considered the main path of a person to Hashem. Torah study, charitable acts and prayer are assigned superiority over most other commandments and observances, and certainly over sacrifice.

One last question raised in the commentaries pertains to Yom Kippur. According to the text, the Jewish people celebrated for the seven days prior to Sukkot; this means, by definition, that they partied on Yom Kippur! The Talmud and traditional commentaries accept this conclusion and state that the Jews indeed ate on Yom Kippur that year but they were absolved from any consequences and promised a place in the World to Come. What was the basis for dispensing with Yom Kippur that year?

In order to understand the answer, we must put Yom Kippur itself into perspective. In essence, Yom Kippur is about hitting the “reset” button on our service of Hashem. Over the course of a year we become lazy, sloppy, presumptuous and generally out of focus in our worship of God. Yom Kippur is a day on which we acknowledge our failings and recalibrate our relationship with the Divine Presence.

The commandment of Yom Kippur was given in the aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, who approached Hashem inappropriately with an unauthorized form of worship on the final day of the Tabernacle’s dedication, and lost their lives as a result. Yom Kippur is meant to remind us that we should not overestimate our closeness to or familiarity with Hashem and thereby lessen our reverence for His service. Fascinatingly, the highlight of Yom Kippur is the entry of the Kohen Gadol into the Holy of Holies and his generating of a “cloud” of incense. This is a kind of simulation of the cloud of the Divine Presence that originally consecrated the Sanctuary. By imitating the Divine consecration of the Tabernacle or Temple, we recognize the need to symbolically “re-consecrate” it through our Yom Kippur service each year.

This explains why Yom Kippur could be set aside the year that the Temple was dedicated, as it would be the year Ezra and Nehemia unveiled the Second Temple. On these occasions, the Jewish people had reached a level of closeness to the Almighty that justified His resting of His presence upon their sanctuary. It was the beginning of the journey, the actual, initial manifestation of the Divine presence, and therefore the focus needed to be on the dedication of the sacred space and not on the unworthiness of the people or their need for continual cleansing. Observing Yom Kippur that year and artificially “creating” the cloud of the Shekhina would have diminished the impact of the actual encounter with Hashem that served to consecrate the Temple.

The Reading

The Summary

Melakhim Alef Chapter 7

Shelomo spent thirteen years building a residential complex for himself, which included multiple buildings. He commissioned the construction of the “House of the Forest of Lebanon”, which was an airy summer residence that either received its name from the wooden planks that comprised its structure or from its location outside of the city of Jerusalem in a wooded area. The house was elevated above ground, resting on cedar pillars, and its roof was made of cedar planks. Windows lined the walls of this house and an antechamber was situated in front of it.

Shelomo also built a “Judgment Hall” that contained the throne where he would sit to hear and rule on the legal cases and disputes that were brought before him. Although the foundation and structure of the building was constructed from the finest smooth stonework, the roof, walls and ceiling of this hall were covered in cedar paneling. King Shelomo’s personal residence and the home he constructed for his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, were also built from smooth stone but overlaid entirely with cedar paneling.

All three buildings (the palace, the House of the Forest of Lebanon, and the Judgment Hall), were located in a single courtyard that was surrounded by three rows of stone and one row of wood, like the courtyard of the Temple. It seems that the residence of the daughter of Pharaoh was not located within the main complex. However, since the materials used in its construction and its style of architecture were are similar to the other buildings in the complex, it is mentioned here.

Shelomo sent for Hiram of Tyre, an artisan who was a member of the Tribe of Naftali, to assist him in the stone and metalwork necessary for the Temple. This was not the Hiram mentioned earlier, who was the King of Tyre; this Hiram was a commoner of Jewish descent who was known as a skilled craftsman. Shelomo commissioned Hiram to fashion a number of unique structures that would be placed at the entrance to the Temple and that were totally original – they did not correspond to anything that existed in the Tabernacle. For instance, two exquisitely decorated copper pillars were situated on either side of the entry to the complex, named “Yakhin” and “Boaz”. These had intricately designed bulbs on top and almost had the appearance of “scepters”.

The “Sea of Shelomo” was another innovation of Shelomo, positioned to the right of a person approaching the Temple. This was a large copper basin that contained a substantial amount of water (tens of thousands of gallons) and from which water would be drawn to purify the kohanim for their service. It rested on the backs of twelve molten oxen the front of whose bodies protruded from underneath the basin but whose hindquarters faced away from the observer, with three facing in each direction. Hiram fashioned ten copper lavers or washing stands with bases and large decorative chariot wheels. These were installed by the entrance to the Temple, five on each side, and allowed the Kohanim to wash their hands and feet before going inside.

The furnishings inside the Holy Temple were also more extensive than those of the Tabernacle; instead of a single golden menorah and a single golden table for the showbread, the Temple boasted ten of each! This increase, as well as the increase in the number of washing stations from one to ten, may be understood as a reflection of the quantitative growth of the population since the era of Moshe – now, there were more Kohanim who needed to wash, and there were more Jews who needed sustenance, symbolized by the showbread on the ten tables. Alternatively, it may have been another way of highlighting the superiority in scale and grandeur of the new sanctuary – multiplying by ten is a typical technique of exaggeration or emphasis.

All of the implements designed to be used in the actual Temple service were fashioned from pure gold or brass, the quantity of which was so great that Shelomo did not even bother to weigh them. He transferred the items that David, his father, had consecrated to the Temple into its newly built treasure chambers

This chapter leads us to raise a couple of important questions. The first is an organizational difficulty: Why does the text begin by describing the construction of the Bet Hamiqdash, then shift to discussing Shelomo’s own palatial complex, and then return, once again, to complete its account of the Bet Hamiqdash and its accoutrements? It would have been much simpler to include all of the details pertinent to the Temple in one section and only then to change the subject to Shelomo’s personal building projects.

A second question of interest is why Shelomo spent so much more time (13 years) on his own palace, judgment hall and antechambers than he did on the Holy Temple. Our Rabbis generally take the view that this is a praise of King Shelomo – he prioritized and “rushed” the building of the Bet Miqdash, but was much more leisurely about his own residence.

Some modern interpreters have suggested the opposite; namely, that this undue emphasis on Shelomo’s own palace, summer home, etc., is indicative of a level of immodesty on his part, a personality defect that may play a role in his downfall later in the story. In support of their critical view, these thinkers point out that Shelomo used the same materials and architectural style in his own edifices that he employed in the House of God – expensive hewn stone, cedar paneling, etc. – almost unconsciously conveying that he viewed his own majesty as on par with that of the Almighty.

The commentaries, for good reason, spend much time deciphering the simple meaning of the verses in this chapter. Very little explanation of their deeper significance is provided. Even translating the unusual terminology used in these sections of the text is a tremendous challenge. So we have very little help from traditional sources when it comes to distilling the message of these elaborate and detailed descriptions of architecture. We will have to do our best to develop persuasive and original answers to our own queries here.

There are certainly Midrashim that suggest that, even from the beginning of his construction of the Bet Hamiqdash, Shelomo may already have been influenced by ulterior motives, and I hope to explore some of those ideas in later summaries. However, I would argue that, on a simple literary level, this chapter is better understood as idealistic, not negative, in its portrayal of the king.

I believe that the text integrates its presentation of the construction of the Temple and the construction of Shelomo’s residential complex in order to demonstrate that Shelomo saw his reign as a reflection and extension of Hashem’s reign on Earth, not as a substitute for it. Shelomo’s complex is divided into three parts – the Hall of Judgment, the summer home, and the royal palace, all of which are surrounded by a walled courtyard. It is a mirror image of the Temple, which is partitioned into the Devir/Holy of Holies, the Hekhal/Holy, and the courtyard, and which is surrounded by a wall identical in composition to that of Shelomo’s.

It seems to me that the parallels extend even further than this. The Devir/Holy of Holies is, in essence, the “Judgment Hall”, or symbolic throne of Hashem, Who is always portrayed as “sitting above the Keruvim/angels”, that are represented therein. In Divrei HaYamim, the Holy of Holies is, in fact, designated as “Hashem’s footstool”, evoking the imagery of a Divine throne room. The Hekhal/Holy is made of cedar wood, lined with windows and has an antechamber directly in front of it, just like the “House of the Forest Lebanon” or summer home of Shelomo. The royal residence is covered with cedar paneling and surrounded by its own courtyard, possibly in imitation of the third, outer section of the Holy Temple that contained the sacrificial altar.

Despite all of these parallels, which we might be tempted to interpret as “competitive” in nature, one striking difference emerges – gold is ubiquitous in the Holy Temple, covering nearly every surface, but is noticeably absent from the buildings in Shelomo’s complex.
All of this suggests that Shelomo saw his own majesty and position as nothing but an instrument to establish justice on Earth as a representative of the true Judge, Hashem. Because his sense of the importance of his role was inseparable from his understanding of the greatness of the Almighty and the primacy of His service, Shelomo’s royal complex replicated the layout and motifs of the Temple in many respects, and the descriptions of the two building projects are intertwined. Yet, one distinction remains – gold is not used in Shelomo’s residential structures.

This concept of Shelomo is not foreign to our tradition; in fact, we reference it in our prayers on a daily basis. In one of the blessings of the Amidah, we ask God to provide us with great judges and advisers like we had in the days of old. We follow up by stating that to be guided by such leaders would really mean having Hashem Himself as our sovereign. Righteous kings and judges do not push their own agendas; rather, they are proponents of Hashem’s plan and they do their best to implement that plan through their decisions and actions. In this way, Torah leaders serve as the agents or messengers of the Almighty in this world.

Shelomo is granted unprecedented power and authority and is prepared to judge his subjects wisely and fairly, not because he wishes to revel in his newfound influence but because he recognizes this as his sacred responsibility as the anointed one of Hashem. By applying the wisdom of Hashem to worldly affairs he effectively brings those matters not under his own jurisdiction but under the governance of the Almighty. The Bet Hamiqdash represents Hashem’s providence in the world in a symbolic manner, it is a source of clarity, edification and inspiration. Shelomo’s activities as king translate that awareness of Hashem into the language of practical politics.

We know from our Torah and Prophets that it is only when the Jewish people embody the values of charity and justice that they merit to have the Bet Hamiqdash in their midst. Traditionally, the Bet Hamiqdash was the center of religious worship, justice, and education. Shelomo Hamelekh accentuates the connection between these three core values by modeling his own home and courthouse after the House of God.

With this in mind, we can understand why the description of Shelomo’s palace and Judgment Hall is followed by more details related to the vessels and furnishings of the Bet Hamiqdash. The text first presents the Holy Temple as a place in which the Divine Presence will be manifest to and encountered by the Jewish people. This engagement with the Almighty inspires the nation to pursue the imitation of His ways in their conduct of national and personal affairs, represented and enforced by the king and his bureaucracy. However, to stop there would be to imply that the “final destination” of the experience of the Divine was the courtroom of Shelomo; as if, like other kings, Shelomo merely used the supernatural authority of religion to reinforce his own grip on his realm.

Therefore, the text immediately shifts back to a discussion of the vessels of the Temple – the implements utilized not in the passive “appearance before Hashem” but in the active worship of Hashem. Ultimately, our establishment of a just and equitable society, presided over by a righteous monarch, is only a means to an end – it paves the way back to the Holy Temple where we can learn Torah, reflect upon the True King’s infinite wisdom and devote ourselves to His service. This may be compared to the Torah’s account of the Revelation at Sinai, which is followed by the laws of civil society (Mishpatim) and only then by a description of the sanctuary to be constructed in the wilderness.

I’d like to add one last speculative observation for further consideration. The “House of the Forest of Lebanon” may be a reference to the phraseology we find in Psalm 96, “let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before Hashem, for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness.” Similarly, in Psalm 29 we read “the voice of Hashem breaks the cedars of Lebanon” a metaphoric reference to the power brokers and tyrants who seem invincible and unstoppable but are, in reality, unable to stand up against or thwart the will of God.

Metaphorically, the mighty trees of the forest tremble before Hashem’s majesty and judgment. Shelomo Hamelekh, in spite of all of his achievements, still saw himself as a humble and reverent servant in the presence of the Almighty. Calling his home “Forest of Lebanon” may have been an attempt to express that using the language of Tehillim, wherein the trees of the forest represent the mighty leaders who, despite their power, still tremble in God’s presence.

The Reading

The Summary

Melakhim Alef Chapter 6

This chapter and the one that follows detail the major construction projects undertaken by King Shelomo, beginning with the Holy Temple and including his own palace and summer home as well as the residence of the Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had married. Both chapters contain incredibly detailed descriptions of the architectural design, wood work, stone work, and measurements of these structures.

In addition to the sheer quantity of specifications included here, we are also faced with the difficulty that the meaning of many of the architectural terms is no longer clear and has been the subject of much debate among the commentaries. Each interpreter, therefore, emerges with his own vision of what these buildings looked like. This makes summarizing these chapters quite a challenge; the best way to develop a sense for the grandeur of these projects is to read the text itself. Instead, I will touch upon a few of the highlights.

Shelomo’s Temple is clearly inspired by the layout of the original Tabernacle of the times of Moshe but surpasses it in its majesty, elegance and extravagance. It took Shelomo’s enormous team of architects and laborers a full seven years to complete. Like the Mishkan, the Temple was divided into “inner” and “outer” sections; the inner, roofed structure contained the “Ulam” or antechamber (an additional ten cubit section added by Shelomo that did not exist in the Mishkan), the “Holy” (here called “Hekhal”) and the “Holy of Holies” (here called the “Devir”) while the outer, unroofed area was known as the Courtyard.

Once the construction project has begun, Shelomo receives word from Hashem. Hashem promises to consecrate and cause His presence to dwell in the Temple, provided the nation continue to adhere to the laws and principles of the Torah.

The dimensions of the Temple were significantly greater than those of the Mishkan – the area of each section was twice as large as the corresponding section of the Mishkan, and the ceiling was three times as high. Another noteworthy difference is that wood and stone replace cloth and curtains throughout. The “inner” section’s walls are covered by ornately decorated cedar (engravings of cherubim, palms and flowers are found everywhere) that is overlaid with gold, and its floor is likewise overlaid with gold.

The Devir and Hekhal are divided from one another, as the inner section is divided from the courtyard, by beautifully crafted wooden doors overlaid with gold and across which golden chains are drawn.Various storage and work rooms, complete with doors and staircases, are built along the two sides and the rear walls of the Hekhal. The walls of the inner section of the Temple also have windows which seem to be decorative rather than functional in nature.

The contents of the inner sanctum of the Temple differed to some degree from that of the Mishkan. In the Mishkan, only the Ark of the Covenant resided in the Holy of Holies; in the Devir of the Temple, however, there were two tall cherubim who stood on the floor and whose wings spread out such that the edge of their outer wings touched the walls of the building and the edges of their inner wings touched one another. These figures were also made of cedar wood overlaid with fine gold. When the Ark is placed in the Devir, these statues will be standing directly behind it.

It is noteworthy that, when assigning a date to this project, reference is made to the Exodus from Egypt (namely, it begins 480 years from the time the Jews left Egypt). The creation of a sanctuary for the Divine Presence was the objective of the Jewish people from the very moment of their departure from the house of bondage, as they declared in the Song at the Sea, “You will bring them and plant them upon Your holy mountain; a place for Your dwelling have You created, Hashem – Your hands have established the sanctuary of Hashem.”

The Almighty brought the Jews out of Egypt not simply to restore to them their freedom, rights and dignity, but so they could follow in the footsteps of the Patriarchs in representing Hashem to all of mankind. On a national level, we first proclaimed the existence, unity and providence of the Creator through the erection of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, which served as testimony to our relationship with Him.

Now that a monarchy and stable government has been established in Israel, it is necessary once again to refocus on the true purpose of Jewish political success and prosperity. The King of Israel is charged with constructing an edifice that will outshine the most impressive royal palace in order to demonstrate that his power and authority are merely instrumental to the mission of sanctifying God’s name in the world.

Hashem has blessed the kingdom of Shelomo with a degree of sovereignty and independence that would have been unimaginable in earlier years, when Jewish existence in the Holy Land was always precarious and seemed to teeter on the verge of chaos or self-destruction. The achievement of lasting stability, then, completed the process of the Exodus from Egypt, finally providing the nation of Israel with a sense of security in their freedom, their land and their future.

As such, it necessitated another building project – the construction of a Temple that would accurately reflect the new realities, the political, economic and social growth that had been achieved. This Temple would have to be grander, stronger, and more impressive than previous sanctuaries, a proper house of worship for the people of Hashem who had finally reached the stage of development as a nation that they had dreamt of for centuries.

It is also interesting that Shelomo starts building the Temple of his own accord and only then receives a Divine message blessing the project. This prophecy is recorded in the text after Shelomo has already erected the basic structure of the inner section of the Temple. Shelomo then proceeds to add the ornate decorations, paneling and gold that beautify that structure.

I would infer from this that Shelomo began working on the Temple and then halted the labor, waiting for a heavenly “stamp of approval” for the initiative before moving forward. Unlike Moshe, Shelomo had not been officially commanded or directed to build the Bet Hamiqdash; he undertook the project independently, based on his own understanding of the responsibilities of the king.

At the same time, he recognized that the Sanctuary could only be selected and consecrated by the decree of the Almighty – “Your hands have established the sanctuary of Hashem” – no human being could establish the home of the Divine Presence unilaterally. Once Hashem authorized and granted legitimacy to the undertaking, Shelomo was able to invest himself fully in the project, now a “partner” with the Almighty in creating a house that would represent His Name.

The Reading

The Summary

Melakhim Alef Chapter 5
This chapter begins with a description of the vastness of Shelomo’s kingdom, which extended far beyond the conventional borders of the land of Israel. Shelomo not only ruled over an enormous swath of territory, he also enjoyed remarkable prosperity and luxury on a daily basis. The gourmet feasts served at the palace each day were unequaled in quantity and quality. Shelomo’s subjects also benefited from the unprecedented peace, tranquility and opulence of his kingdom as they achieved economic success in their personal lives as well.

Shelomo maintained a formidable standing army that included forty thousand stables of horses.  His magnificent regime was fully supported by the tax revenue collected from the citizens of Israel, as described in the previous chapter.

Shelomo became internationally known for his outstanding intelligence, which surpassed that of his wisest contemporaries. He composed thousands of parables and songs of an ostensibly educational and instructional character, and acquired an expertise in the natural sciences including knowledge of the plant world and of the animal kingdom. People from all over the world flocked to Shelomo to marvel at his legendary brilliance.

Shelomo contacts Hiram, King of Tzor, who had been a close friend and devotee of his father, David. He requests Hiram’s assistance in carrying out David’s “dream project” of constructing a house dedicated to the name of Hashem. David was unable to fulfill this aspiration because of his constant involvement in battle; therefore, the Almighty had delegated responsibility for this sacred task to his son, Shelomo.

Shelomo specifically requested that Hiram provide him with lumber for the project; he offered to send some of his own servants to apprentice with Hiram’s expert woodcutters and promised to pay Hiram’s laborers for their time.

Hiram blesses Hashem for having granted David such a wise son as heir to his throne. He agrees to provide lumber for the Holy Temple and transport it to Israel, where it will be carried by Shelomo’s servants to the construction site. In exchange for this service, Hiram asks that Shelomo provide his household with an annual gift of fine wheat and oil. A peace treaty is established between Shelomo and Hiram.

Shelomo drafts thirty thousand workers to construct the Temple. These laborers would serve in shifts; each month, ten thousand would be on active duty, and then would be replaced by another ten thousand, so that each person spent two months at home and one month in national service. Shelomo also hired eighty thousand stone hewers to extract and prepare stonework for the Temple and three thousand three hundred supervisors over the project.

We see in this chapter an elaboration of the theme we touched upon in the previous one: namely, the realization in Israel of the blessings foretold in the Torah, and how this paves the way for the establishment of the Temple. The description of Shelomo’s fame is particularly reminiscent of the promise of the Torah that the nations of the world will declare “surely this great people is a wise and understanding nation – for what great nation is there that has God close to it, like Hashem, our God, in all of our calling to Him?”

The operation of Divine providence in Israel is made manifest to all as a result of its material success and the tremendous wisdom of its leaders. This qualifies the Jewish people to serve as the representatives of the Almighty on the international stage and to build His Temple.

There is another nuance worth highlighting here. In the account of the intellectual attainments of Shelomo, we are told that “Elokim” gave wisdom to Shelomo. Elokim is the universal, generic name for the Almighty that is not uniquely Jewish. This makes sense since the text is emphasizing the idea that Shelomo’s knowledge achieved international recognition and that citizens of all nations attributed it to the hand of God. In the verses of Deuteronomy cited above, wherein the gentiles perceive the Divine providence in Israel, the term “Elokim” is used as well. However, I believe there is another significant allusion being made in the narrative that explains the unusual use of the term “Elokim”.

One of the remarkable aspects of the story of Yosef as presented in the Torah is the shift to the appellation “Elokim” to refer to Hashem. As long as Yosef is in Egypt, and especially when he is in the employ of the Egyptian government, this is the word for the deity that is utilized. In the dramatic moment when Pharaoh initially perceives the genius of Yosef and is inspired to promote him to the position of viceroy, he exclaims “Has one ever been found like this – a man that has the spirit of God [Elokim] within him?…Now that God [Elokim] has made all of this known to you, there is no wise and understanding person like you!” These declarations by Pharaoh about Yosef are clearly foreshadowing the declaration that will one day be made on a national level about the Jewish people “surely this people is a wise and understanding nation.”

The connection does not end here. Not long ago we read about the decision of Shelomo to marry the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. We then read about his kingdom, which extends to the border of Egypt. When Shelomo’s wisdom is compared to that of his contemporaries, we are told that it outshines the wisdom of all of the scholars of Egypt.

All of these elements emphasize the link between Shelomo, representative of Torah and Divine wisdom to the nations of the world and particularly to the Egyptians, and Yosef, who was the first to serve in this capacity. The point is that Shelomo, like Yosef, was able to make the profound wisdom of Judaism accessible and comprehensible not only to his own subjects but to citizens of other nations who did not have a “Torah framework” through which to perceive it.

This emphasis on “Elokim” and on “Egypt” provides an enlightening contrast with Hiram, the close friend of David. Hiram explicitly references “Hashem”, using the uniquely “Jewish” name of God that expresses His Unity and transcendence. This suggests that, unlike other gentiles who related only to the superior political, scientific and technological knowledge of Shelomo and were impressed by those universally attractive intellectual achievements, Hiram had an insight into the religious message and principles of Torah that he had learned from David.

Like Akhish, the King of Gat who provided David with refuge when he was on the run from Shaul, Hiram was exposed to and embraced the concept of the God of Israel. This may explain why Shelomo was so comfortable enlisting Hiram in a partnership to build the House that would make Hashem’s name known in the world.

The Reading

The Summary

Melakhim Alef Chapter 3

King Shelomo weds the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt, seemingly in order to establish diplomatic relations with the “superpower” of the region. All of our rabbis and commentators assume that the kings of Israel who married non-Jewish women were careful to convert them to Judaism first, even if these conversions were conducted under less than ideal circumstances.

The text informs us that there was still no national Temple constructed in the early days of Shelomo’s kingdom, so various local altars continued operating legally (only after the building of the Temple in Jerusalem did such unauthorized places of worship become forbidden). We will see later in the Book of Melakhim that there is a connection between Shelomo’s nuptials and the delayed establishment of the Holy Temple; this link is alluded to in our chapter but not yet explained.

Shelomo visits Giveon to worship Hashem with one thousand sacrifices. That night, Hashem appears to Shelomo in a dream and offers to grant him anything that he wishes for the further advancement of his regime. Shelomo responds that he is young and inexperienced and feels inadequate to the task of leading and judging the nation of Israel. He therefore asks for the wisdom necessary to guide them properly.

Hashem answers that since Shelomo did not seek the material benefits of kingship like wealth or honor, but instead desired knowledge and understanding to serve the people, he would receive both the wisdom he requested and the riches and fame that he declined to request. However, Hashem warns Shelomo, all of these promises are contingent on Shelomo’s continued observance of the laws and statutes of the Torah. The next morning, Shelomo wakes up, returns to Jerusalem and offers additional burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Ark of the Covenant, organizing a celebratory feast for all of his officers and servants.

The text then describes what is probably the best-known Biblical narrative about Shelomo. Two harlots who had lived together in the same house approached the king for judgment. Both had given birth to babies just a few days apart. One of the infants had died and the women disputed whose child it was. The mother who discovered the dead baby in her bed alleges that it was not her son; she claims that the other woman switched the children when she discovered that her own infant had passed away. The women argue their respective cases before Shelomo.

Unable to resolve the dispute, Shelomo requests that a sword be brought to the court and that the living baby be sliced in half so that it can be divided between the two claimants. One of the women is satisfied with this arrangement; however, the other woman protests, begging the king to simply give the baby to the other woman so it will survive. The king correctly rules that she is the true mother, and her child is returned to her. At this point, the entire nation reveres King Shelomo, recognizing the divine wisdom he possesses and his extraordinary ability to judge his people.

One of the fascinating questions raised about the famous case of the two harlots is what it was about his ruling that demonstrated that Shelomo was so wise. Some Midrashim and commentaries interpret his judgment as being based on intricate legal principles that are not mentioned explicitly in the text but could be inferred from “between the lines”, and that this vast knowledge of Torah was what impressed Shelomo’s subjects so much. Other commentaries, however, are dissatisfied with the suggestion that the story means to tell us that Shelomo was an expert in Jewish law, when none of the content of Jewish law or complex legal reasoning is actually mentioned in the narrative.

My friend and colleague Rabbi Hayyim Angel has convincingly argued that what stood out about Shelomo wasn’t the content of his judgment, but the “reach” of his judgment. In other words, the fact that even two prostitutes, who were the bottom of the barrel of society, could be given a fair hearing in the King’s court was what testified to his greatness as a leader. According to this approach, we should not look to the details of the case itself to evaluate Shelomo’s superiority as a judge, nor should we seek complex legal nuance or genius in his ruling. What was unique about Shelomo’s regime was his insistence that justice be applied at all levels and to all aspects of the nation, and that fairness and equity before the law not be the special privilege of the elite or even of the “middle class”. To borrow a famous quote that summarizes this view, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

At one time I was persuaded by this interpretation of the story of Shelomo. However, further study and reflection has changed my mind. From a textual standpoint, it seems to me too much of a stretch to argue that the elaborate details of the claims presented to Shelomo, and the novelty of his famous and dramatic solution, had nothing to do with the impact this judgment had on the perspective of the people. A simple reading of the story supports the conventional understanding that it was the actual ruling of Shelomo, and not the mere fact that he was willing to hear a dispute between two harlots, that impressed his subjects.

Therefore, I would like to offer an alternative interpretation that I believe fits the narrative more smoothly. Faced with an insoluble “he-said-she-said” legal case such as the one that was brought before Shelomo in our chapter, most judges would have fallen back on whatever conventional principles of jurisprudence were available to them. Perhaps they would rule that “possession is nine tenths of the law”, and that whichever mother currently held the baby would be able to keep him. Under normal circumstances, a judge would probably view this situation as beyond any real resolution, assuming that the facts of the case would never be ascertained, and that a legal ruling, while necessary, might not reflect the “real truth” of who deserved to keep the infant.

Shelomo’s greatness was that he was not willing to acquit himself with a pro forma, legalistic response. Instead, he used his profound understanding of psychology to “manipulate” the lying mother and thereby cause the actual facts of the case to come to light. Through his brilliant handling of this situation, he demonstrated his uncompromising commitment to the truth and his unwillingness to be satisfied with rulings that met legal standards but fell short of absolute justice. This explains why the nation “feared” or revered Shelomo, and acknowledged his level of wisdom as “Divine” – like Hashem Himself, Shelomo would accept no substitute for genuine, unadulterated truth when it came to implementing justice in Israel.