Conference taveng::bagels

    If you mean the verse in Psalm 118, "The stone the builders despised
    has become the cornerstone," here's an explanation from the ArtScroll
    Siddur:

	This verse refers to David, who was rejected by his own father
	and brothers (Targum).  When the prophet Samuel announced that
	one of Jesse's sons was to be anointed king, no one even thought
	of summoning David, who was out with the sheep [see I Samuel 16:4-13].

	Israel too is called "even," stone (Genesis 49:24), for Israel
	is the cornerstone of G-d's design for the world.  The world
	endures only by virtue of Israel's observance of G-d's laws,
	a fact that has influenced all nations to appreciate and accept
	certain aspects of G-d's commands.  If not for the order and
	meaning that Israel has brought to the world, it would long ago
	have sunk into chaos.  But the builders, i.e., the rulers of
	the nations, despised the Jews, claiming that they were parasites
	who made no contribution to the common good.  When the dawn of
	redemption arrives, however, all nations will realize that
	Israel is indeed the cornerstone of the world (Radak).

    
    	re: .-1
    
    	I think that even the plain sense of Psalm 118 indicates that 
    	the rejected cornerstone is NOT David or an Isaiah-like "suffering
    	servant of the Lord"-figure but rather Israel as a nation,
    	persecuted by the nations of the world and rescued by God. Maybe
    	there is an allusion to the Temple itself being the rejected
    	cornerstone, if you think of this Psalm as 2nd-Temple period.
    	In that case the Psalm celebrates, perhaps, the victory of Jews
    	over Samaritans ? But never mind... that's a rat-hole, or maybe
    	a "hornets' nest" even! (sabuni kidvorim!)
    
    	Whatever the date and whoever the "nations" that are compared to
    	bees and thorns and whom God has destroyed (first 1/2 of the
    	Psalm), it seems to me that the Christological interpretation 
    	of the verse is not warranted.	Although it is interesting to note 
    	that the Targum's orientation (the Art Scroll's first impulse) 
    	is identical in spirit to the Christian	interpretation.	
    	(What an ironic pleasure to write that! I really have this thing
    	against Art Scroll publications!)
    
    	BTW, I have nothing against Messianic (Christian or Jewish)
    	interpretations of verses that DO plausibly refer to "suffering
    	servants", but this one just doesn't seem to have any such
    	associations, at least not to me.
    	
    	-ZAITCH

    Re .1:
    
    Thanks for the correction.
    
    Re .2:
    
    When referenced to the Temple, one school of thought says the builders
    came upon a stone that couldn't be squared and therefore they rejected
    it. Only later did they realize that they couldn't complete the
    Temple without it and so it became the head stone of the corner.
    
    Thanks for all the inputs.
    
    Mark

    Re .3, Mark,
    
>    One school of thought says the builders came upon a stone that couldn't
>    be squared and therefore they rejected it. Only later did they realize 
>    that they couldn't complete the Temple without it and so it became the
>    head stone of the corner.
    
    I heard that all the stones were completely shaped off-site, so that no
    sound of tools would be heard on the Temple site.  One stone arrived at
    the temple site which didn't seem to fit anywhere, and was set on one
    side.  It was finally found to top the pinnacle of the Temple, as the
    headstone.
    
                                                             Andrew

re .4:

>    I heard that all the stones were completely shaped off-site, so that no
>    sound of tools would be heard on the Temple site.

    The use of metal was disallowed in cutting the stones.  According to
    tradition, a special worm-like creature that could eat through stone
    was used.  I don't know if it made any noise.