User:Cutegreenbean28/sandbox

Biography
Shlomo HaMelech, son of Dovid HaMelech and Batsheva, was born in 848 B.C.E. in Yerushalayim. Although he wasn't Dovid's eldest son, Dovid promised Batsheva that Shlomo would receive the kingship. In 967 B.C.E., at the age of twelve-years-old, Shlomo was crowned as king. When king, Shlomo faced many threats such as those of אביתר and יואב. Although seemingly too young to become a ruler over such a vast nation and face threats from these types of people, Shlomo was and still is perceived by many as a man of wisdom-"חכם מכל אדם." His first case which deemed Shlomo wise was regarding two women who claimed a baby. In order to figure out who the real mother was, Shlomo said he would cut the baby in half for each of them to share. The woman that disagreed with this idea was obviously the true mother and Shlomo resolved the issue. His wisdom quickly spread throughout his empire, stretching from the Euphrates River in the North to Egypt in the South, and those lands and empires surrounding him. Shlomo had complete peace in his borders, expanded Yerushalayim, and built his own palace along with many other phenomenal structures. His fame and fortune lead him to business deals and trading between other nations, namely Princess Sheba. The empire continued to flourish as Shlomo built the holiest place to the Jewish people: the בית המקדש. Sadly, Shlomo's forty years of the Jewish Golden Age came to an end after אדום and ארם (other surrounding nations) fought Shlomo. Many people ask why Shlomo's rule ended and most blame it on three reasons: his physical luxuries-lots of wealth, horses and chariots, 700 wives, and 300 concubines** whom he assisted in and allowed the doing of עבודה זרה-the heavy taxes he imposed on the people, and the special privileges given to Shevet Yehuda that alienated the other tribes. He died at the end of his rule at age fifty-two in Yerushalayim in 796 B.C.E and was buried in the City of David. רהובעם, Shlomo's son, became the king and the empire fell apart as it split into two. Although physically we have no remains of Shlomo and who he was, we do have his ideologies and literature passed down through his writings: קהלת, משלי, and שיר השירים. These books-namely קהלת and שיר השירים- filled with novel ideas prove Shlomo to be an immensely intelligent, but complex man.
 * Some wonder why Shlomo Hamelech had so many wives and concubines. Most lend it to three reasons: nobility and royalty, political alliances, and to bring other nations closer to Hashem.

Shir HaShirim
Shir HaShirim, which is attributed to Shlomo, is a beautiful allegory about Bnei Yisrael's relationship with G-d. It literally speaks of a love chase between a man and woman, but when looked at beneath the surface one may extract amazing messages spread throughout. Rashi and the Ibn Exra expand upon the idea that the theme of Shir HaShirim is the relationship between Hashem and Knesset Yisrael. The reason the word Knesset is specifically used in conjunction with the Jews is because it presents the collection of all the Jewish souls throughout every generation. Therefore it makes sense that Hashem has a connection and relationship with every existing soul. The reason this theme works so well is because there are allusions to events that form the Jewish nation throughout history such as leaving Mitzraim, the Golden Calf, and others. For example, within the text it says "O bride; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon," (4:11) which represents us entering Israel. Our relationship with G-d is a constant struggle as we go from Mitzraim to Har Sinai, unto present day life and so it is shown in Shir Hashirim, "I will seek him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but I did not find him." (3:2) Another theme is presented by the Ramban and Ralbag: the struggle between body and soul to connect with G-d. The girl represents the soul, the lover represents Hashem and the others is the body which prevents true connection with Him. As Shir HaShirim clearly articulates, "I will arise now and go about the city, in the market places and in the city squares. I will seek him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but I did not find him" (3:2). The soul is looking all around to connect with his lover, Hashem, in the marketplace, but to no avail due to all the distractions and physicalities that get in the way. Moreover, the Kabbalah brings a new insight as to the interpretation of the Shir-it says that the shepherd is Hashem and his lover is the entire creation. Hashem had to distance Himself because He had to make the world more physical so now there is a yearning on Earth to find the G-dliness in everything. (This is why it makes sense that the ultimate Geulah will bring us back to the state of Adam before his sin-because our penultimate yearning is to be G-dly like in Gan Eden.) This is clearly presented throughout as the lady yearns for the shepherd, "my soul went out when he spoke; I sought him, but found him not" (5:6). Although Shir HaShirim's messages and themes are extremely relevant, there was still some controversy as to whether this should be included in the Tanach or not. Superficially, this Shir is about a love chase which makes it problematic to be included in the Tanach. On the other hand, Rav Akiva said that this book is the "holy of holies." Rav Unterman explains this statement and says by calling it the "holy of holies" is not saying it is more spiritual, but it is simply a defining term just like Korbanot. For example, in the Kodoshim Kalim, the owner receives a portion of the sacrifice, but in the Kodshei Kodoshim, the sacrifice is strictly for the Heavens. So too here, while all other scriptures have deeper meanings, there's also significance to their simpler meaning to Bnei Yisrael, but here with Shir HaShirim, which is compared to the Kodshei Kodoshim, Bnei Yisrael, the owner, has no part in the simplistic meaning of a love chase, but only its deeper meaning of a relationship with G-d. So, someone who looks at Shir HaShirim at face value completely miss the beautiful teachings and messages it passes down to the generations that are lucky enough to read it. There is also a question as to who wrote Shir HaShirim, but it attribute to Shlomo due to the clarity of the proof presented throughout the Shir. For example, "The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's" (1:1). Right away the Shir starts off stating that it is Shlomo's. Moreover, "At the gathering of the steeds of Pharaoh's chariots have I silenced you, my beloved" (1:9) clearly proves that it must have been Shlomo because he loved and was married to Bat Paraoh (one of his only wives that are mentioned in the text of the Tanach). One more example found within the Shir states, "Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-Hamon; he gave the vineyard to the keepers; each one brought for the fruit thereof one thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me; you, O Solomon, shall have the thousand, and those who watch its fruit, two hundred" (8:11-12), which proves that only Shlomo could have written this because only he knows what his own vineyard produces. Through much controversy as to who wrote Shir HaShirim, whether or not it should be included in the Tanach, and the question as to what the Shir means, one may learn the importance of this Sefer to us as individuals and our connection with Hashem, but also to the foundation of Judaism as a whole.

Kohelet
As opposed to Shlomo's uplifting themes and messages in Shir HaShirim, he wrote a book named Kohelet, as proven in 1:1 (and 1:12 as well), "The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem," which is based on the futilities of man and the world at large. It speaks of the mondainities of the world, the futility of our actions and daily lives, and that in the end we can only attribute our lives to G-d who created a world of perfect balance. Throughout Kohelet, Shlomo questions the purpose of individual people, mankind, and the world itself. Due to Kohelet's depressing message, it probably raised more concern than any other biblical book. Chazal worried it would cause greater religious harm than good because the verses appeared to contradict the values in the Torah. Although this may be true, Chazal concluded that since Kohelet began and ended with religiously appropriate teachings, those verses set the tone for the remainder of its' contents and is therefore beneficial to the common Jew. If someone gets anti-Torah interpretations from it then they are surely reading it out of context. (There's a midrash in Vayikra that says the Rabbis did not want to include Kohelet because it leaned towards heresy, but in the end they agreed that Shlomo had spoken well.) Kohelet overall has two main themes: a. the physical world is pointless and b. man is inferior to G-d. Repeatedly, Shlomo veers back to his first theme of the futility of existence. For example, "I saw all the deeds that were done under the sun, and behold, everything is vanity and frustration" (1:14). Later on it also says, "I said to myself, 'Come now, I will mix [wine] with joy and experience pleasure'; and behold, this too was vanity" (2:1). Another proof that he believed that all is futile is when he says, " Then I turned [to look] at all my deeds that my hands had wrought and upon the toil that I had toiled to do, and behold everything is vanity and frustration, and there is no profit under the sun" (2:11). Yet, Shlomo brings meaning to this Megillah and life at large when he turns the message around to say all is in the hands of G-d and that is how we bring meaning to our lives. For example, "He has made everything beautiful in its time; also the [wisdom of] the world He put into their hearts, save that man should not find the deed which God did, from beginning to end. I knew that there is nothing better for them but to rejoice and to do good during his lifetime. And also, every man who eats and drinks and enjoys what is good in all his toil, it is a gift of God. I knew that everything that God made, that will be forever; we cannot add to it, nor can we subtract from it; and God made it so that they fear Him" (3:11-14). Overall, one may see that Shlomo, although king, indulged himself in the same worries and physicalities of a common man, and we therefore can relate to him and learn how to live our lives to the fullest. Our leaders in history are not just complex, but they are human and that is why we look to them for advice on the pursuit for meaning and fulfillment.


 * Referred to chabad.org translations of the Megillot