King Solomon, the wisest of all men, built the Temple in Jerusalem and reigned over Israel's golden age. by Rabbi Ken Spiro

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1 2008 King Solomon, the wisest of all men, built the Temple in Jerusalem and reigned over Israel's golden age. by Rabbi Ken Spiro Before David died, he appointed as king his son Solomon, who was 12 years old at the time, with these words: I go the way of all the earth. You shall be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord, your God to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes and His commandments and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. 1 This classic blessing is often quoted by fathers to their sons on the day of their Bar Mitzvah. It restates the cardinal rule that has guided the Jewish people from the time of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai: in order to prosper, keep the Torah. 1 1 Kings 2:2-3. 1

2 Shortly after Solomon was anointed king, God appeared to him in a dream in which He invited Solomon to make a request for himself. Solomon answered: I am but a small child... Give, therefore, your servant an understanding heart to judge your people... His request pleased God, Who told him: Because you have not requested riches and honor but only that which would benefit all the people, I will give you not only an understanding heart like none other before or after you... but also riches and honor like no other king in your days. 2 Born in 848 BCE, Solomon died at age 52 in 796 BCE, ruling as king for 40 years of peace and prosperity the best years in all of Israel s history. During his reign, he was known as the wisest of all the men. The Bible relates that kings from all over the world came to hear his wisdom, which included not only Torah wisdom, but also wisdom in secular knowledge and science. 3 His fame spread through all the surrounding nations. He composed 3,000 parables, and 1,005 poems. He discoursed about trees, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows from the wall. He also discoursed about animals, birds, creeping things and fish. Men of all nations came to hear Solomon s wisdom, as did all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. 4 One of those who came on a much-celebrated visit was the Queen of Sheba, 5 who wished to test the king with her most difficult questions. What was she so curious about? Jewish tradition 6 relates that she had come armed with provocative riddles, one of which went like this: A woman said to her son, Your father is my father, your grandfather is my husband, you are my son, and I am your sister, who am I? King Solomon promptly answered, A daughter of Lot, (who, together with her father, tried to repopulate the world after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah). The queen went home highly impressed with the king and his kingdom Kings 3: Talmud, Tractate Eruvin 21b. 4 1 Kings 5: Today s Ethiopian Jews have a tradition that they are the descendants of the union of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. 6 Yalkot Simoni Pivrei Hayomim, The Bible in 1 Kings 10:3 relates that Solomon had answers to all her questions; there was nothing that the king did not know. 2

3 The Temple The crowning achievement of Solomon s reign was the building of the Temple which his father, King David, had dreamt about. The Bible devotes several chapters 8 to the construction of this most important building to the nation of Israel the place of communion between man and God. It tells that the entire Temple both inside and outside, including floors and doors, were overlaid with gold. Besides this there were bronze structures such as columns, an immersion tank, and basins. This magnificent edifice took seven years to build. When it was finished, Solomon dedicated the Temple with this prayer to God: Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain You how much less this house that I have built? Yet have regard for the prayer of Your servant, and for his supplication, Lord my God, listen to the cry and to the prayer, which Your servant prays before You today, that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, My name shall be there, that You may listen to the prayer... of your people Israel... 9 This was the pinnacle of Solomon s reign and of Jewish history. Everyone was united. Their neighbors didn t bother the Jews in fact, they came to learn from the Jews. There was peace and prosperity. This was as good as it would ever get for Israel, the closest that it came to achieving the ideal of creating a nation that is a light unto the nations. 10 This was the zenith. So why didn t it last? 8 1 Kings Chapters Kings 8: Isaiah 42:6. 3

4 Too Many Wives Solomon made one serious mistake. In violation of the Torah s prohibition He took too many wives. In fact, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. If we go back to the Book of Deuteronomy where the idea of a Jewish king is first discussed, Moses warns that the king should not have too many horses nor too many wives. 11 The great 11 th century Torah commentator Rashi tells us that this means no more than 18, and that King David had only six. The Torah places limits on the number of wives and amount of wealth the king can have to insure that he stays focused on his responsibilities and not get distracted and corrupted by materialism and power. Solomon was certainly aware of these prohibitions, but felt that his great wisdom and spirituality would enable him to handle these challenges and be an even greater king. Unfortunately, he did not foresee the problems that some of his many foreign wives would cause. 12 Why did Solomon need so many wives? The answer has nothing to do with love. Throughout history the overwhelming reason for marriage among nobility and royalty was to create political alliances. The Middle East in Solomon s time was made up of many city-states and all the kings of these city-states wanted to send their daughters to marry King Solomon and, in this way, form an alliance with him. Solomon may also have had an additional reason his marriages to these foreign wives were his way of bringing these nations closer to God. 13 Obviously, the foreign wives were required to convert to Judaism. Now, the motivation to convert should come solely out of a love of truth and a sincere desire to join the Jewish people despite the tremendous obligations that a Jewish lifestyle entails and the external dangers that the Jewish people have always faced. In short, the prospective convert must demonstrate total commitment in spite of any difficulties or danger. 11 Deuteronomy 17: Talmud, Tractates Shabbat 56b and Sanhedrin 21b. 13 Midrash, Shir HaShirim Rabbah I, 1:10. 4

5 The reigns of David and Solomon were unique, idyllic periods when the Jewish people enjoyed peace, prosperity and a unique leadership role among the nations. During these periods there were many people who wished to convert, not out a desire for truth, but rather for benefit. Such insincere conversions were not accepted, and the Talmud states that during this time all conversions were suspended. 14 However, an exception was made for the wives of the king, and a special court was set up to handle their conversions. Since many of these weddings were arranged for political reasons, it is certain that, despite their claims to the contrary, not all Solomon s wives completely abandoned their idolatrous practices. Again, note the incredible level of accountability that great Jewish leaders must meet. For a wife of King Solomon who was a prophet, wisest of all men, king of Israel to worship idols is inexcusable, and Solomon is held directly accountable for it. The Bible states: In his old age, his wives turned away Solomon s heart after other gods... And Solomon did what was sinful in the eyes of God and did not follow after God as his father David had done. 15 This does not mean that Solomon became an idolater, but the Bible uses these harsh words because, as king, he did not prevent his wives from carrying on their idolatrous practices. One of the greatest leaders of the Jewish people, a man on his spiritual level who wrote the Song of Songs, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Proverbs must be suffering eternal pain knowing what has been written about him in the Bible The Talmud states: We will not accept converts in the Messianic Era, similarly, they did not accept converts, neither during the time of David nor during the time of Solomon. (Talmud, Tractate Avodah Zarah 3b) 15 1 Kings 11: For a detailed discussion of Solomon s wives see Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 56b and Sanhedrin 21b. The Talmud especially criticizes Solomon s marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh Necho of Egypt. While this marriage was a major political coup for Solomon, the princess's secret idolatrous activities sewed seeds for many problems in the future. 5

6 Not only is criticism of Solomon harsh, but as with other great Jewish leaders, so are the consequences of his mistakes. The Bible ends Solomon s story relating that God was angry with him and told him: Since you are guilty of this, and you have not kept My covenant and My laws... I will tear the kingdom away from you... But I will not do this in your time, for the sake of your father David. Instead, I will tear it away from your son... [But] I will give your son one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. 17 It is clear from this how much God loved King David and how completely He had forgiven King David for his faults. It is also clear that hard times are coming for the Jewish people as the kingdom of Israel is about to be torn in half Kings 11: