Shlomo's Reign: From Good to Bad

      This week in Navi we delved deeper into what might have caused the kingdom of Bnei Yisrael to split into two. We began by discussing Shlomo's reign and all of the components that might have caused this to happen. As it starts out, it portrays Shlomo as a wonderful king who loved and feared Hashem and respected and followed of the laws of a king and the mitzvot. As we looked deeper into the Pasukim, we found that this didn't turn out to be true in the end. Sure, Shlomo might have loved and feared Hashem and followed the mitzvot in the beginning, but temptations soon led him astray. We saw that it the downward spiral began, coincidentally, right after the Queen of Sheba decides to pay Shlomo a visit. The visit itself might have had good intentions, as we learned that she wanted to see if Shlomo really was as wise as everyone said and she blessed him for it, but she also gave him a LOT of money. Shlomo puts have of it away for the Beis Hamikdash and that is wonderful, but it seems like he took the rest for himself, which is not so great.
         We learned how Shlomo took taxes from the people to pay for the necessities for the Beit Hamikdash and how he made alliances with foreign countries and had strong ties to his father, but he seems to be getting a little haughty.He was known around the world just for his wisdom and his wealth. Doesn't it tell us that Shlomo was the wealthiest of the kings? Maybe not, but even so he had a lot of gold. As he begins getting richer and marrying more wives and he becomes more famous, it all starts to go to his head. He starts taking all of his gold and building up his army and makes a tremendous golden throne. These were seen as status symbols and signs of power. That is what Shlomo really wants to show; his power.
         All of his wives are another factor in the downhill slide from greatness. It says that Shlomo had 700 wives and 300 concubines and almost none of them were even remotely Jewish. This was a very big problem, as they were the ones who convince Shlomo to build במות for them to do עבודה זרה. This is not as bad as it would be if HE were the one doing עבודה זרה but it still shows that he gave in to them and allowed them to do עבודה זרה anyway.
         All of these ideas really make us think about what kinds of people are good leaders and bad leaders. Shlomo did wonderful and amazing things that helped Bnei Yisrael grow and thrive as a nation but he also set a bad example for them by showing that he really did whatever he wanted and he didn't have to listen to Hashem to gain what he wanted. This is an important concept to think about now that Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur are approaching. The idea of listening to Hashem and following the mitzvot and asking for what we want in return are all part of the ideas we discussed this week. If Shlomo were alive today and Rosh Hoshana came around, what do you think he would have asked Hashem? We all can  learn from Shlomo's mistakes and use it to continue to grow our love for Hashem and the mitzvot.