Cherrybim: nicely said.
A600KiloBear: Enough with the laitzonus. Over yontof it occurred to me that why do we find by kimat every tzaddik in tanach that they had some imperfections. I think the reason is to tell us that we are all basar vadam and all fall short of the ideal in some way. Nevertheless, that doesn’t in any way negate the tremendous good that these tzaddikim do.
Shlomo was never involved with drugs, and helped many get off them. Ein hochi nami he was the rebbe of the hippies. But imagine where these hippies would be without a rebbe. Many became first rate bnei and bnos torah.
Today you take it for granted that we all have to follow shulchan oruch and one who doesn’t is a meshugeneh and a rasha. But right after the holocaust, many lost their emunah and said, if being frum and keeping all the mitzvos ended in such destruction for so many people and families, then who in the world needs this nonsense and restrictions on our lives. We will do what feels good and make peace in the world too. Go try to argue with them. Shlomo learned to speak their language and showed them that ultimately being frum is the greatest peace and the greatest high.