Commento su I Cronache 29:32

My son Solomon is alone, etc. And even if he were a hundred [people], he would not be able to build it, and furthermore, he is young and tender.

and the work is great And if you say that the work should be lessened, that is impossible... for the palace is not for man but for the Lord God Who is great and awesome, Whom the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain, but nevertheless, do not fear to build a great house like this, because “with all my strength I prepared for the House of God (sic), the gold for the gold and the silver for the silver, etc.” Therefore, you do not have so much toil.

onyx stones and filling stones on the model of the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:7): “Onyx stones and filling stones, etc.”

carbuncle stones and embroidery, and all precious stones to put onto the golden walls and into the silver vessels.

and marble stones for the pillars, for the tables, and for the floor.

And moreover, since I desired the House of my God The meaning is: because of my great desire, that I desired the House of my God.

I have a treasure I amassed for myself an accumulation of gold and silver, as he explains further.

refined very white.

to overlay the walls of the houses and no one can overlay anything, either with silver or with gold, unless it is refined.

The gold for the gold and the silver for the silver and for all the work (and I gave it) into the hands of the craftsmen the artisans, and this is what I prepared for the Temple, and although I amassed all this... and whoever of you... volunteers to consecrate himself today for the Lord to bring gold, silver, or anything for the building, on the model of (Ex. 35:22): “... all moved by their hearts: they brought brooches and nose-rings.”

to consecrate lit., to fill his hand; on the model of (ibid. 29:9): “... and you shall fill the hand... of Aaron and the hand of his sons,” which the Targum renders: “and you shall offer up the sacrifice of Aaron.”

And the leaders of the fathers’ [houses], etc., gave willingly those about whom it is written above (27:16): “And over the tribes of Israel,” and so it is written above (verse 1): “And the Children of Israel to their number: the heads of the fathers’ [houses], etc.”

and with the leaders of the work of the king And also the leaders of the work of the soil of the king, (verse 27): “... and over what was in the vineyards of the king, etc.”

and ten thousand darics - quinons or quinens in Old French, drachmas.

gave [them] to the treasury of the House of the Lord by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite who was the ruler over the treasuries, as above (26:22): “The sons of Jehieli: Zetham and Joel his brother, over the treasuries of the House of the Lord.”

for... wholeheartedly With one heart they gave, with the desire of their soul, and not with two hearts, for there is a person who gives against his will and not with an eager soul or because he is ashamed of others, and that is called two hearts, but all these gave with the desire of their soul.

and King David also rejoiced a great rejoicing And lest you say that [he rejoiced] like them but no more, Scripture therefore states: “... and King David also rejoiced, etc.,” more than all of them, because he was the performer of the deed. A similar case (Jud. 5:5): “The mountains melted at the presence of the Lord; this was Sinai”: more than all of them, (Ex. 19:18): “... because the Lord had descended upon it in fire.”

And David blessed the Lord before the eyes of the entire assembly that he had assembled, as is stated (above 28:1): “And David assembled,” and he blessed them for their willing donations.

and David said, “Blessed are You, the God of Israel our Father For this reason he mentions Israel more than Abraham and Isaac because Jacob also vowed, as it is written (Gen. 28:20): “And Jacob made a vow.”

Israel our Father Israel the Patriarch, and also in Genesis Rabbah is (70:2) it is explained in that manner. I, David, and my people, have vowed like Israel the Patriarch, and whoever makes a vow must mention Israel in his vow. And likewise (Ps. 132:2): “vowed to the mighty God of Jacob.”

from everlasting to everlasting David said: Jethro was one proselyte among six hundred thousand, and he said (Ex. 18:10): “Blessed is the Lord who saved you.” This was a great disgrace for all Israel, but I shall bless the Holy One, blessed be He, more than Jethro.

Yours, O Lord, are the greatness He gave praise to the Holy One, blessed be He, that He gave him so much strength to amass such a fortune for the building of the Temple, as it is written (above 17: 12): “He will build Me a House,” and near this [is written]: “O Lord, for the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have brought about all this greatness.” Now the expression of greatness can also refer to the building of the Temple, as it is written (above 22:5): “... and the House to build for the Lord, to magnify it on high.”

Yours, O Lord, are the greatness Although I have amassed all this fortune for the building of the Temple, which is called greatness, You have given me all this greatness.

the might for You gave me might to wage war with Israel’s enemies and to plunder their spoils before You, to build the House, as above. After he had waged war with all his enemies and defeated them, it is written (above 18:11): “Those also King David dedicated to the Lord, etc.”

the glory All these praises he praised him because the Holy One, blessed be He, had given him strength to amass a fortune for the building of the Temple, which is called glory (פְּאֵר), as it is written (Isa. 60: 13): “to glorify (לְפָאֵר) the place of My sanctuary,” and also above (22:5): “for fame and for glory (וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת).”

the victory that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him victory to plunder the spoils of the heathens for the purpose of the construction.

for all that is in the heavens is Yours. You rule over even that which is above the heavens, surely over that which is on the earth. Therefore, You can give greatness to whomever You wish.

and on the earth - Heb. וּבָאָרֶץ. This is intoned with an אֶתְנַחְתָּא a hiatus, for the verse ends here, and it refers to that which is above it, as I have explained.

Yours is the kingdom and [You are He] Who is exalted over everything as the Leader The meaning is: If a flesh and blood king gives a position or a ruling power in the kingdom to one of his servants after the prince, he is his servant wherever he is, but the kingdom does not belong to the king, and the one to whom the kingdom belongs does not have the servant, but as for the Holy One, blessed be He - the servant appointed to rule is His, and also the kingdom is His (cotre in Old French, kingdom) and therefore, it is written: “Yours is the kingdom, and You are He Who is exalted” over them, for even the superintendent of the well is appointed from heaven (Baba Bathra 91b). They explained further: “... and [You are He] Who is exalted over everything at the beginning.” When we think that we have praised You with all the thanksgivings, and You have no more praise, it is still nothing, for the praised One stands at the beginning of the praises. And so when David concludes all his praises in Psalms, he commences with the final psalm (149:1): “Sing to the Lord a new song,” i.e., all the praises are new, as though we had never praised Him. In this manner Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Meir the son of Rabbi Isaac of Orleans explained, and it seems to me that it is so in Hagigah Yerushalmi.

And wealth and honor are from before you from Your hand. “Honor” applies to wealth, as it is written (Nahum 2:10): “Plunder silver! Plunder gold! etc.” And like (Gen 31:1): “... and from what belonged to our father he amassed all this wealth (הַכָּבוֹד).” That is to say that all the wealth that I have amassed is from You, for “You rule over all, and in Your hand is strength and might, etc.”

And now, our God, we give thanks to you for what You have imparted to us of Your good.

Now who am I and who are my people that we should gather up strength to donate that we exerted ourselves to donate so much with this donation, and it is not ours, but all is from You, and You imparted a little to us.

and from Your hand we have given it to You - Heb. נָתַנּוּ. And what You have given us from Your hand, we have given You part. The “nun” punctuated by the “dagesh” substituted for the second “nun” נָתַנְנוּ לְךָ.

For we are strangers before You and we have no share or inheritance in the land and not a possession, only to live in it. An example is (Lev. 25:23): “...for you are only strangers and inhabitants with Me.”

like all our forefathers A man who has sons and estates and has sold all the estates, if his sons come to live in that estate days and years later, they are called strangers and inhabitants, but our forefathers were guests. And so did David say: We are not so, but both we and our forefathers are all strangers and inhabitants in the world, as it is written (Ps. 89:12): “The heaven is Yours, even the earth is Yours; the inhabited earth and the fullness thereof, You founded them.”

as a shadow are our da ys on the earth It is explained in Midrash Koheleth (Ecc. Rabbah 1:2): “Not like the shadow of a tree and not like a flying bird, which casts a shadow for days or years or casts a shadow for one hour, but like the shadow of the wings of a bee, which has wings but has no shadow.”

and there is no hope No one has hope that he will not die.

that we have prepared - Heb. הֲכִינוֹנוּ, after the pattern of אֲשֶׁר הֲבִיאוֹנוּ.

And I know, my God, that You test the heart You test who has two hearts, one for good and one for evil.

and You desire equity And You desire a good and straight heart, and so I know that with the straightness of my heart, for I have straightened my heart to one heart when I willingly gave all these, and from Your people, who gave willingly. The meaning is: With mine I am familiar and I know it well, but that of others I do not know, but I saw that they donated joyously, I say...

and now, Your people, who are present here, offer willingly to You That is to say, I saw that they rejoiced in their donation, but I do not know whether it was from the willingness of their heart, as it is written: (above verse 9): “... and the people rejoiced over their donation.”

who are present The ones found here are those mentioned above (28:1): “And David assembled all the leaders of Israel, etc.,” but all the wealthy of Israel who were in all the cities were not found here. Therefore, Lord of the universe, the donation was diminished, for had all the remaining Israelites been there, then the donation would have increased.

keep this forever Remember for us this donation as a great deed and as a righteous act.

even the creation of the thoughts of Your people for the creation of their two hearts and their thoughts are for good, and this refers back to “for You test the heart, etc.”

and prepare their hearts to You Their two hearts are made perfect to be one heart to You, and so you shall explain...

And to Solomon, my son, give a perfect heart to prepare his heart to be perfect with his God, to keep His commandments, etc., and so did Solomon request (I Kings 8:57-61): “May the Lord our God be with us... Let your heart, [therefore] be perfect.”

and to build the palace that I have prepared aprestai in Old French, I have prepared. And now, because I have prepared and made everything ready, it is easy for Solomon to build, provided that Your Hand helps him.

And David said to the entire assembly This refers back to (above 28:1): “And David assembled all the leaders of, etc.”

Now bless the Lord your God It does not say, “The God of your fathers,” but “your God,” which implies: but not the God of your fathers. Therefore, it says, “Now bless the Lord your God,” but they said, “Our God and the God of our fathers,” and therefore, [it says:] “... and the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers,” out of appeasement to God and because of His holiness.

on the morrow of that day the day of this assembly, when David spoke all his words, for on that day they had no time, because when they left the assembly, they were busy until night buying sacrificial animals, and on the morrow, “they slaughtered sacrifices, etc.”

a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, and their libations On the pattern of (Num. 7:17): “five rams, five he-goats, etc.,” one quantity for them all.

and numerous sacrifices It is customary for Scripture to speak in this manner; when it speaks of two or three things, it leaves the first one until the end and explains the last one immediately, and so (Gen. 31:33): “And Laban came into Jacob’s tent... and came into Rachel’s tent.” Now was it not already stated, “And Laban came into Jacob’s tent,” which was Rachel’s tent? However, “and did not find” refers to the maidservants, mentioned last, and then he explains the first matter, “... and he went out of Leah’s tent” first, and he “came into Rachel’s tent.” From Leah’s tent he went to Rachel’s tent, but because he had to say other things about this, “And Rachel had taken, etc.” and consequently, it is inappropriate to say, “... and in the tent of the two maidservants and did not find.” Here too, he had other things to say about the sacrifices, namely...

And they ate and drank, etc. on that day, etc. And if he would say, “and they slaughtered sacrifices to the Lord,” he would interrupt between the sacrifices [i.e., the peace offerings] and the burnt offerings with other matters, and in order not to interrupt, he did not state it immediately, but waited until the end and stated, “... and numerous sacrifices, and they ate and drank before the Lord.” An example of this (Ex. 18:12): “And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took, etc.”

and they crowned Solomon the son of David a second time They had already crowned him once, as is written in I Kings (1:39): “And Zadok the priest took the horn, etc.” It is stated explicitly in Horayot (11b): “The king, the son of a king, is not anointed. Why then did they anoint Solomon? David commanded to anoint him in order to remove [the false idea] from the heart of Adoniah’s supporters to crown him.”

and they anointed [him] to the Lord as ruler - Heb. נָגִיד, from an expression of נְגִידוּ, the Targum for (Ex. 12:21): “pull,” as in (Num. 27:17): “... who will go out before them and who will come in before them and who will lead them out and who will bring them in.”

and Zadok as priest because Ebiathar had anointed Adoniah.

And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king Here it is appropriate to say that he reigned on the throne of the Lord because the throne is God’s to enthrone upon it whomever He wishes, and in the Midrash (Peskikta d’Rav Kahana p. 53a) it is explained that the throne was full (at its highest level) like the moon on the fifteenth of the month, because from Abraham to Solomon were fifteen generations: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmah, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, and Solomon, and that is what is written: (Ps. 89:37): “...and his throne is like the sun before Me,” which never diminishes, and if you wish to compare it to the moon, it will be like the moon which will be established in the time to come. But from Solomon and onward, the kings diminished from their greatness like the moon, which continuously diminishes, until Zedekiah, (II Kings 25:7): “...and he blinded Zedekiah’ s eyes.”

and all Israel obeyed him immediately, unlike Saul, about whom it is written: (I Sam. 10:27): “And wicked men said: How will this one save us?” And also David ruled at first only in Hebron for seven years.

And all the leaders and the mighty men unlike Adoniah, as it is written (I Kings 1:8): “... and David’s mighty men were not with Adoniah.”

and also all King David’s sons placed their hand unlike Adoniah, under whom they did not place their hand.

placed their hand In faith they gave their handclasp to Solomon to serve him wholeheartedly.

and He bestowed upon him such regal majesty The meaning is: He bestowed upon him royal favor; an example of this is (Num. 27:20): “And you shall bestow some of your majesty (מֵהוֹדְךָ) upon him,” that everyone said, “This one is fit.” And in Daniel (11:21) it says: “And a contemptible person will stand on his base, upon whom they have not bestowed regal majesty.”

And the words of King David, the first and the last that which happened to David from his beginning to his end.

behold they are written in the words of Samuel in the Book of Samuel.

and in the words of Gad In the incident of the plague, and in honor of the king he tells and mentions it, saying that the full account of the greatness of the king is written here and elsewhere, and so it is with Mordecai, (Esther 10:2): “... they are written in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia.”

and the times that passed over him the times of trouble that passed over him. This is what David said, (Ps. 31:16): “My times are in Your hands; rescue me from the hands of my enemies and from my pursuers.”

and over Israel the times that passed over Israel.

and over all the kingdoms of the lands who came upon Israel. An example of this is in I Samuel (7:10): “And the Lord thundered with a great noise, etc., upon the Philistines and threw them into a panic, etc.” So it is with Jehoshaphat: (II Chron. 20:22): “And at the time they began with song and praise, the Lord stationed, etc.,” and so with Sannecherib, (Isa. 37:36): “And they arose in the morning, and behold they were all dead corpses.” (“And when the wicked perish, there is song.” Prov. 11:10).