Chapter 2 of Divrei HaYamim II is devoted entirely to the preparations for building the Beis HaMikdash: the census of the laborers, the exchange of letters between Shlomo and Huram, the king of Tyre, and Huram's response. The Malbim teaches us a fundamental principle in this book: Ezra came to complete and explain what was written concisely in the Book of Melachim (Kings). Therefore, in many places, he does not repeat at all what was already stated there, but only adds new details. Our chapter is a prime example of this.
וַיִּסְפֹּר שְׁלֹמֹה שִׁבְעִים אֶלֶף אִישׁ סַבָּל וּשְׁמוֹנִים אֶלֶף אִישׁ חֹצֵב בָּהָר וּמְנַצְּחִים עֲלֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת׃ - And Shlomo counted seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred supervisors over them.
The Malbim explains: Shlomo counted the converts (gerim) who were added to those counted by his father, David. As we will see later in the chapter, there were gerim in David's time, and additional gerim joined in Shlomo's time, and it is these whom he counts here. They were the ones assigned the arduous tasks. Shlomo did not wish to burden the people of Israel with backbreaking labor, so he assigned the portage and quarrying work to the gerim. Nor was this unpaid forced labor: they received compensation for their work.
An additional point: here it states that there were "three thousand six hundred" supervisors (menatzechim), whereas in the Book of Melachim it says three thousand three hundred. The Malbim explains, as he already wrote in his commentary to Melachim, that there were three thousand officers over fifty and three hundred officers over five hundred, and they supervised the people engaged in the work. The additional three hundred were the overseers appointed over the three thousand standing officers, each one in charge of ten. Hence, the grand total is three thousand six hundred.
וַיִּשְׁלַח שְׁלֹמֹה אֶל־חוּרָם מֶלֶךְ־צֹר לֵאמֹר כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ עִם־דָּוִיד אָבִי וַתִּשְׁלַח־לוֹ אֲרָזִים לִבְנוֹת־לוֹ בַיִת לָשֶׁבֶת בּוֹ׃ - And Shlomo sent word to Huram king of Tyre, saying: Just as you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to dwell in.
In our book he is called "Huram," while in Melachim he is called "Hiram" - they are the exact same person, sometimes referred to by one name and sometimes by the other. Shlomo says to him: Just as you acted kindly with David my father and sent him cedars to build his private house, so I ask that you act kindly with me regarding the House I am about to build for the sake of God.
The Malbim explains: The delegation Shlomo sent to Hiram and Hiram's reply are also mentioned in I Melachim chapter 5, verses 15 through 25, yet the account there differs from what is written here. The reason, as mentioned, is that Ezra does not recount anything that was already recorded there, but only presents new details. In Melachim it is related that Hiram sent messengers to Shlomo to comfort him on the death of David his father and to reaffirm the covenant and love he had shared with his father. Shlomo then sent word to Hiram, asking him to send his servants to cut cedars from the forest of Lebanon - that is, Shlomo's own cedar trees near the border of the Land of Israel. Hiram's men were people of Lebanon, renowned experts in chopping cedars (to this day, the cedar is the symbol of Lebanon, as in the verse, "He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon"), and therefore Shlomo asked him to send skilled craftsmen to cut his cedars, and he would pay their wages.
However, Hiram understood from Shlomo's words that Shlomo desired more in his heart than he had requested explicitly. He therefore gave him more than asked: not only craftsmen to fell Shlomo's trees, but cedars of his own from Lebanon, which were of superior quality. Now Ezra informs us that after Shlomo received this response, it entered his heart to build a royal palace as well. Building Shlomo's own house took twice as long as building the House of Hashem, because with his own house he tarried, whereas in building the House of Hashem he was exceptionally swift. The cedars in the Land of Israel, says the Malbim, did not suffice for both the Beis HaMikdash and his own palace. Shlomo therefore sent the letter before us - which is not mentioned in Melachim - reminding Huram that he had already sent cedars from Tyre's territory to David for his private palace. By this hint, Shlomo signaled that he, too, wished to build a house of cedar for himself, even though he did not state it explicitly.
הִנֵּה אֲנִי בוֹנֶה־בַּיִת לְשֵׁם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָי לְהַקְדִּישׁ לוֹ לְהַקְטִיר לְפָנָיו קְטֹרֶת־סַמִּים וּמַעֲרֶכֶת תָּמִיד וְעֹלוֹת לַבֹּקֶר וְלָעֶרֶב לַשַּׁבָּתוֹת וְלֶחֳדָשִׁים וּלְמוֹעֲדֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְעוֹלָם זֹאת עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "Behold, I am building a house for the Name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him, for the continual arrangement [of the showbread], and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the festivals of the Lord our God; this is an everlasting obligation upon Israel."
We have already noted the Malbim's explanation that David was held back from building the Temple because it had to be built purely for the sake of Hashem. David fought many wars, and the economic situation in his day was difficult. Had he built the Temple, the economic condition would have improved and the wars would have ceased, since the Temple is the source of divine bounty - and the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Is it truly for My Name that you would build the House?" This theme of building "for My Name" recurs repeatedly in the context of the Beit HaMikdash, out of concern that some subtle thought of self-benefit might creep into the construction itself.
This is emphasized here as well: "Behold, I am building a house for the Name of the Lord my God" - meaning, no personal benefit will come to me from this. Silver and gold in Shlomo's days were like the dust of the earth, so there was no motive to build a Temple to improve the economy. Nor was there any motive to build a Temple to ward off war, for Shlomo was a man of peace, and there were no wars in his days until the very end of his reign, when adversaries arose against him following what occurred with the daughter of Pharaoh. Therefore, he was uniquely suited to build a Temple that was purely for the sake of Hashem.
And the details of the service: "To dedicate it to Him and to burn fragrant incense before Him" - in this House they would sanctify and burn incense; "the continual arrangement" - this refers to the showbread (Lechem HaPanim); "burnt offerings morning and evening" - these are the daily Tamid offerings; "for the Sabbaths and New Moons" - including the Musaf offerings; "and for the festivals of the Lord our God" - which likewise have their own special Musaf offerings.
This requires understanding: did the Temple actually stand forever? After all, it was destroyed after four hundred and ten years! The Radak explains that this mitzvah - the commandment of the sacrifices - rests upon Israel forever and is not bound to a limited time; therefore, I must build a sturdy, enduring house. That is to say: how long the House will physically stand is known only to God; but because the mitzvah itself is eternal, I am not building a temporary structure for a fleeting period, but a House designed to endure forever.
Indeed, this mitzvah will not change in the Messianic era either. The holy Arizal writes that in the future to come, when the dead are resurrected, everyone will bring the sacrifices they incurred during their lifetimes for the rectification of their souls. Today, we can do teshuvah, but we have no sacrifices; someone who desecrated the Sabbath unintentionally is obligated to bring a sin offering (chatat) - how can this be rectified? In the resurrection of the dead, we will bring those sin offerings, and thereby the blemish will be fully repaired.
Commentators discuss whether there will be sacrifices in the Future to Come, and the Midrash states that the thanksgiving offering (korban todah) will never cease. Someone once suggested that there will be no animal sacrifices because offering an animal is somehow cruel. That may sound like a nice idea, but how would it explain why the thanksgiving offering will never be abolished - is cruelty permissible in that case? In truth, that perspective misses the point entirely. On the contrary, the sacred works explain that being offered upon the altar of Hashem is the greatest elevation for an animal. Yitzchak experienced no greater joy than being an offering brought before Hashem. We also find the Midrash of the bull led to the Ba'al crying out: "Why was my fellow bull privileged to be offered on the altar of Hashem, while I am led to the altar of the Ba'al?" To claim that this is cruelty, or that the Torah supposedly compromised and permitted something inherently flawed, is completely untenable.
Chazal offer another explanation: "This is an everlasting obligation upon Israel" - this refers to Torah scholars who engage in the laws of the Temple service, regarding whom Scripture considers it as though the Beit HaMikdash were rebuilt in their days. A scholar who studies the laws of the sacrificial service is considered as though he is offering sacrifices. Chazal similarly expounded on the verse, "This is the law of the burnt offering, the meal offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering... and the peace offering": when a person studies the Torah, he needs no burnt offering, sin offering, or guilt offering, for atonement is achieved through that study itself. Of course, when the Temple stands and sacrifices can be brought, one is obligated to offer them - which is why in the future we will bring them - but in their absence, study provides atonement.
For this reason, the Sages instituted reciting the chapter Eizehu Mekoman Shel Zevachim every morning. Anyone who arrives on time to shul knows this practice well: in the section of Korbanot at the start of Shacharit, an entire chapter of Mishnah is recited. Why was this specific chapter chosen? First, because it contains no disputes whatsoever. Second, because it encompasses all types of sacrifices, and there is no other chapter that mentions every category of offering. Thus, if a person incurred an obligation to bring a sin offering, he reads the laws of the chatat - where the most holy offerings are slaughtered, and so forth - and every sacrifice is included in this recitation. Therefore, the authorities write that one should have in mind both Torah study and the intention as though he actually brought the offering; and every day he recites it, Scripture considers it as though he offered it. This is the meaning of "this is an everlasting obligation upon Israel": even when the Temple lies in ruins, reciting the passages of the sacrifices is considered as though one offered them.
The Malbim explains Shlomo's intent in addressing Chiram: if you sent cedars for the honor of a mortal king - sending cedars to my father to build his private palace - all the more so should you send cedars to me, for "behold, I am building a house for the Name of the Lord my God," which is not for my honor, but for the honor of the Creator, blessed be He. He adds further: this is not a temporary structure but an enduring one - sanctification, incense, the showbread arrangement, and the morning and evening burnt offerings, all performed continually, day in and day out; and in its eternal nature, "this is an everlasting obligation upon Israel," for the commandment is eternal.
An additional insight may be noted: when someone donates toward a cause, if told that the project will last forever, he gives with an open heart. Ask a person to sponsor a pamphlet printed for a single convention that will be discarded or stored away immediately afterward, and few will volunteer; but ask him to donate a Gemara that will be studied continuously, and many will eagerly step forward. No one wants their contribution to sit forgotten in a closet. Therefore Shlomo tells Chiram: know that you are contributing to a building regarding which "this is an everlasting obligation upon Israel," providing a profound motivation to give and assist.
וְהַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי בוֹנֶה גָּדוֹל כִּי־גָדוֹל אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִכׇּל־הָאֱלֹהִים׃ - "And the house that I am building is great, for our God is greater than all the gods."
Shlomo anticipates a potential objection: If you ask why you need so many cedars and craftsmen - just make the house smaller! - to this he responds that it is impossible. A house built for the sake of Hashem must be magnificent. It is written that a synagogue must be the tallest building among all the houses in the city. As for why this is not strictly observed nowadays, the halachic authorities have already noted that there is room for leniency, because today people do not build tall houses to boast, "Look, I have the tallest house," but purely for practical convenience - modern cities are built with towers and people live in high-rise buildings. But in their time, a person would build a tall house like a fortress to display his wealth and stature, and regarding that it was said that the synagogue must be taller than them. And if you say we should place the synagogue at the top of a high-rise tower - how would the elderly get up there? In an elevator on Shabbat? Therefore, in practice, synagogues are built on a lower level so that they remain accessible to people of all ages, including those with disabilities.
וּמִי יַעֲצׇר־כֹּחַ לִבְנוֹת־לוֹ בַיִת כִּי הַשָּׁמַיִם וּשְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לֹא יְכַלְכְּלֻהוּ וּמִי אֲנִי אֲשֶׁר אֶבְנֶה־לּוֹ בַיִת כִּי אִם־לְהַקְטִיר לְפָנָיו׃ - "But who has the strength to build Him a house, since the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? And who am I that I should build Him a house, except to burn incense before Him?"
Had the house been needed for dwelling, an ordinary residence would have sufficed. But with the Holy One, Blessed be He, a house for dwelling is inconceivable, for "the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him" - He has no physical body or form of a body, and no place can contain Him. If so, building a house would make no sense at all. Rather, the house is built for His honor - "except to burn incense before Him." And since this is the case, it is appropriate to make it as grand as His honor demands. When a person builds for utilitarian needs, one evaluates his requirements: Are two stories enough for you? Build two; why build four? But here, one cannot say "let us check the requirements," since it is not for functional use at all, but rather according to honor - in accordance with the greatness of the One in Whose honor it is built.
וְעַתָּה שְׁלַח־לִי אִישׁ־חָכָם לַעֲשׂוֹת בַּזָּהָב וּבַכֶּסֶף וּבַנְּחֹשֶׁת וּבַבַּרְזֶל וּבָאַרְגְּוָן וְכַרְמִיל וּתְכֵלֶת וְיֹדֵעַ לְפַתֵּחַ פִּתּוּחִים עִם־הַחֲכָמִים אֲשֶׁר עִמִּי בִּיהוּדָה וּבִירוּשָׁלִַם אֲשֶׁר הֵכִין דָּוִיד אָבִי׃ - "And now send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, copper, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue yarn, and skilled in engraving, to work alongside the craftsmen who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided."
Argvan - the commentary attributed to Rashi explains that this is argaman (purple wool). Karmil - crimson yarn (tola'at shani). "Skilled in engraving" - seal engraving, someone who knows how to sculpt, engrave, and etch designs in stone. The Malbim explains that there are three new requests here that are not mentioned in the Book of Kings, which Ezra supplements: First, that he send him a master craftsman to work in gold and silver; second, that he send him cedar timber from Tyre - for initially he had only requested craftsmen to fell his own cedars, but now he requests the cedars themselves, as the cedars prepared by his father David were not enough, being sufficient for the Beit HaMikdash but not for his palace; and third, the algum wood.
וּשְׁלַח־לִי עֲצֵי אֲרָזִים בְּרוֹשִׁים וְאַלְגּוּמִּים מֵהַלְּבָנוֹן כִּי אֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי אֲשֶׁר עֲבָדֶיךָ יוֹדְעִים לִכְרוֹת עֲצֵי לְבָנוֹן וְהִנֵּה עֲבָדַי עִם־עֲבָדֶיךָ׃ - "And send me cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and behold, my servants will be with your servants."
What is algum wood? Radak explains: It is the red wood called in Arabic al-baqam (brazilwood), and some interpret it as coral-wood. To us there is no practical difference - it was a type of timber found there that he requested. And Metzudat Tziyon states that algumim is an anagram of almogim, a precious and esteemed species of wood.
וּלְהָכִין לִי עֵצִים לָרֹב כִּי הַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי בוֹנֶה גָּדוֹל וְהַפְלֵא׃ - "And to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house that I am building is great and wondrous."
To prepare much timber for me, for the house that I am building will be great and wondrous in its magnificence. Notice, says the Malbim: here too, he is hinting to him about his own palace. "And to prepare for me" - for my personal needs; "for the house that I am building" - this refers to the royal palace. You were, so to speak, the builder for my father David and built his palace, and now know that my house will be even greater, and therefore I require timber in abundance.
What compels us to say this, given that the simple reading seemingly suggests he is speaking of the Beit HaMikdash, as a continuation of "and who has the strength to build Him a house"? The Malbim explains: observe the repetition. In verse 4, concerning the House of Hashem, it says, "and the house that I am building is great," whereas here in verse 8 it repeats, "for the house that I am building is great and wondrous" - indicating that this refers to a different house. Granted, according to this, it implies he is describing his own palace as more wondrous than the Beit HaMikdash, which requires explanation, since Chazal state the opposite: that Shlomo invested far more in the Beit HaMikdash than in his own palace. It bears repeating: the simple understanding is that this refers to the Beit HaMikdash, and the Malbim is compelled toward this interpretation by the repetition in the text.
וְהִנֵּה לַחֹטְבִים לְכֹרְתֵי הָעֵצִים נָתַתִּי חִטִּים מַכּוֹת לַעֲבָדֶיךָ כֹּרִים עֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף וּשְׂעֹרִים כֹּרִים עֶשְׂרִים אָלֶף וְיַיִן בַּתִּים עֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף וְשֶׁמֶן בַּתִּים עֶשְׂרִים אָלֶף׃ - "And behold, for the hewers who cut timber, I have allocated beaten wheat for your servants, twenty thousand kor, and barley, twenty thousand kor, and wine, twenty thousand bat, and oil, twenty thousand bat."
Shlomo here undertakes to provide sustenance for the laborers whom Hiram will send. What is the meaning of chittim makot ("beaten wheat")? Radak suggests it is related to makolet, like ma'acholet, an expression of food or sustenance. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that it is from the root of striking (haka'ah) - crushed and beaten wheat. Radak also cites his father, who explains that makot is akin to nekot, related to biting (chewing), so "chittim makot for your servants" means wheat for chewing and eating - food for your servants. This provision was for the woodcutters, whereas what is mentioned in the Book of Melachim was the provision for Hiram's own royal household.
Korim (kor) is a dry measure; batim (bat) is a liquid measure. A grammatical note: notice that the text writes elef (with segol) in some places and alef (with kamatz) in others. The rule is simple: in a segolate noun, when the word appears at the end of a verse or with a major disjunctive accent such as an etnachta, the first vowel becomes a kamatz - as in efes kasef or ta'am halechem. Therefore, "and barley, twenty thousand alef" bears the etnachta, and likewise "and oil, twenty thousand alef" concludes the verse.
The Malbim explains: in the Book of Melachim, it mentions that Shlomo gave Hiram twenty thousand kor of wheat as food for his household and twenty kor of crushed olive oil, which was an ongoing, fixed annual allotment. Ezra does not repeat this, as it is already known from there. What Ezra adds is that Shlomo also gave the woodcutters as their wage twenty thousand kor of wheat - "beaten wheat" (chittim makot), wheat ground in a mortar to produce flour - as well as barley and wine, above and beyond what he gave to Hiram himself. For to Hiram he gave only wheat and oil, whereas wine and barley were not included; this additional provision designated for the workers is what Ezra mentions here.
וַיֹּאמֶר חוּרָם מֶלֶךְ־צֹר בִּכְתָב וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶל־שְׁלֹמֹה בְּאַהֲבַת יְהֹוָה אֶת־עַמּוֹ נְתָנְךָ עֲלֵיהֶם מֶלֶךְ׃ - "And Huram king of Tyre replied in writing and sent to Shlomo: 'Because Hashem loves His people, He has made you king over them.'"
"And he said in writing" - speaking in writing means sending an epistle; he sent him a letter. And he begins his words: that Hashem made you king is because Hashem loves His people.
וַיֹּאמֶר חוּרָם בָּרוּךְ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְדָוִיד הַמֶּלֶךְ בֵּן חָכָם יוֹדֵעַ שֵׂכֶל וּבִינָה אֲשֶׁר יִבְנֶה־בַּיִת לַיהֹוָה וּבַיִת לְמַלְכוּתוֹ׃ - "And Huram said: 'Blessed is Hashem, the God of Israel, Who made the heavens and the earth, Who gave King David a wise son, endowed with insight and understanding, who will build a house for Hashem and a house for his kingdom.'"
Here we see how Hiram was impressed by Shlomo's wisdom. Shlomo did not explicitly mention that he sought to build a palace for his kingdom; he merely hinted at it through his doubled phrasing: "And the house that I am building is great," and again "great and wondrous." Why did he not state it explicitly? Because his primary request was for the House of Hashem, and he viewed it as a flaw and a source of discomfort to ask for himself as well.
This is very understandable. If someone comes to a tzaddik to ask for a blessing for a great Torah enterprise he is establishing, and adds, "and may the Rav also bless me to win the lottery" - the petty request diminishes the petitioner. Therefore, Shlomo felt ashamed to attach a request for his own palace or house to a request for the House of Hashem. He thus concealed the matter and merely hinted at it. Hiram was perceptive enough to understand the hint, which is why he states explicitly in verse 11: "who will build a house for Hashem and a house for his kingdom" - Shlomo had not mentioned a royal palace at all, yet Hiram understood what was in his heart and committed to assisting with that as well.
וְעַתָּה שָׁלַחְתִּי אִישׁ־חָכָם יוֹדֵעַ בִּינָה לְחוּרָם אָבִי׃ - "And now I have sent a wise man, endowed with understanding, Churam-Avi."
בֶּן־אִשָּׁה מִן־בְּנוֹת דָּן וְאָבִיו אִישׁ־צֹרִי יוֹדֵעַ לַעֲשׂוֹת בַּזָּהָב־וּבַכֶּסֶף בַּנְּחֹשֶׁת בַּבַּרְזֶל בָּאֲבָנִים וּבָעֵצִים בָּאַרְגָּמָן בַּתְּכֵלֶת וּבַבּוּץ וּבַכַּרְמִיל וּלְפַתֵּחַ כׇּל־פִּתּוּחַ וְלַחְשֹׁב כׇּל־מַחֲשָׁבֶת אֲשֶׁר יִנָּתֶן־לוֹ עִם־חֲכָמֶיךָ וְחַכְמֵי אֲדֹנִי דָּוִיד אָבִיךָ׃ - "The son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father was a Tyrian man; he knows how to work in gold, silver, copper, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, blue, fine linen, and crimson, and to execute any engraving and devise any design that may be assigned to him, along with your craftsmen and the craftsmen of my lord David, your father."
Malbim already explained in his commentary to Melachim that this is not the same person mentioned there. The man described here was sent at the beginning of the construction on the initiative of the king of Tyre; his mother was of the daughters of Dan and his father was a Tyrian. He was a master craftsman, skilled at working in gold, silver, copper, iron, stone, and wood, and he carried out all the plastering and overlay work of the buildings. After seven years, he passed away. The text in Melachim does not mention him at all, because the second letter that Shlomo sent - in which he requested a wise craftsman skilled in gold and silver - is not recorded there.
After his death, Shlomo took the initiative and sent for the son of this first Churam - and this is the one mentioned in Melachim, who was brought in at a later stage, the son of a widowed woman from the tribe of Naftali. For the elder Churam had also married a woman from the tribe of Naftali, who bore him the second Churam, and he was skilled only in copper work. Thus, the craftsman before us, the son of the woman of Dan, was far more versatile than the one who came after him.
From here our Sages deduce, as Radak cites, that a person ought to follow his father's craft; this is why Scripture mentions his father - indicating that he too was a craftsman, and his son learned his craft from him.
וְעַתָּה הַחִטִּים וְהַשְּׂעֹרִים הַשֶּׁמֶן וְהַיַּיִן אֲשֶׁר אָמַר אֲדֹנִי יִשְׁלַח לַעֲבָדָיו׃ - "And now, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine of which my lord spoke, let him send to his servants."
That is to say: whatever you promised in your latest letter to provide for the woodcutters, send it. This was in addition to what he had promised Hiram personally as provision for his household, regarding which it is stated in Melachim (verse 25) that Shlomo indeed delivered what he had promised.
וַאֲנַחְנוּ נִכְרֹת עֵצִים מִן־הַלְּבָנוֹן כְּכׇל־צׇרְכֶּךָ וּנְבִיאֵם לְךָ רַפְסֹדוֹת עַל־יָם יָפוֹ וְאַתָּה תַּעֲלֶה אֹתָם יְרוּשָׁלִָם׃ - "And we will cut timber from the Lebanon according to all your needs, and we will bring it to you as rafts by sea to Yafo, and you shall bring it up to Yerushalayim."
One of the most difficult challenges in those times was transportation. Today in Europe, one sees enormous trucks, each carrying a massive tree trunk; logging there is a thriving industry, as they have endless forests, which is also why most of their houses are built of wood - it is the cheapest raw material, far cheaper than concrete, and the same is true in America. In antiquity, however, transporting timber was a complex and arduous endeavor. What they used to do, in Europe as well, was bring large quantities of timber to the river, bind the logs together - forming a raft - and let the current carry them for hundreds of kilometers. At the desired destination, they would pull them onto dry land, thereby greatly shortening the journey.
And this is what Churam tells Shlomo: we will cut timber from Lebanon according to all your needs, and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Yafo, and there you will collect it and bring it up to Yerushalayim. This does not mean the rafts were assembled at the sea of Yafo, for their journey began in the sea of Lebanon; rather, they would start from there, and at the sea of Yafo you will receive them. The Malbim explains: binding many logs together to transport them by sea is called an asda (raft), as in the rabbinic phrase, "I will return it in a wagon or on a raft," and Scripture also calls them dovrot - named for the act of steering and guiding them at sea, akin to the phrase, "One leader (dabar) for a generation, not two leaders for a generation." A raft floats, but it cannot simply be left to drift on its own: a ship is needed to accompany and guide it in the desired direction, or men must sit upon the rafts to navigate the timber to the necessary location. And the Yerushalmi states that an asda is indeed a raft.
וַיִּסְפֹּר שְׁלֹמֹה כׇּל־הָאֲנָשִׁים הַגֵּירִים אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרֵי הַסְּפָר אֲשֶׁר סְפָרָם דָּוִיד אָבִיו וַיִּמָּצְאוּ מֵאָה וַחֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת׃ - And Shlomo numbered all the strangers who were in the Land of Yisrael, after the census wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred.
Now, the Malbim explains, Ezra comes to clarify what he wrote at the beginning of the matter, cited from Sefer Melachim, where it says he counted seventy thousand burden bearers. "After the census" refers to the counting; that is, in addition to the gerim that his father David had counted and designated for the building of the Beit HaMikdash. In David's time there were one hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred, and this was besides those of Shlomo.
Who were these gerim? The Radak explains: they were the remnants of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites, whom Shlomo levied for forced labor to carry out his work and build his cities. If so, why does Scripture call them "gerim" (converts or resident aliens), seeing as they were descended from the seven Canaanite nations and not genuine converts? Rather, because during that era they were not permitted to practice idolatry, which gave them the status of a ger toshav (resident alien). A ger toshav does not become Jewish; he merely commits to dwelling in Eretz Yisrael without worshiping idols. In the days of Shlomo, his authority was absolute and no one was allowed to engage in idolatry. On this condition he permitted them to reside in the land, utilizing them for hard labor - woodchoppers, porters, laborers - so as not to overburden the people of Yisrael.
Furthermore, it is recorded that in the days of Shlomo, converts were not accepted. Why? Because people would come not out of a sincere desire to cleave to the people of Hashem, but rather for the benefits associated with the kingdom. Regrettably, the same occurs in our own day: many arrive under the Law of Return simply because life here is better for them. Many of them are complete non-Jews, entering through various clauses for third- and fourth-generation descendants, and sometimes they have no relation at all. Members of these communities themselves say: "We can recognize who is a gentile and who is not; we grew up with them, but you cannot tell." A story was told of someone who visited a dentist who had immigrated from Russia, and the dentist told him: "You do not realize what a mistake is being made; we know the people being brought here - they are anti-Semites from Russia. You have not just brought the trash; you have brought the very dregs of the trash. You cannot tell the difference, but we can."
And why, despite this, is this being done? Because there are those who seek to alter the demographics here, seeing as observant Jews are multiplying, and thus any means is deemed legitimate. Who stops to ask whether the purity of lineage is being ruined, or cares whether the people of Yisrael remain holy? Thus we see assaults launched against all the bastions of Judaism - the Kotel, conversion, kashrut - seeking to uproot them from the foundation, while even boasting of the approval of those who celebrate this. May Hashem protect us.
וַיַּעַשׂ מֵהֶם שִׁבְעִים אֶלֶף סַבָּל וּשְׁמֹנִים אֶלֶף חֹצֵב בָּהָר וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת מְנַצְּחִים לְהַעֲבִיד אֶת־הָעָם׃ - And he appointed seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand to be hewers in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people to work.
Out of the one hundred and fifty thousand, he appointed seventy thousand burden bearers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and among them were the overseers (menatzechim). "Menatzechim" refers to those who supervised and pressed the people to carry out the work so they would not slacken from their labor. The term derives from overcoming and prevailing (hitnatzehut and hitgabrut) - they were the ones who prevailed over them as foremen.
In this chapter, we saw the preparations for the building of the Temple: Shlomo counts the resident aliens and assigns them the arduous labor so as not to burden Yisrael, and sends a letter to Churam, king of Tzor. The primary contribution of Ezra, as is his way, is in supplying what was omitted in Melachim: the request for the master craftsman, the request for the cedars and the algum trees themselves, and the compensation of the woodcutters in wheat, barley, wine, and oil. At the heart of the letter stands the emphasis on "a House for the Name of Hashem, my God" - a House devoid of any self-interest, which is why Shlomo specifically, who lacked neither wealth nor peace, was worthy of building it. "This is an eternal obligation upon Yisrael" teaches that the mitzvah of the korbanot is everlasting, which requires an enduring house forever; and furthermore, that even during times of destruction, one who engages in the laws of the Temple service is credited by Scripture as if the House were built in his days. Finally, we saw the wisdom of Shlomo, who alluded to his royal palace rather than asking explicitly so as not to diminish his request for the House of Hashem, and the sharp perception of Churam, who understood the hint and committed to assisting with both.