Shmuel Aleph perakim 4-9
Perek summary…
Perek 4 – Bnei Yisrael lose battle with the Philistines. The aron kodesh is captured. Eli dies upon news of his sons being killed in the war, as does his daughter-in-law upon giving birth.
Perek 5 – The aron kodesh wreaks havoc amongst the Philistines and their diety.
Perek 6 – The Philistines decide to return the aron kodesh to Bnei Yisrael and send it (with accompaniment) to Beit Shemesh. The people of Beit Shemesh are punished for disrespect shown to the aron kodesh in looking into it.
Perek 7 – The aron kodesh is sent to Kiryat Yearim and all is quiet. Bnei Yisrael repent and remove idols from amongst them. The Philistines gather to wage war with us, and HaShem (after Shmuel’s tefillah) causes them to flee via great sounds. We pursue and destroy them. Shmuel builds a mizbayach (altar) and his general job as mobile judge is described briefly.
Perek 8 – Shmuel’s sons take over his job upon Shmuel’s aging, but do not match up to their father. Bnei Yisrael ask for a King and Shmuel warns them of the not so pleasant consequences of having a King.
Perek 9 – HaShem causes Shaul to run after his father’s donkeys and ends up with Shmuel, who is told by HaShem (unbeknown to Shaul) that Shaul is to be the King. Shmuel takes Shaul in and feeds him. (a cliffhanger; what will happen next? Will Shaul find out? Will he be King? Tune in to next week’s…)
Short dvar Torah…
Last week the dvar Torah was about the importance of Malchus and a King in general in the Jewish people. We said that a king gives objective truth and gives the people their communal identity. The basic question this week is if a king is such a positive thing why did Shmuel get angry with Bnei Yisrael when they asked for a king (perek 8)? And why does HaShem confirm this stance of Shmuel when He says ‘they have rejected Me as their King’ (8;7)???
The answer (I heard it on a tape from Rabbi Reisman) is based on a pasuk at the end of Shoftim. It says ‘in those days there was no king, and each man did what was yashar (correct/straight/proper) in their own eyes.’ The meaning if this is not that the people were wicked and just decided to do what they felt like with no care about mitzvos and their morality, but the exact opposite. It means that we were on such a high level that we did not need a king, since everyone could objectively (with no personal bias and selfishness) ascertain what was correct to do in a genuine way, so there was no need for a king fugure to impose what is right. Their was also no need for a king to bond the people into one whole, since we were at such a level we knew that we should become one, and people were willing to give up their need for individual stardom to become one of a powerful whole. A mashal would be that there is no need for a tax collector in a country where everyone makes sure to pay their taxes correctly and punctually anyway.
However, Bnei Yisrael had fallen spiritually by perek 8 of Shmuel Aleph, and they were not at the same level – they now needed a King to guide them. Previously, they had used the prophet and thus HaShem’s Word solely as their guiding light, but now they needed a human watcher-over them; a king. This fall of spiritual level to having a human ruling over them to put them on the fully straight and narrow as opposed to HaShem and His prophet is what HaShem and Shmuel bemoan here in perek 8.
The message is exactly what we say in birkat hamazon; ’lo lidei matnas bassar vedam…ki im leyadecha’ – we ask HaShem not to make us reliant upon other humans, but rather to have a straight uninterrupted connection with HaShem’s Hands Himself, so to speak. And Shabbat is the prime time for this direct relationship, as is Eretz Yisrael and the Beis hamikdash – which is the main point of Eretz Yisrael (Rashi) – the place of this connection. So just listen out…
Have a great shabbes
