Today’s Torah discussion was ... wide-ranging. Not terribly deep, but we covered a lot of ground, and there were a couple of very interesting bits. We worked from the Haftorah portion, from 1Kings 8; the actual reading starts at verse 22, I believe, but we started from the beginning of the chapter. Actually, we started from Deu 17:14-20, where we are told that if we absolutely must have a monarch, make sure he is one of your own, that he doesn’t build up a large stable of horses, nor casks of silver and gold, nor a harem of wives. And no consorting with Egypt. Got that? All of those things are absolutely bad for a king. Keep that in mind.
Now, let’s talk about Solomon.
The interesting thing about Solomon is that (a) he was the Last Good King, and his name is a byword for peace and prosperity, not to mention splendor, not to mention wisdom, and that much of Messiah-osityness is nothing more than the return of Solomon’s reign; and (2) he was an awful King, who destroyed the institutions of governance, usurped the powers of the judges, priests and prophets, and oppressed the common people, impoverishing them with confiscatory taxes so he could eat off gold plates, not to mention the three hundred wives, not to mention the seven hundred concubines, not to mention bringing their idols and heathen practices and the abomination of Moab, and did I meantion 1 Kings 10:28, where he goes to Egypt particularly to get more and better horses?
In fact, at the end of the forty years of peace and prosperity, at the end of the Solomonic age of blessed memory, a petition from Jereboam and all the congregation of Israel says to Reheboam, son of Solomon “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.” (I Kings 12:4). Reheboam tells them to fold their petitions until it was all corners, etc, etc, and the people were revolting, etc, etc, and that’s the end of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah.
The thing that Senior Rabbi pointed out that I had not noticed before was that Solomon took on himself the tasks of the priesthood (see 1 Kings 8:14, where he blesses the assembled people of Israel) and of the prophets (see 1 Kings 3:5ff, where the Lord appears to Solomon in a vision, and 1 Kings 9, where the Lord gives Solomon a prophetic ultimatum, and as well, notice the total absence of Nathan or other prophetic advisors). This compromises the important distinction between church and state. Now, Solomon isn’t punished for this (or, really, for anything), but it weakens the infrastructure of the Kingdom, which winds up totally dependent on the charisma (or wisdom or whatever) of Solomon himself.
chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.