Tafsiran 1 Raja-raja 7:51: Tze'enah Ure'enah & Rashi

“When all the work was completed” [7:51]. When the work of the Temple was completed and King Solomon brought all the gold, silver and vessels of his father David into the Temple. He did not use it for the Temple, but he placed it all in the treasury. Some sages say that he placed it in the treasury because he did not want to use it. Solomon knew that the Temple would be destroyed and the nations would say that it was destroyed because David had taken much of the silver and gold through force and robbery and allowed the Temple to be built from it. Some other sages say that King Solomon said that there was a great famine in the days of David and he had much silver and gold and he did not feed the poor. That is why Solomon did not want to have that silver and gold. He would rather let poor people live from that silver and gold.¹Yalkut Shimoni, I Kings, Remez, 186; Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 6. From here we learn that it is a greater mitzvah to give charity to the poor and to feed them when they are hungry rather than to have sacred objects in the synagogue. There are many people who give beautiful metal or silver [objects] in the synagogue and they do not know that it is more important to feed poor people.

It is written in Midrash Pesikta Rabbati. Scripture says here, “from his work” [Genesis, 2:2]. All the labors were completed. This teaches us that God created the world, but the work of creation was not completed until the Temple was finished. Another explanation of this verse teaches us that there was great peace when the Temple was built. All the artisans who built the Temple were healthy and fresh. None of them had headaches and none of them died. No ax broke nor did any tool that they used to work on the Temple. Rabbi Eliezer says that this was nothing new. The Holy One allowed each one to live while working on the Temple for the sake of His glory. I want to show you that even for the sake of Jacob’s honor; those Egyptians who accompanied him to his burial in the land of Israel, there were thousands of them, and nobody became sick, much less died. They all came home in peace.²Yalkut Shimoni, I Kings, Remez, 186; Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 6.

“When all the work was completed” [7:51]. When the work of the Temple was completed and King Solomon brought all the gold, silver and vessels of his father David into the Temple. He did not use it for the Temple, but he placed it all in the treasury. Some sages say that he placed it in the treasury because he did not want to use it. Solomon knew that the Temple would be destroyed and the nations would say that it was destroyed because David had taken much of the silver and gold through force and robbery and allowed the Temple to be built from it. Some other sages say that King Solomon said that there was a great famine in the days of David and he had much silver and gold and he did not feed the poor. That is why Solomon did not want to have that silver and gold. He would rather let poor people live from that silver and gold.¹Yalkut Shimoni, I Kings, Remez, 186; Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 6. From here we learn that it is a greater mitzvah to give charity to the poor and to feed them when they are hungry rather than to have sacred objects in the synagogue. There are many people who give beautiful metal or silver [objects] in the synagogue and they do not know that it is more important to feed poor people.

The sacred of his father Dovid. That which remained of the silver and gold dedicated by his father. But the Midrash explains that Shlomo did not wish to use any of those dedicated materials for the construction of the Beis [Hamikdosh]. And I heard from [Torah] scholars of Yisroel who said, because Dovid knew eventually it would be destroyed; so that the idol worshiping [nations] should not say that their idols are mightier for they took their revenge upon the Beis [Hamikdosh] which was built of the plunder and destruction which Dovid plundered from them. And others say, Shlomo said that there was a famine in the days of his father for three consecutive years, and he should have squandered these dedicated materials to sustain Yisroel’s poor.