Kings I – 5 & 6This week’s Haftorah from Kings I- 5 and 6, describes the construction of the first Bais Hamikdash. Shlomo Hamelech – King Solomon, assembled the necessary materials and laborers to accomplish this monumental task – the building of Hashem’s home! 30,000 men were conscripted into the labor force, along with 70,000 transporters and 80,000 stonecutters.

In 2928, four hundred and eighty years after leaving Egypt, the construction began. The connection to this weeks Parsha is obvious. The Bais Hamikdash replaced the Mishkan as the one place upon earth where G-d’s presence was overtly manifest. It was during the 1st Temple when actual “miracles” occurred in the normal functioning of the Bais Hamikdash.

The whereabouts of the Mishkan is a matter of great historical controversy. Some claim that it was destroyed. Others claim that it was hidden within the Temple Mount in a great cavern directly beneath the Bais Hamikdash, and that it was placed there fully assembled. At present, a major archeological dig is underway to uncover the hidden Mishkan.