Posted on May 22, 2018 By JewishAnswers.org | Level: Beginner
Question: What was the shamir, and why was it used in building the Temple?
Answer: The shamir is one of the things created at sundown on the sixth day of Creation (Mishnah Avos 5:6). The Talmud (Pesachim 59a) tells about its power to cleave stone, but doesn’t describe the process in detail; the commentators (Rashi on Pesachim, Rambam on Avos) explain that it was a worm that could cleave stone by looking at it. Solomon used it to build the Temple because using metal implements was forbidden (Ex. 20:22; Deut. 27:5); see Tosefta Sotah 15:1 and Talmud Sotah 48b. For more details about the shamir see Ginsburg, Legends of the Jews, Vol.1 pp.33-4; Vol.4 pp.166,168; Vol.5 pp.53,109; Vol.6 pp.282,299.
All the Best,
Rabbi Azriel Schreiber