solomon built the temple for the ark of the covenant.
solomon built the temple for the ark of the covenant.
who built the temple for the ark of the covenant?
solomon
rabbi meir and rabbi judah differed over what the "testimony" was that god directed moses to place in the ark in rabbi meir taught that the ark contained the stone tablets and a torah scroll. rabbi judah, however, taught that the ark contained only the stone tablets, with the torah scroll placed outside. reading rabbi meir noted that the ark was 2½ cubits long, and as a standard cubit equals 6 handbreadths, the ark was thus 15 handbreadths long. rabbi meir calculated that the tablets were 6 handbreadths long, 6 wide, and 3 thick, and were placed next to each other in the ark. thus the tablets accounted for 12 handbreadths, leaving 3 handbreadths unaccounted for. rabbi meir subtracted 1 handbreadth for the two sides of the ark (½ handbreadth for each side), leaving 2 handbreadths for the torah scroll. rabbi meir deduced that a scroll was in the ark from the words of "there was nothing in the ark save the two tablets of stone that moses put there." as the words "nothing" and "save" create a limitation followed by a limitation, rabbi meir followed the rule of scriptural construction that a limitation on a limitation implies the opposite — here the presence of something not mentioned — the torah scroll. rabbi judah, however, taught that the cubit of the ark equaled only 5 handbreadths, meaning that the ark was 12½ handbreadths long. the tablets (each 6 handbreadths wide) were deposited next to each other in the ark, accounting for 12 handbreadths. there was thus left half a handbreadth, for which the two sides of the ark accounted. accounting next for width of the ark, rabbi judah calculated that the tablets took up 6 handbreadths and the sides of the ark accounted for ½ handbreadth, leaving 1 handbreadth. there rabbi judah taught were deposited the silver columns mentioned in song of songs , "king solomon made himself a palanquin of the wood of lebanon, he made the pillars thereof of silver." at the side of the ark was placed the coffer that the philistines sent as a present, as reported in 1 samuel where the philistine king said, "and put the jewels of gold which you return him for a guilt offering in a coffer by the side thereof, and send it away that it may go." and on this coffer was placed the torah scroll, as says, "take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the lord," demonstrating that the scroll was placed by the side of the ark and not in it. rabbi judah interpreted the double limitation of "nothing in the ark save," to imply that the ark also contained the fragments of the first tablets that moses broke. the gemara further explained that according to rabbi judah's theory, before the philistine coffer came, the torah scroll was placed on a ledge projecting from the ark. rabbi joshua ben levi taught his children to be careful to respect an elderly scholar who has forgotten his learning through no fault of his own, for it was said that both the whole tablets and the fragments of the tablets that moses broke were placed in the ark.
terumah (parsha)
reading god's words to noah in "but i will establish my covenant with you," a midrash taught that god was telling noah that he would need a covenant to ensure that the produce would not decay or rot on the ark. further, the midrash taught, noah needed a covenant to prevent giants from plugging the openings of the deep and seeking to enter the ark. and noah needed a covenant to prevent additional lions from coming into the ark. rabbi hiyya bar abba explained that god was thus telling noah that though he may have built the ark, but for god's covenant, noah could not have entered the ark. thus noah's ability to enter the ark at all was proof of the covenant god established with noah in
noach (parsha)