Citazione Commento su I Cronache 28:9

The word שם is the “home” of the כרובים, as we know from Samuel II 6,2 להעלות מ-שם את ארון האלו-הים אשר נקרא שם שם י-ה-ו-ה צבאות יושב הכרובים עליו, “to bring up from there the Ark of G’d to which the Name was attached, the name Lord of Hosts enthroned on the Cherubim.” This was the attribute of G’d in whose honour King Solomon built the Temple as a residence on earth. This is why you find Solomon refer to it again and again as a sanctuary built לשמך, “in honour of Your name.” (Examples: Kings I 8,44: “the house I built for Your name.” Kings I 19: “the house he will build for My name.”] The sacrifices which were offered up on the altar of that Temple were all offered to the attribuite described there as שמך, “Your name.” Solomon’s father David had already instructed him that דע את אלו-הי אביך ועבדהו, “know the G’d of your father and serve Him” (Chronicles I 28,9). When Moses upbraids Korach in Numbers 16,9 for wanting to be a priest not only a Levite, he describes the function of the Levites as כי הבדיל אלו-הי ישראל אתכם מעדת ישראל להקריב אתכם אליו, “for the G’d of the Israelites has separated you (elevated) from the community of Israel to bring you near to Him.”

Whether good or bad. Even if he stumbled in a commandment,⁶²Mesilas Yeshorim in Chapter 3 cites the Gemara in Maseches Eruvin 13b, that man should “examine” [יפשפש] his deeds; others say that he should “feel” [ימשמש] his deeds. He explains that the former [יפשפש] refers to examining actions which are not in accordance with God’s commandments and they should be eliminated. The latter [ימשמש] refers to investigating the good actions to determine any aspects of them which are not good and they should be removed. e.g., giving charity to the poor in public.⁶³The Gemara in Maseches Chagigah 5a criticizes one who gives charity to a poor person in public, because it is an act which may shame him. And that is the meaning why even a good deed, “God will bring into judgment.” (Sifsei Chachomim) ⁶⁴The numerical value [gematria] of the last four words of Koheles, אם טוב ואם רע [=whether good or bad], is equal to 375, the same gematria as its author שלמה [=375]. Also, Koheles begins with a daled and ends with an ayin, alluding to I Divrei Hayomim 28:9 where Dovid instructs his son Shlomo, “Know [דע] the God of your father and serve him.” In conclusion after all has been heard, fear God, etc.

Should someone ask: “how can the Torah decree penalties for thoughts which have never been carried out? How can the Torah expect a person to be so perfect that the temptation and intention to commit a sin never occurs to him?” Let me explain the essence of the subject. We know that man is in charge (has the choice) of the actions he carries out. This is what the Torah alluded to in Deut. 30, 15-19: “see I have today given into your hand (control) over life and goodness, over death and evil;......you shall choose life.“ Just as man can control his actions, he can also control his thoughts. True, the latter require some preparation, education. We are commanded to entertain constructive thoughts and to avoid thinking potentially destructive, sinful thoughts. G’d gives credit for our entertaining positive constructive thoughts, whereas He punishes us for thinking sinful thoughts.
If, on occasion, one does entertain unworthy thoughts, thoughts which creep up on a person uninvited, such thoughts reflect the fact that the individual in question has not trained himself sufficiently not to entertain unworthy, potentially sinful thoughts. The only cure for this is to concentrate on G’d and what He expects us to do and how He expects us to relate to His universe and our environment. One must relate to such unworthy thoughts with anger at oneself for such thoughts to have occurred to one at all. If one does so, one may rely on the saying of our sages that הבא לטהר מסיין אותו, “when a person makes a genuine effort to purify (himself or others) he receives a divine assist.” (Yuma 38) There are numerous verses in the Bible testifying to the principle that there are divine assists for people trying to do the right thing. One such verse is found In Chronicles I 28,9: ”for the Lord searches all minds and discerns the design of every thought, if you seek Him, He will be available to you.” Another verse in a similar vein is found in Proverbs 21,2: ”G’d probes the (content) of one’s hearts.” Solomon means that when man entertains positive thoughts, G’d will help translate them into reality. Other verses from Scripture which convey similar messages are found in Psalms 10,17, as well as in Chronicles I 29,18.