Symbols

12 Temple of Solomon

When Solomon built his temple, cost was of no concern. Rather than a tent, he built it out of stone. And twice as large. The tent was built on a modulus of 10 x 10 x 10. The temple was built on 20 x 20 x 20. With modifications. The tent represented the Tetractys / Sephirot arranged on the horizontal. The temple represents it horizontally and vertically. Though the widths and lengths stay at 20 cubits per module, the height varies in accord with the number of steps to go from one module to the next. So the chamber of the ark is 20 cubits high, the chamber of the altars is 30 cubits high and the porch is 35 cubits high. One step is half a cubit, which  is 9 thumbs, about 9 inches. So five steps from the porch to the chamber of altars and ten steps from the altars to the ark.

Two pillars on the porch made out of copper same as most of the fittings, though there's a lot of gold in the temple as well. The two pillars, one to the north and one to the south, represent the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The one to the north is called Yakhin which is Old Hebrew for Blackness - parallels Egyptian Khim which means Black and puns with New Hebrew Yakhan which means Wailing.

The one to the south is called Bo2az which is Old Hebrew for Whiteness - parallels New Hebrew Beitsa which means Egg and puns with New Hebrew Bo 2az which means In it there is Strength.

They are in the form of papyrus reeds. The stalk is four cubits across which is approximately twelve cubits around and 18 cubits high for the 18 consonants, the 18 Tumim / Perfections. Then the bud which is four cubits high for the four writeable vowels and then a one cubit crown on that for the one non writeable vowel. Five cubits for the entire bud which are the five single vowels of the ten vowels, the ten Urim / Lights.

On the top of each pillar 102 chain links joining the 12 crown points together in a pattern which forms 6 stars of David, stars of Solomon, around the perimeter, which together form a seventh star of David at the center. These are called chain work and pomegranates which is the technical term for links of a chain. 

By a pun they are called 200. Two hundred / hundred two - isn't much of a pun in English, but in Hebrew it's the equivalent of hundred twice / hundred two, which is a very nice pun indeed. In the diagram the horizontal links are shown as circles and the vertical links as straight segments.

So when the wind blows you have the resonant wailing of a jug band along with the clanking and tinkling of the chains. Note that if you trace around the chain as lines, each pillar has two interconnected bands of chain. On a windy day, for a while, a two instrument orchestra. Eventually the chains wear through and break and then you have the specific absence of the sounds of the shield of David. Which is louder than the presence, so the chains are never repaired. It is intended for them to break so as to make that virtual sound. Of course they're going to continue to clank some as long as they are hanging there at all, but eventually they will corrode through and fall to the bottom of the pillars. Hoooom!!!