The Wisdom to Build  

After that, I called Rav Shlomo on several occasions. Every call was a shiur unto itself. There was no area of Torah I discussed with him that he wasn’t intimately familiar with, down to the finest nuances. He’d listen to a question and then offer an approach that bespoke a rare creativity, one he could offer only because he was connected to the shoresh of Torah itself.

ATthe levayah, Rav Michel Guzik, who worked with Rav Shlomo as segan menahel of the mesivta, mentioned that when he needed advice on issues that came up, he would say, “I need some chochmas Shlomo.” It was meant as a pun, perhaps, but it carried the ring of truth.

Shlomo Hamelech’s wisdom was a faculty of the soul rather than the mind. “Hinei nasati lecha lev chacham v’navon — Behold I have given you a heart of wisdom and understanding” (I Melachim 3:12). Rav Shlomo Braunstein, bearer of the same sacred name, sparkled with an ember of that ancient promise. From the depths of his heart, he gave over so much chochmas Shlomo. Over the years he delivered myriad shiurim, shmuessen, and maamarim, but they were always fresh. He was sharing his heart’s wisdom, and with each heartbeat came another chiddush, another burst of ruchniyus born anew, shared with so much love and so much joy.

When my son was born, I knew I was going to name him Shlomo, after a family member. The bris was on the week of parshas Shelach, and I had the following thought. We know the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash is rooted in the sin of the Meraglim. Consequently, Shlomo Hamelech, the one responsible for building the Beis Hamikdash, must have represented the exact inverse of that failing. What was it about Shlomo Hamelech that stood as the antithesis of the sin of the Meraglim?