{"id":61315,"date":"2018-07-09T17:44:13","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-295\/"},"modified":"2023-03-23T09:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T07:55:00","slug":"wall-295","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-295\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-I Kings-8"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"295","date":"20261015","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"61260","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - I Kings Chapter 8 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - I Kings Chapter 8","slug":"jps-audio-bible-i-kings-chapter-8","old_id":"61260","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"I Kings Chapter 8","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_I_Kings_Chapter_8","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"113722","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Consecration Celebration ","post_title":"Consecration Celebration","slug":"consecration-celebration","old_id":"113722","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And then there\u2019s the after-party\u2026\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

It is party time in Jerusalem. The Temple is complete. The Ark and some of the vessels are now in their new (hopefully) permanent home in the Temple. Solomon composes an epic prayer asking God to listen to the supplication of the people in the Temple. The people gather together in the Temple courtyard and sacrifice so many animals that everyone loses count.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So Solomon and all Israel with him\u2014a great assemblage, [coming] from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt\u2014observed the Feast at that time before the LORD our God, seven days and again seven days, fourteen days in all (verse 65).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why does the verse say they ate and drank for seven days and yet another seven days? Why not just say fourteen days? The Talmud in Moed Katan 9a explains that these were two distinct seven-day periods. The first was for the dedication of the Temple while the second was for the Holiday of Sukkot. The reason the two periods are separate is to teach the principle of not mixing two happy occasions together. For example, one should not schedule a wedding on a holiday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud then questions this assumption and suggests that the fact that Solomon did not have the dedication ceremony on Sukkot was because the Temple was finished earlier, and slowing down the building would be a violation of the principle that one should not delay in doing mitzvot. In the end, the Talmud concludes that the fact that the verse lists the two seven-day periods separately is proof that the issue here is avoiding doubling up on happy occasions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But could it also be possible that the celebration was meant to last seven days at first and then was extended? Both the Passover and Sukkot holidays are seven days, as was the dedication of the Tabernacle. Perhaps the text is explaining that the people were so overjoyed with the completion of the Temple that they decided to stay an additional seven days. This structure would mimic the idea of Shemini Atzeret- a holiday that is added on to Sukkot as a bonus day for celebration. Here, however, the book of Chronicles provides a little more context:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he dismissed the people to their homes, rejoicing and in good spirits over the goodness that the LORD had shown to David and Solomon and His people Israel (II Chron 7:10).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If the celebration ended on the 23rd day of the seventh month (Tishrei), then the second week of the celebration was on Sukkot. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":97540,"alt":"","title":"est9-question 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It\u2019s not unique to the Jewish world that in times of extreme crisis or threat, or during moments of particular national pride or joy, a community that may otherwise be suffering from divisiveness unifies around a common focal point. But what usually happens is that once the event at hand is resolved or begins to wane in intensity, that sense of a unified purpose wanes with it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is remarkable then, that for over 3,000 years a single point of spiritual unity has persisted for the Jewish people. In this chapter of the First Book of Kings, King Solomon, having completed the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, offers a lengthy and profound prayer to God. Within his words are the basis for the universally held Jewish practice of facing Jerusalem when we pray.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201c<\/span>They shall pray toward this place (8:35)\u201d refers to the Temple, for those in Jerusalem;<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cPray to the Lord toward the city that You have chosen (8:44)\u201d refers to Jerusalem itself, for those outside the city; and<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThey shall pray to You toward their land (8:48)\u201d is for those outside of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are differing opinions on whether the Temple was intended to be a house in which God\u2019s presence would dwell or a location which would host the people\u2019s service to God. Both options are evident in this chapter. King Solomon expressly states, \u201cI have built a house for You, a place where You may dwell forever (8:13)\u201d, but then almost immediately asks, \u201cBut will God really dwell on this earth? The heavens can\u2019t contain You, much less this Temple (8:27).\u201d The chapter then focuses our attention on physical service to God, including the various offerings and sacrifices brought in the Temple.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Regardless of where you land in this discussion, it\u2019s easy to relate to the unity of the Jewish people during this celebratory period of Temple dedication. But here we are today still focusing our prayers in the direction of a Temple that was destroyed millennia ago. Whether our nation is divided by religious, political or ideological differences, our unification around Israel, Jerusalem and our House of God remains steadfast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When King Solomon laid that holy foundation stone for the first wall of the Temple, he must have known, in his God-given wisdom, that he was building not just an edifice, but laying the foundation for an enduring laser-focused point of unification for the Jewish people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Heinrich Bunting, <\/span>Die ganze Welt in einem Kleberblat<\/span><\/i> (The entire World in a Cloverleaf), <\/span>1581 \/ 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She holds degrees in Israel studies , education and psychology, and has been a leader and educator in Northern California for over 25 years. Her first novel, Hachug (\"Extracurricular\") was published in Israel in 2016 and her weekly blog can be found at http:\/\/www.miko284.com\r\n\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Currently based in Israel, Rabbanit Michal Kohane is a graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, a writer, community leader and teacher of Talmud & Torah. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42747,"alt":"","title":"michal kohane","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","width":214,"height":226,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","medium-width":214,"medium-height":226,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","medium_large-width":214,"medium_large-height":226,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","large-width":214,"large-height":226,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","1536x1536-width":214,"1536x1536-height":226,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","2048x2048-width":214,"2048x2048-height":226,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","post_full_size-width":214,"post_full_size-height":226,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","home_baner-width":214,"home_baner-height":226}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Praise and petition, human needs and divine glory, part of the worship experience","post_main_content_content":"

What a day this must have been, the day the Temple was dedicated! The day when King Solomon brought the ark of the covenant, carried carefully from the days of Moses with the precious Tablets stored in it, into the Temple!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As with any event, there are lots of details: First, the esteemed list of invitees, telling us that Solomon is not only establishing himself as a political leader but also as a religious and spiritual one. Then the sacred items that wandered with the People in the desert and were stored in the City of David until now, are all brought into the Temple, conveying the continuity from Sinai to this day. The priests conduct an impressive ceremony, rich in sacrifices. The ark is placed in the Holy of Holies, covered and protected by the Cherubim. Everything about it reminds us of Moses building the Tabernacle: the cloud filling the House and the priests, who must leave for God\u2019s glory, like Moses had to. Then come inspirational statements, recollections, blessings and \u2013 a lesson.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We learn in Tractate Berachot (6a:7): \u201c<\/span>It was taught that Abba Binyamin said: One\u2019s prayer is only fully heard in a synagogue, as it is stated with regard to King Solomon\u2019s prayer in the Temple: \u2018Yet have You turned toward the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, Lord my God, to listen to the song and the prayer which Your servant prays before You on this day\u2019 (8:28). The following verse concludes: \u2018To hear the prayer Your servant directs toward this place\u2019 (8:29). Accordingly, we learn that while one\u2019s prayer is heard anywhere, it is heard best specifically in the Temple.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The synagogue of our time holds the same conflict the Tabernacle and the Temple did: how can we have a finite space for the infinite God? The ways of worshipping this God, also hold conflicts. It states that the Temple should be a place of \u201cjoyful song and prayer\u201d (8:28), meaning that they are not identical! Rav Kook explains them as praise and supplication. The latter is recognizing our wants and needs and letting God know those from us, while the former is an invitation to \u201csee\u201d God\u2019s glory as completely independent from us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Each of these concepts is impossible to fathom in its own way: what does \u201cour wants\u201d mean? Why ask anything if God knows everything? Why praise? Can we manipulate God, \u201casking\u201d Him for things, \u201cchanging His mind\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet, one without the other is useless: to glance at God\u2019s glory, to see the most \u201cwowest\u201d Being there is \/ was \/ can be, without being allowed to believe He cares and could give us what we want, means feeling small and disconnected. On the other hand, to ask without recognizing God\u2019 uniqueness, is also meaningless and incomplete, like a self-centered nag. But King Solomon emphasized\u00a0 we need both, and that prayer, serious and heartfelt as it may be, needs joyful song.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56754,"alt":"","title":"isam1-prayer abstract","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Song And The Prayer","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Praise and petition, human needs and divine glory, part of the worship experience","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56754,"alt":"","title":"isam1-prayer abstract","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-prayer-abstract-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"778","name":"Temple","old_id":"1178"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"}]},{"order":5,"id":"61964","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Month of \u201cEthanim\u201d ","post_title":"The Month of \u201cEthanim\u201d","slug":"the-month-of-ethanim","old_id":"61964","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A festive time of year for dedicating the Temple","post_main_content_content":"

Solomon invited all the tribal and patriarchal leaders of Israel (1) to participate in the ceremony that marked the transfer of the Ark and other holy paraphernalia from the City of David to the newly constructed Temple. Perhaps bearing in mind the tragedy that had accompanied the Ark\u2019s earlier transfer from Kiryat Yearim to the home of Obed Edom the Gittite (as reported in 2 Samuel 6) wherein Uza\u2019s life was lost because he reached out to steady the Ark on its wagon, this time it appears that everything was transported personally by the appropriate priests and Levites. And whereas there is no explicit reference to fanfare, in its literal sense of blaring trumpets, the move was certainly accompanied by figurative fanfare, as they sacrificed \u201csheep and oxen in such abundance that they could not be numbered or counted\u201d (5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A linguistic curiosity, however, surrounds the date on which this auspicious move was made. It is recorded in our chapter as having taken place \u201cat the Feast, in the month of Ethanim\u2014that is the seventh month\u201d (2), in other words, during Sukkot, which, as we know, occurs during the month of Tishrei. So why not just say so?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

First of all, the names by which we know the present Jewish calendar (Tishrei, Heshvan, Kislev, etc.) are late, having \u201cmade Aliyah\u201d from Babylonia along with the Jews who returned from captivity there. That\u2019s not my description; it belongs to the Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 1:2. The Tanakh utilizes ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.), which can be problematic if you do not know when the series begins. Indeed, it would appear that prior to the Exodus the first month was Tishrei and only thereafter did it become Nisan (see Exodus 12:2), with Tishrei falling back\u2014as it were\u2014into seventh place, which is when our ceremony took place.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why was this month called \u201cEthanim,\u201d which literally means firm or steadfast? Yosef Kara said it is because once the hot, dry summer months are over, trees and grass begin to harden. Radak stated that it is because the fruits and grains that are harvested during that month are the mainstay of our diets. Ralbag (Gersonides) thought that it is because the principal festivals fall in it, and Ibn Kaspi\u2014inspired, perhaps, by his Provencal roots\u2014said that it reflects the hard work that farmers put into the harvest. Last\u2014actually first\u2014but not least, the rabbinic interpretation identifies the Patriarchs as the \u201csteadfast\u201d ones and observes that they were all born in Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah 11a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Otto Elliger, \u201cThe Dedication of the Temple,\u201d c. 1700.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61970,"alt":"","title":"1kings8-dedication etching","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","width":600,"height":415,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching-300x208.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":208,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":415,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":415,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":415,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":415,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":415,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"home_baner-height":415}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Month of \u201cEthanim\u201d","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A festive time of year for dedicating the Temple","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61970,"alt":"","title":"1kings8-dedication etching","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","width":600,"height":415,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching-300x208.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":208,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":415,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":415,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":415,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":415,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":415,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-dedication-etching.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"home_baner-height":415}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"632","name":"Calendar","old_id":"1032"},{"term_id":"778","name":"Temple","old_id":"1178"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"}]},{"order":6,"id":"61972","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"What\u2019s In The Box? ","post_title":"What\u2019s In The Box?","slug":"whats-in-the-box","old_id":"61972","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36277,"post_title":"Yedidya Sinclair","slug":"yedidya-sinclair","old_id":"36277","first_name":"Yedidya","last_name":"Sinclair","description":"Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair serves as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon, the leading US Jewish environmental organization. From 2011-16 he was Vice President for Research and Senior Economist at Energiya Global, a Jerusalem-based solar energy company focused on the developing world and he continues to consult on renewable energy and climate change preparedness. In 2014 he published together with Hazon, a translation of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's great work on shmitta, the Sabbatical year, \"Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz.\" Yedidya holds a BA from Oxford University, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and lives with his family in Jerusalem.","short_description":"Yedidya Sinclair is a Jerusalem-based rabbi and economist, and is Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36278,"alt":"","title":"yedidya sinclair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A host of artifacts that evoked the Jewish people\u2019s lived experience with the word of God","post_main_content_content":"

What was in the ark that stood at the center of Solomon\u2019s temple? The Bible seems perfectly clear on this point, saying, \u201cThere was nothing inside the Ark but the two tablets of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when the LORD made [a covenant] with the Israelites after their departure from the land of Egypt.\u201d (v.9)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the Talmud, (Bava Batra 14a) for some reason, finds the apparent, plain meaning of this verse impossible to accept. It cannot have been that there was nothing else in the ark, the Talmud protests. First, what about the Torah scroll that, as we learned at the end of Deuteronomy, Moses wrote with his own hand? Surely that also found a place in the Holy Ark?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Next, what of the gold chest in which the Philistines placed a gift for the God of Israel in I Samuel 6:8? The rabbis infer from the language of the story that the chest was placed in the ark too.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And then where were the shattered fragments of the first tablets of the Torah that Moses hurled to the ground and shattered when he saw Israel sinning with the golden calf? Rabbi Meir learns that these ended up in the ark.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Having insisted that these other artifacts took their place in the ark, the rabbis went to some length to estimate each of their dimensions and calculate how, contrary to one\u2019s initial mathematical intuition, they could all fit into this small wooden box.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why the reluctance to accept the plain sense? On the surface, the rabbis are working off on a point of grammar. They read the words \u201cthere was <\/span>nothing<\/span><\/em> in the ark <\/span>except<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/span><\/i>as a double negative, implying a positive \u2013 there was <\/span>something<\/span><\/em> else in the ark. But beyond his technical explanation, I sense a couple of deeper reservations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

First, the rabbis are picking up on a theme that runs through our chapter \u2013 the sheer paradoxicality of a structure with meticulously measured physical dimensions built to house the infinite, ineffable and uncontainable divine. As Solomon marvels, \u201cBut will God really dwell on earth? Even the heavens to their uttermost reaches cannot contain You, how much less this House that I have built!\u201d (v.27) The intricate calculations of how all these holy things could be contained in such a small space is a way of wrestling with this paradox.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Second, it is striking how the rabbis insisted that objects marking the <\/span>history<\/em> <\/span>of God\u2019s revelation were also in the ark. The scroll that Moshe wrote to teach from and to pass Joshua, the tablets that he broke when Israel betrayed the covenant, alongside those expressing the renewed revelation through repentance, and the chest from when the ark was lost and then found, all had a claim to be there. It is as though the rabbis wished to avoid presenting the tablets as solitary, static\u00a0 objects of reverence and curated them in conversation with artifacts that evoked the Jewish people\u2019s lived experience with the word of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Ark of the Covenant for the Tabernacle replica at BYU \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61975,"alt":"","title":"1kings8-ark","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","width":760,"height":578,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark-300x228.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":228,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","medium_large-width":760,"medium_large-height":578,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","large-width":760,"large-height":578,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","1536x1536-width":760,"1536x1536-height":578,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","2048x2048-width":760,"2048x2048-height":578,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","post_full_size-width":760,"post_full_size-height":578,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark-552x420.jpg","home_baner-width":552,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"What\u2019s In The Box?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A host of artifacts that evoked the Jewish people\u2019s lived experience with the word of God","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61975,"alt":"","title":"1kings8-ark","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","width":760,"height":578,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark-300x228.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":228,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","medium_large-width":760,"medium_large-height":578,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","large-width":760,"large-height":578,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","1536x1536-width":760,"1536x1536-height":578,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","2048x2048-width":760,"2048x2048-height":578,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark.jpg","post_full_size-width":760,"post_full_size-height":578,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-ark-552x420.jpg","home_baner-width":552,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"670","name":"Ark","old_id":"1070"},{"term_id":"778","name":"Temple","old_id":"1178"}]},{"order":7,"id":"61984","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Does God Dwell on Earth? ","post_title":"Does God Dwell On Earth?","slug":"does-god-dwell-on-earth","old_id":"61984","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33993,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","width":204,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-256x300.png","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","medium_large-width":204,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","large-width":204,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","1536x1536-width":204,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","2048x2048-width":204,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","post_full_size-width":204,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","home_baner-width":204,"home_baner-height":199}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When the Infinite meets the finite, all is metaphor and religion is poetry","post_main_content_content":"

It\u2019s one of the pivotal moments in Jewish history, the development of the monarchy, and of Jewish thought. After seven years of constructing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon and the entire nation gather to dedicate this new building. Standing in prayer before the people, Solomon lifts up his voice and his arms, and proclaimed a revolution that continues to percolate in religious life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He has depleted the nation\u2019s treasury to build this beautiful, artistic, inspiring edifice. He has conscripted much of the nation\u2019s working adults and involved a fair number of foreign laborers in the effort too. Raised on stories of a Tent of Meeting and a Tabernacle in which God and Moses would commune face to face, I would imagine that most people gathered for this auspicious launch would expect the new Temple to be the locus for God\u2019s dwelling among humanity. But Solomon rejects that idea as a violation of the ethos of monotheism. He confronts it head on:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cWill God really dwell on earth? Even the heavens to their uttermost reaches cannot contain You, how much less this House that I have built?\u201d In this pronouncement, Solomon makes clear that the God of monotheism is not simply further on the spectrum than any other creature, God is literally off the charts. Not bigger \u2026 incomparable. Not smarter \u2026 incomparable. God isn\u2019t merely better, more, greater. Such categories are actually a demotion and simply don\u2019t apply to the divine, any more than the concept \u201cnorth\u201d applies north of the North Pole. The category simply fails.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And with that bold move, Solomon forces the Jewish people to grapple with the necessity for metaphor. If God can\u2019t dwell on earth (or in the heavens), then all talk of God is metaphoric, pointing toward a truth that is beyond verbal description. Language as asymptote \u2013 the words approach but never reach what they seek to portray.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God beyond the literal turns all religion into poetry. Rambam is building on King Solomon\u2019s insight when he points out that this same insight means that God can\u2019t \u201cdo\u201d or \u201ccommand\u201d or \u201cspeak\u201d in any way comparable to what humans do when they act in those ways. The words point beyond themselves. They are literally false when applied to God, yet indicate something profound and elusive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So why build that House? Because, says Solomon, wherever the descendants of those Israelites wander, they can turn their focus, their hearts, their mindfulness to that site, and direct their prayers to that place as a way of linking themselves with the prayers of their ancestors, with their co-religionists around the world, with those whose history and destiny they share.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61985,"alt":"","title":"1kings8-presence","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence.jpg","width":686,"height":459,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence-300x201.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":201,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence.jpg","medium_large-width":686,"medium_large-height":459,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence.jpg","large-width":686,"large-height":459,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence.jpg","1536x1536-width":686,"1536x1536-height":459,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence.jpg","2048x2048-width":686,"2048x2048-height":459,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence.jpg","post_full_size-width":686,"post_full_size-height":459,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings8-presence-628x420.jpg","home_baner-width":628,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Does God Dwell On Earth?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When the Infinite meets the finite, all is metaphor and religion is 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By The Bay","tile_main_caption":"I Kings 8: You Don't Have To Be Jewish\u2026","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"With Shira Hecht-Koller and Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Kobrin","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/GyT_HzVCqbs","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":9,"id":"61493","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Apex Of The Solomonic Era ","post_title":"The Apex Of The Solomonic Era","slug":"the-apex-of-the-solomonic-era","old_id":"61493","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"All Israel turn their hearts to one place","post_main_content_content":"

Solomon\u2019s prayer stresses the centrality of Jerusalem and the Temple as the conduit for all prayer, from near or far. This is further expressed in the halakhic directive regarding the orientation of prayer:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If one is standing outside Eretz Yisrael, he should focus his mind (<\/span>yekhaven libo<\/span><\/i>) toward Eretz Yisrael. As it says, \"and they pray unto You toward their land\" (I Kings 8:48).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If he is standing in Eretz Yisrael, he should focus his mind toward Jerusalem. As it says, \"and they pray unto the Lord, toward the city that You have chosen\" (8:44)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If he is standing in Jerusalem, he should focus his mind toward the Temple. As it says, \"and they pray toward this place\" (II Chron. 6:26).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If he is standing in the Temple, he should focus his mind toward the Holy of Holies. As it says, \"and they pray toward this place\" (I Kings 8:35).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Consequently, if he is in the east, he should turn his face to the west; if in the west, he should turn his face to the east; if in the south, he should turn his face to the north; if in the north, he should turn his face to the south. In this way, all Israel will be turning its hearts toward one place. (Berakhot 30a)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

All the biblical proof texts in this passage originate in the inauguration of the Temple, and Solomon's prayer in particular. The result is a beautiful expression of global unity: \"all Israel turning their hearts to one place.\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Included in Solomon's prayer is the statement that prayer in the Temple is accessible to and oriented toward the non-Jewish world as well: Solomon envisions that gentiles will hear about God and come to discover more, enthused to pay homage to the Almighty (8:41, 60).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Solomon is certainly not alone in this vision of the house of God, but he appears to be the first figure in the Bible to so explicitly extend an invitation toward gentiles, welcoming them to join Israel in the service of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here, we have reached the apex of the Solomonic era. The Torah mandated the building of a Temple some five hundred years previously; only now, in a state of national stability, is this central institution established. God affirms His sanctification and approval of the Temple. And yet, as we shall see, the book of Kings now adjusts its focus to more troubling dimensions of Solomon's reign.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Alex Israel, 1 Kings: Torn in Two<\/em>, Maggid Books, 2013, The Dedication of the Temple\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61437,"alt":"","title":"alex israel - kings 1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","width":1020,"height":1304,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-768x982.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":982,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-801x1024.jpg","large-width":801,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1304,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1020,"2048x2048-height":1304,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-939x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":939,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Excerpts from: 1 Kings - Torn in Two","tile_main_caption":"The Apex Of The Solomonic Era","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"All Israel turn their hearts to one place","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61437,"alt":"","title":"alex israel - kings 1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","width":1020,"height":1304,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-768x982.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":982,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-801x1024.jpg","large-width":801,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1304,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1020,"2048x2048-height":1304,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-939x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":939,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"627","name":"Talmud","old_id":"1027"},{"term_id":"778","name":"Temple","old_id":"1178"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"}]},{"order":10,"id":"113719","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-IKings8","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-IKings8","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-ikings8","old_id":"113719","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. 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","post_title":"The Temple As A Place Of Prayer?","slug":"the-temple-as-a-place-of-prayer","old_id":"61431","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"295","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A curious absence of mention of sacrifice","post_main_content_content":"

8:30 \u201cAnd may you hearken to the plea of your servant and of your people, Israel, which they will pray in this place, and may you hearken in Your dwelling place in the heavens\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Throughout Solomon\u2019s prayer, the emphasis is on the temple as a place of prayer and supplication, a kind of terrestrial communications center for speaking with God. Sacrifice is not mentioned. It is possible, though not demonstrable, that the stress on prayer rather than sacrifice reflects some influence of the Prophets, beginning with Isaiah in the late seventh century. There are other features of Solomon\u2019s speech that look late.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"The Temple As A Place Of Prayer?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A curious absence of mention of sacrifice","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"}]},{"order":12,"id":"62073","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"King Solomon Brings The Ark Of The Covenant Into The Temple In Jerusalem ","post_title":"King Solomon Brings The Ark Of The Covenant Into The Temple In Jerusalem","slug":"king-solomon-brings-the-ark-of-the-covenant-into-the-temple-in-jerusalem","old_id":"62073","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. 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Our chapter relates how King Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant into the recently completed Temple in Jerusalem. We are told that \u201cThe priests brought the Ark of the Lord\u2019s Covenant to its place underneath the wings of the cherubim\u2026in the Holy of Holies. For the cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the Ark\u2026\u201d (I Kings 8:6-7). Our Chapter concludes with the celebration of the Feast of Sukkot in the newly dedicated Temple in Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud (Shabbat 30a) describes in detail the difficulties King Solomon encountered in trying repeatedly to install the Ark in the Holy of Holies in the innermost sanctum of the Temple. When Solomon tried to bring the Ark into the Temple, the gates of the Holy of Holies stuck to each other and could not be opened. According to Midrash Shemot Rabbah 8:1 the problem was that Solomon had made the Ark ten cubits wide and that was the exact width of the entrance to the Temple, which did not permit the Ark to pass through the doorway together with the people carrying it on either side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud goes on to depict Solomon as reciting the twenty-four expressions of supplication included in his inaugural prayer (in our Chapter and II Chronicles, Chapter 6, according to Rashi to Shabbat 30a), but the gates remained closed. He then called out the verse: \u201cO gates, lift up your heads! Up high, you everlasting doors, so the King of glory may come in!\u201d (Psalms 27:7). But instead of opening, the gates ran after Solomon to swallow him, crying out: \u201cWho is the King of glory?!\u201d (Psalms 27:8), thinking that Solomon was referring to himself as the \u201cKing of Glory\u201d! Realizing the misunderstanding Solomon quickly replied with the continuation of the same verse: \u201cThe Lord, mighty and valiant\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Having fended off the gates, Solomon tried again, reciting the end of the same Psalm, but this time more fully: \u201cO gates, lift up your heads! Lift them up, you everlasting doors, so the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? \u2014 The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory! Selah\u201d (Psalms 27:9-10). But the gates remained closed. Finally, Solomon cried out: \u201cO Lord God, turn not away the face of Your anointed one. Remember the faithfulness of David, Your servant\u201d (II Chronicles 6:42)! Immediately, the gates opened, and King Solomon was able to install the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0Image: Philips Koninck, Solomon Dedicating the Temple, c. 1664<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62074,"alt":"","title":"1kings8-dedication 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\u201cThe Biblical Story of Jerusalem\u201d<\/a> by Cathy Schechter: Explore texts from Tanakh about the holy city.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe Number Seven\u201d<\/a> by Dan Epstein: Texts about the significance of this number in Judaism.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - I Kings 8","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"295","date":"20261015","wall_id":"295"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"61406","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Kings 8 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Kings 8","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-i-kings-8","old_id":"61406","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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    \r\n\t
  1. A Home for God?<\/em> Can there be such a thing - a home for God? In this chapter you\u2019ll find several answers to that. Solomon declares in verse 13 that the Temple is \u201cA place where You May dwell forever,\u201d and that \u201cthe Presence of the LORD filled the House of the LORD\u201d (verse 11). On the other hand, verse 27 expresses a clear reservation on these points: \u201cBut will God really dwell on earth? Even the heavens to their uttermost reaches cannot contain You, how much less this House that I have built!\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. \u201cOh, hear in heaven!\u201d<\/em> A recurring motif in the chapter, that embodies the message that God dwells in the entire universe and not (just) in the Temple, and hears the prayers of all people - via the Temple.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Not alone<\/em>. Alongside the clear recognition that God has chosen Israel, \u201cFor You, O Lord GOD, have set them [Israel] apart for Yourself from all the peoples of the earth as Your very own\u201d (verse 53), there is also an invitation to all peoples to pray in the Temple, so that all shall know \u201cthat all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD alone is God, there is no other\u201d (verse 60).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. A house of prayer<\/em>. That is how this dedicatory prayer of Solomon terms the Temple. Not a word about sacrifices or offerings. We\u2019ll get those in the description of the lavish celebrations: \u201cSolomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep as sacrifices of well-being to the LORD\u2026.the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, and the fat parts of the offerings of well-being\u201d (verses 63-64).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Back to the future<\/em>. Verses 46-50 tell of exile, repentance and pleading for mercy in prayer: \u201cAnd they turn back to You with all their heart and soul, in the land of the enemies who have carried them off, and they pray to You in the direction of their land which You gave to their fathers, of the city which You have chosen, and of the House which I have built to Your name\u201d (verse 48), which describes the age old tradition of facing Jerusalem in prayer from any place in the world.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":53645,"alt":"","title":"general-qs-points to 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