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Deux épaulières d'attache, placées à ses deux extrémités, serviront à le réunir. 8 La ceinture qu'il porte, destinée à l'assujettir, sera du même travail, fera partie de son tissu or, azur, pourpre, écarlate et lin retors. 9 Tu prendras deux pierres de choham, sur lesquelles tu graveras les noms des fils d'Israël: 10 six de leurs noms sur une pierre et les noms des six autres sur la seconde pierre, selon leur ordre de naissance. 11 A l'instar du graveur sur pierre et comme la gravure d'un cachet, tu traceras sur ces deux pierres les noms des fils d'Israël et tu les enchâsseras dans des chatons d'or. 12 Tu adapteras ces deux pierres aux épaulières de l'éphod, comme pierres commémoratives pour les enfants d'Israël, dont Aaron portera les noms, en présence de l'Éternel, sur ses deux épaules, comme souvenir. "Tu prépareras aussi des chatons d'or 14 et deux chaînettes d'or pur, que tu feras en les cordonnant en forme de torsade; ces chaînettes-torsades, tu les fixeras sur les chatons. 15 "Tu feras le pectoral de jugement, artistement ouvragé et que tu composeras à la façon de l'éphod: c'est d'or, d'azur, de pourpre, d'écarlate et de fin retors, que tu le composeras. 16 Il sera carré, plié en deux; un empan sera sa longueur, un empan sa largeur. 17 Tu le garniras de pierreries enchâssées, formant quatre rangées. Sur une rangée: un rubis, une topaze et une émeraude, première rangée; 18 deuxième rangée: un nofek, un saphir et un diamant; 19 troisième, rangée: un léchem, un chebô et un ahlama; 20 quatrième rangée: une tartessienne, un choham et un jaspe. Ils seront enchâssés dans des chatons d'or. 21 Ces pierres,portant les noms des fils d'Israël, sont au nombre de douze selon ces mêmes noms; elles contiendront, gravé en manière de cachet, le nom de chacune des douze tribus
Sotah 48
WHEN [THE SECOND] TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED, THE SHAMIR CEASED etc.
Our Rabbis taught: With the Shamir Solomon built the Temple,16 as it is said: And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry.17 The words are to be understood as they are written;18 such is the statement of R. Judah. R. Nehemiah asked him, Is it possible to say so? Has it not been stated: All these were of costly stones … sawed with saws!19 If that be so, why is there a text to State, There was neither hammer, nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in the building?20 [It means] that they prepared them outside and brought them within. Rabbi said: The statement of R. Judah is probable in connection with the stones of the Sanctuary, and the statement of R. Nehamiah in connection with [Solomon's] house. For what purpose, then, according to R. Nehemiah, was the Shamir necessary? — It was required as taught in the following: We may not write with ink upon these stones,21 because it is said: Like the engravings of a signet,22 nor cut into them with a knife because it is said: In their settings;23 but he writes with ink upon them, shows the Shamir [the written strokes] on the outside, and these split of their own accord,24 like a fig which splits open in summer and nothing at all is lost, or like a valley which splits asunder in the rainy season and nothing at all is lost.
Our Rabbis taught: The Shamir is a creature about the size of a barleycorn, and was created during the six days of Creation.25 No hard substance can withstand it. How is it kept? They wrap it in tufts of wool and place it in a leaden tube full of barley-bran
Guittin 68b
I gat me sharim and sharoth,8 and the delights of the sons of men, Shidah and shidoth.9 'Sharim and Sharoth', means diverse kinds of music; 'the delights of the sons of men' are ornamental pools and baths. 'Shidah and shidoth': Here [in Babylon] they translate as male and female demons. In the West [Palestine] they say [it means] carriages.
R. Johanan said: There were three hundred kinds of demons in Shihin, but what a shidah is I do not know.10
The Master said: Here they translate 'male and female demons'. For what did Solomon want them? — As indicated in the verse, And the house when it was in building was made of stone made ready at the quarry, [there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building];11 He said to the Rabbis, How shall I manage [without iron tools]? — They replied, There is the shamir12 which Moses brought for the stones of the ephod. He asked them, Where is it to be found? — They replied, Bring a male and a female demon and tie them together; perhaps they know and will tell you. So he brought a male and a female demon and tied them together. They said to him, We do not know, but perhaps Ashmedai the prince of the demons knows. He said to them, Where is he? — They answered, He is in such-and-such a mountain. He has dug a pit there, which he fills with water and covers with a stone, which he then seals with his seal. Every day he goes up to heaven and studies in the Academy of the sky and then he comes down to earth and studies in the Academy of the earth, and then he goes and examines his seal and opens [the pit] and drinks and then closes it and seals it again and goes away. Solomon thereupon sent thither Benaiahu son of Jehoiada, giving him a chain on which was graven the [Divine] Name and a ring on which was graven the Name and fleeces of wool and bottles of wine. Benaiahu went and dug a pit lower down the hill and let the water flow into it13 and stopped [the hollow] With the fleeces of wool, and he then dug a pit higher up and poured the wine into it14 and then filled up the pits. He then went and sat on a tree. When Ashmedai came he examined the seal, then opened the pit and found it full of wine. He said, it is written, Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whosoever erreth thereby is not wise,15 and it is also written, Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the understanding.16 I will not drink it. Growing thirsty, however, he could not resist, and he drank till he became drunk, and fell asleep. Benaiahu then came down and threw the chain over him and fastened it. When he awoke he began to struggle, whereupon he [Benaiahu] said, The Name of thy Master is upon thee, the Name of thy Master is upon thee. As he was bringing him along, he came to a palm tree and rubbed against it and down it came. He came to a house and knocked it down. He came to the hut of a certain widow. She came out
Gittin 68b
and besought him, and he bent down so as not to touch it, thereby breaking a bone. He said, That bears out the verse, A soft tongue breaketh the bone1 He saw a blind man straying from his way and he put him on the right path. He saw a drunken man losing his way and he put him on his path. He saw a wedding procession making its way merrily and he wept. He heard a man say to a shoemaker, Make me a pair of shoes that will last seven years, and he laughed. He saw a diviner practising divinations and he laughed. When they reached Jerusalem he was not taken to see Solomon for three days. On the first day he asked, Why does the king not want to see me? They replied, Because he has overdrunk himself. So he took a brick and placed it on top of another. When they reported this to Solomon he said to them, What he meant to tell you was, Give him more to drink. On the next day he said to them, Why does the king not want to see me? They replied, Because he has over-eaten himself. He thereupon took one brick from off the other and placed it on the ground. When they reported this to Solomon, he said, He meant to tell you to keep food away from me. After three days he went in to see him. He took a reed and measured four cubits and threw it in front of him, saying, See now, when you die you will have no more than four cubits in this world. Now, however, you have subdued the whole world, yet you are not satisfied till you subdue me too. He replied: I want nothing of you. What I want is to build the Temple and I require the shamir. He said: It is not in my hands, it is in the hands of the Prince of the Sea who gives it only to the woodpecker,2 to whom he trusts it on oath. What does the bird do with it? — He takes it to a mountain where there is no cultivation and puts it on the edge of the rock which thereupon splits, and he then takes seeds from trees and brings them and throws them into the opening and things grow there. (This is what the Targum means by nagar tura).3 So they found out a woodpecker's nest with young in it, and covered it over with white glass. When the bird came it wanted to get in but could not, so it went and brought the shamir and placed it on the glass. Benaiahu thereupon gave a shout, and it dropped [the shamir] and he took it, and the bird went and committed suicide on account of its oath.
Benaiahu said to Ashmedai, Why when you saw that blind man going out of his way did you put him right? He replied: It has been proclaimed of him in heaven that he is a wholly righteous man, and that whoever does him a kindness will be worthy of the future world. And why when you saw the drunken man going out of his way did you put him right? He replied, They have proclaimed concerning him in heaven that he is wholly wicked, and I conferred a boon on him in order that he may consume [here] his share [in the future].4 Why when you saw the wedding procession did you weep? He said: The husband will die within thirty days, and she will have to wait for the brother-in-law who is still a child of thirteen years.5 Why, when you heard a man say to the shoemaker,Make me shoes to last seven years, did you laugh? He replied: That man has not seven days to live, and he wants shoes for seven years! Why when you saw that diviner divining did you laugh? He said: He was sitting on a royal treasure: he should have divined what was beneath him.
Solomon kept him with him until he had built the Temple. One day when he was alone with him, he said, it is written, He hath as it were to'afoth and re'em,6 and we explain that to'afoth means the ministering angels and re'em means the demons.7 What is your superiority over us?8 He said to him, Take the chain off me and give me your ring, and I will show you. So he took the chain off him and gave him the ring. He then swallowed him,9 and placing one wing on the earth and one on the sky he hurled him four hundred parasangs. In reference to that incident Solomon said, What profit is there to a man in all his labour wherein he laboureth under the sun.10
And this was my portion from all my labour.11 What is referred to by 'this'? — Rab and Samuel gave different answers, one saying that it meant his staff and the other that it meant his apron.12 He used to go round begging, saying wherever he went, I Koheleth was king over Israel in Jerusalem.13 When he came to the Sanhedrin, the Rabbis said: Let us see, a madman does not stick to one thing only.14 What is the meaning of this? They asked Benaiahu, Does the king send for you? He replied, No. They sent to the queens saying, Does the king visit you? They sent back word, Yes, he does. They then sent to them to say, Examine his leg.15 They sent back to say, He comes in stockings, and he visits them in the time of their separation and he also calls for Bathsheba his mother. They then sent for Solomon and gave him the chain and the ring on which the Name was engraved. When he went in, Ashmedai on catching sight of him flew away, but he remained in fear of him, therefore is it written, Behold it is the litter of Solomon, threescore mighty met, are about it of the mighty men of Israel. They all handle the sword and are expert in war, every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.16
Rab and Samuel differed [about Solomon]. One said that Solomon was first a king and then a commoner,17 and the other that he was first a king and then a commoner and then a king again.
שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת פקודי פרשה נב
במלך שהשלום שלו; זה ממ"ה הקב"ה. "בָּעֲטָרָה שֶׁעִטְּרָה לוֹ אִמּוֹ" -- זה המשכן. למה קראו 'עטרה'? אלא מה העטרה מצויירת כך המשכן היה מצוייר שנאמר (שמות לה, לה): "וְרֹקֵם בתכלת ובארגמן בתולעת השני ובשש וְאֹרֵג עֹשֵׂי כל מלאכה וְחֹשְׁבֵי מַחֲשָׁבֹת". הוי - "בָּעֲטָרָה שֶׁעִטְּרָה לוֹ אִמּוֹ" א"ר יצחק חזרתי בכל המקרא ולא מצאתי שעשתה בת שבע עטרה לשלמה רשב"י שאל את ר' אלעזר ברבי יוסי איפשר ששמעת מאביך מהו "בָּעֲטָרָה שֶׁעִטְּרָה לוֹ אִמּוֹ"?אמר לו: הן. משל למלך שהיתה לו בת יחידה והיה מחבבה ביותר מדאי. והיה קורא אותה 'בתי'; לא זז מחבבה עד שקראה 'אחותי'; ועד שקראה 'אמי'. כך הקב"ה • בתחלה קרא לישראל 'בת' שנאמר (תהלים מה, יא): "שמעי בת וראי והטי אזנך ושכחי עמך ובית אביך";• לא זז מחבבן עד שקראן 'אחותי' שנא' (שיר ה, ב): "פתחי לי אחותי רעיתי יונתי תמתי שראשי נמלא טל קוצותי רסיסי לילה"• לא זז מחבבן עד שקראן 'אמי' שנאמר (ישעיה נא, ד): "הַקְשִׁיבוּ אֵלַי עַמִּי וּלְאוּמִּי אֵלַי הַאֲזִינוּ כִּי תוֹרָה מֵאִתִּי תֵצֵא וּמִשְׁפָּטִי לְאוֹר עַמִּים אַרְגִּיעַ" עמד רשב"י ונשקו על ראשו."בְּיוֹם חֲתֻנָּתוֹ" - בסיני, "בְּיוֹם שִׂמְחַת לִבּוֹ" - בירושלים. דבר אחר: "בְּיוֹם חֲתֻנָּתוֹ" - על הים, "וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַת לִבּוֹ" - באהל מועד דבר אחר: "בְּיוֹם חֲתֻנָּתוֹ" - במשכן, "וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַת לִבּוֹ" - בבית המקדש. וכן דוד אמר (תהלים מח, ג): "יפה נוף משוש כל הארץ הר ציון ירכתי צפון קרית מלך רב" "יפה נוף משוש כל הארץ"
במדבר רבה (וילנא) פרשת נשא פרשה י
הה"ד (משלי לא): דברי למואל מלך.
למה נקרא שלמה למואל?
אמר רבי ישמעאל: באותו הלילה שהשלים שלמה מלאכת בהמ"ק, נשא בתיה בת פרעה והיה שם צהלת שמחת ביהמ"ק וצהלת בת פרעה, ועלתה צהלת שמחת בת פרעה יותר מצהלת בית המקדש. הוא דאמר מתלא: כולא מחנפים למלכא, ולכך נקרא למואל, שהשליך עול מלכות שמים מעלי, כלומר: למה לו אל. ובאותו שעה עלתה במחשבה לפני הקב"ה להחריב את ירושלים. הה"ד (ירמיה לב): כי על אפי ועל חמתי וגו'.
רבנן אמרי: אלף מיני זמר הכניסה לו בת פרעה, והיה מצוה לזמר לפניו באותו לילה, והיתה אומרת לו: כך מזמרין לפני עבודת כוכבים פלונית, וכך מזמרין לפני עבודת כוכבים פלונית.
מה עשתה בת פרעה?
כמין פרס שטחה לו למעלה ממנו, וקבעה בו כל מיני אבנים טובות ומרגליות שהיו מבהיקות כעין כוכבים ומזלות, וכל זמן שהיה שלמה רוצה לעמוד, היה רואה אותן הכוכבים והמזלות והיה ישן לו עד ארבע שעות.
אמר רבי לוי: אותו היום נתקרב תמיד בארבע שעות, ועל אותה שעה שנינו:
מעשה היה ונתקרב תמיד של שחר בארבע שעות, והיו ישראל עצבים, שהיה יום חנוכת בית המקדש, ולא היו יכולין לעשות, מפני שהיה ישן שלמה, והיו מתיראים להקיצו, מפני אימת המלכות. הלכו והודיעו לבת שבע אמו, והלכה היא והקיצתו והוכיחתו. הה"ד (משלי לא): משא אשר יסרתו אמו.
אמר רבי יוחנן: מלמד שכפפתו אמו על העמוד, ואמרה לו (שם ): מה ברי, הכל יודעין שאביך ירא שמים היה, עכשיו יאמרו כן: בת שבע היא אמו, גרמה לו. (שם ): ומה בר בטני, כל נשים, של בית אביך כיון שמתעברות שוב אין רואות פני המלך, ואני דחקתי ונכנסתי, כדי שיהא הבן מלובן ומזורז. (שם ): ומה בר נדרי, כל נשים של בית אביך, כיון שמתעברות היו נודרות ואומרות: יהיה לנו בן הגון למלכות, ואני נדרתי ואמרתי: יהיה לי בן זרוז ומלומד בתורה, והגון לנביאות. (שם ): אל תתן לנשים חילך, שתהא רודף אחר זמה, שהם מטלטלין דעתו של אדם. (משלי כט): ורועה זונות יאבד הון. (שם לא): ודרכיך למחות מלכין, התורה הזהירה ואמרה (דברים יז): ולא ירבה לו נשים, הזהר בדברים הללו, שהם מחיית מלכים. (משלי שם): אל למלכים למואל, מה לך אצל מלכים, שאומרים למה לנו אל, לעשות כמעשיהם. (שם ): אל למלכים שתו יין, מה לך להשוות עצמך למלכים, השותים יין ומשתכרין, ועושין כל מיני זמה, אל תעשה כמעשיהם. (שם ): ולרוזנים אי שכר, מי שכל רזי עולם גלוים לו, ישתה יין וישתכר?! (שם ): פן ישתה וישכח מחוקק אמר רבי שמעון: אלו דברי תורה החקוקים, וכתוב בהם: לא תנאף. (שם ): וישנה דין כל בני עוני. אמרה לו: הדין נמסר למלכות בית דוד, כמאן דאמר (ירמיה כא): בית דוד כה אמר ה' דינו לבוקר משפט, תשתה יין ותשנה דין?! כל בני עוני, תזכה את החייב ותחייב את הזכאי, מכאן אמרו: דיין ששתה רביעית יין אל ידון וכן חכם ששתה רביעית יין אל יורה.
Sanhedrin 108
Raba expounded: What is meant by the verse, For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me?16 Bath Sheba, the daughter of Eliam, was predestined for David from the six days of Creation, but that she came to him with sorrow.17 And the school of R. Ishmael taught likewise: She was worthy [i.e., predestined] for David from the six days of Creation, but that he enjoyed her before she was ripe
Yomah 86
Two good administrators arose unto Israel, Moses and David. Moses begged: let my sin be written down, as it is said: Because ye believed not in me to sanctify me.24 David begged that his sin be not written down, as it is said; ‘Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned’. This case of Moses and Aaron may be compared to the case of two women who received in court the punishment of stripes; one had committed an indecent act, the other had eaten the unripe figs of the seventh year.25 Whereupon the woman who had eaten unripe figs of the seventh year said: I beg of you, make known for what offence I26 have been punished with stripes, lest people say: The one woman was punished for the same sin that the other was punished for. They brought unripe fruits of the seventh year, and hanged them on her neck, and they were calling out before her: This woman was punished with stripes because she ate the unripe figs of the seventh year.