In this week’s Torah Portion we read about the donations for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) that the Jews built in the desert. The Torah enumerates the metal that was used for the Temple which was gold, silver and copper and does not mention iron.
Iron was not used for the Temple, since weapons are made from iron, it is not deemed fit to use for the Temple. Even when the Temple was built, no iron tools were used in the Temple area.
This leads us to a question; In the prophets we find a description of King David preparing the materials to build the Temple in Jerusalem and the verse says “That he prepared 100,000 kikarim (a certain weight) of iron for the Temple”?
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that King David prepared that iron for the Third Temple that will be built in the Days of Moshiach (Messiah). In that era, evil will seize to exist and with it the destructive force of iron. Therefore, iron will be a symbol of great strength and be appropriate to use in the Temple which symbolizes strength in the worship of Hashem.
