Haftoras Vayakhel: Yachin, Boaz And The Yam

Dear friends, 

The Haftora for parshas Vayakhel is hardly ever read, but it is connected to our parsha. I wrote this a while back, but I haven't had a chance to publish it. It will be over ten years (that is how far I looked ahead) until we will be reading it, so I am publishing it now as a bonus dvar Torah for this week. Enjoy. 

Note: This Haftora is read by Chabad and Sefardic communities. Ashkenazic communities read the Haftora for the second Shabbos of Chanukah. 

Yitzi 

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The Haftora for parshas Vayakhel is from the book of Melachim Aleph (I Kings). It tells us details of the construction of the Temple that King Shlomo built, specifically but the great pillars of copper that were at the entrance of the Heichal, and the Yam, which was a pool of water for the Kohanim to immerse in, also made of copper. 

The connection to our parsha, is that parshas Vayakhel tells about the construction of the Mishkan and its vessels, by Betzalel and Eliav. The Haftora tells about the construction of the Temple by Chiram. In a way, it is a continuation of the parsha, because it only tells about the construction of two vessels, that didn't exist in the Mishkan. 

The Chiram of our Haftora was from Tzur (Tyre), he was a Jewish coppersmith, not to be confused by Chiram the king of Tyre, who was involved in the construction of the Temple itself, supplying materials and craftsmen to help in the building of the Temple. 

You may ask: How could the Temple be built by the King of Tyre and his craftsmen, when they were not Jewish, shouldn't the Temple be built by Jewish people? 

In Torah there are three levels in accomplishing what Hashem wants. First is that the thing gets done. Second is the act of doing it. And third is the person who is doing it. Depending on how holy the thing is, so is the investment in the three levels. Something that is very holy, not only does it have to get done, but how it is done and who does it is super important. On the other hand, something that is not holy, it doesn't matter so much how it gets done or who does it, rather, that it gets done. 

This is one of the reasons why the Temple could be built by King Chiram and his craftsmen, and the supplies could be provided by him. Because first of all, the cedars and the other supplies that Chiram provided would not become holy until later, when the Temple was completed. Now that they were just bringing the materials, there was certainly no holiness in that. The same is with the construction of the Temple, being that the holiness wouldn't come until it was completed, it was able to be done even by King Chiram and his craftsmen, who were not Jewish. 

However, Chiram the coppersmith was Jewish, his father was from the tribe of Naftali and his mother was from the tribe of Dan. The Haftora tells us that his father was a coppersmith. Why is this important to know? Our sages learn from here, that a son should learn his father's trade, and that is what Chiram did. Chiram was also a skilled goldsmith, silversmith, and blacksmith, but since he was only hired to do copper work, the Haftora only mentions that. 

The pillars that he made were 4 cubits wide (6 to 8 feet wide), and 18 cubits high (27 to 36 feet high). The pillars had crowns shaped like spheres and the tops of the spheres were like a rose. Around the spheres was nets resembling interwoven branches, and on the nets were pomegranates. The spheres were 5 cubits high (7.5 to 10 feet high), and they were made of copper, including the nets and the pomegranates. Altogether they were 23 cubits high (34.5 to 46 feet high). 

The one on the right of the entrance of the Heichal, was named Yachin, similar to the word yicon, meaning, established, that the Temple should stand forever. And the pillar on the left was named Boaz, made of two words, bo az, meaning, in it is strength, that the Jewish people should get strength from the service in the Temple. 

The Yam was a huge basin, 10 cubits wide (15 to 20 feet wide) and 5 cubits high (7.5 to 10 feet high). It had two rows of egg shapes around it, 2 cubits beneath the rim, in the egg shapes were the shape of a face of an ox. It had a base that was made of twelve oxen, facing outward, three oxen to every direction. 

This Haftora is hardly ever read, because on many years Vayakhel is read with Pekudei, and when that happens it is either parshas Para or Hachodesh, which have special Haftorahs, and even when it is read alone, it is often parshas Shekalim or Para, which also have special Haftorahs. 

May we merit to see the third Temple built, with the coming of Moshiach. May he come soon.