FROM MISHKAN TO MIKDASH
Sidrah: Exodus 35:1-38:7
Haftarah: I Kings 7:40-50
This
week’s Haftarah gives a detailed
account of the sacred furniture and ornamentation of the Beit Ha-Mikdash as commissioned by King Solomon to be made in gold,
as well as cast in copper or possibly bronze (1) by an artisan named
Hiram. The artisan’s name appears twice
in the verse, once spelled “Chirom”
in Hebrew and once spelled “Chiram.” The Book of Chronicles (2) contains its own
account of the treaty between Solomon and the king of Tyre and the building of
the Beit Ha-Mikdash; in his commentary on that book, the Malbim argues that “Chirom” knew how to work in gold and
burnished bronze; and “Chiram,” who
worked in copper, was his son.
The
Malbim further explains that King Solomon made (or more likely commissioned the
making of) ten golden menorot and arranged
them parallel to the southern wall, five to the right of Moshe’s original
menorah and five to its left. He
similarly ordered ten golden tables for the lechem
ha-panim or “showbread,” arranging them in the same fashion along with the
original table from the Mishkan or
sanctuary made in the wilderness, parallel to the northern wall.
For the full story of the two
great pillars and the elaborate capitals that topped them, we must turn to the
Sephardic Haftarah for this week, (3)
which tells us that they stood in front of the entrance to the Beit ha-Mikdash. The Prophet Jeremiah (52:21) reveals the
interesting detail that they were hollow, which would certainly be reasonable,
since they were cast lying down, and even hollow it would require tremendous
manpower to stand them upright. Each of the pillars had a name: Yachin
for the one on the right side and Boaz
for the one on the left. The name Yachin means in Hebrew, “He will
establish,” and Rabbi David Kimchi explains the name Boaz as a compound of the Hebrew words ”bo oz”, meaning, “In it is
strength.” The Vilna Gaon cites
references from the Tanakh and Kabbalah to associate these two names with pairs
including the sun and moon; King David’s ancestors Zerach and Peretz; and,
justice and mercy. The construction of
the original Mishkan and each
instance of the Beit ha-Mikdash have filled
and continue to fill us with spiritual, literary and artistic inspiration,
along with a longing for the final Beit ha-Mikdash which will stand until the end of time.
(1)
The Hebrew word nechoshet is variously
translated as “copper,” “bronze,” and “brass.”
While brass did exist in ancient Israel, it was rare and expensive, so
these huge objects must have been cast in copper or bronze. (C. P Thornton, “Of
brass and bronze in prehistoric Southwest Asia,” pp. 189-201. See Wikipedia’s
article on “Brass.”)
(2)
II Chronicles 3:15-17.
(3)
I Kings 7:13-26.
