The Kingdom of David in Jerusalem (III)
Jerusalem in the Bible
Yeshivat Har Etzion
THe
Davidic monarchy in
Bringing
the
Rav Yitzchak
Levi
In this shiur we wish to fill in some additional aspects of
David's bringing the
I. ADDITIONAL ASPECTS OF
THE SIN COMMITTED DURING THE ATTEMPT TO BRING THE
1.
the failure to inquire of God
In last year's shiur
regarding the selection of
According to our
approach, David did not inquire of God because he wanted to engage in an
independent course of action, one that does not depend on the revelation of
God's will or His consent, and does not stem from total effacement before God,
but rather reflects David's desire that he himself return the
2. THE ROLE OF THE
SACRIFICES IN THE BRINGING UP OF THE
As we saw in the
previous shiur, the changes that David made in his second attempt to
bring the
In many places in the
Torah, great importance and significance is attached to the coupling of
sacrifices with the possibility of God resting His Shekhina. A sacrifice
is one of the means through which man may draw near to God; while preparing for
the sacrifice and during the sacrifice itself, a person, as it were, elevates
the world himself included toward God, and he thereby merits the resting of
the Shekhina. During the first attempt to bring the
3) david girds himself with a linen
Efod
During the first attempt at bringing the Ark up to Jerusalem, no mention
is made of David's clothing, whereas regarding the second attempt, it is stated:
"And David leaped about before the Lord with all his might, and David was girded
with a linen efod" (II Shemuel 6:14), and "And David was clothed
with a robe of fine linen
David also had upon him an efod of linen" (I
Divrei Ha-yamim 15:27). And the commentators, ad loc., say: "A linen
efod a garment made in the form of the efod worn by the High
Priest and unique to people who seclude themselves in the service of God"
(Metzudat David on Shemuel, ad loc.); "That garment was worn for
glory" (Radak, ad loc.); "Like the efod of Aharon
" (Rashi on Divrei
Ha-yamim, ad loc.). That is to say, a garment worn for glory, similar to the
priestly garment of that name. It may be that to repair the sin, David made sure
to wear an appropriate garment that would dignify the
occasion.
4)
THe expressions of Joy
Regarding the first attempt, it is stated: "And David and all the house
of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of cypress
wood, on lyres, and on lutes, and on timbrels, and on rattles, and on cymbals"
(II Shemuel 6:5). That is to say, with a variety of musical instruments.
Regarding the second attempt, on the other hand, it says: "And David leaped
about before the Lord with all his might
David dancing and leaping before the
Lord" (II Shemuel 6:14-16). The dancing before God during the second
attempt, as opposed to the joy expressed by way of the musical instruments
during the first attempt, places greater emphasis on the expressions of humility
and effacement before God in David's personality and self.
5)
the blessing in the house of Oved-edom
The blessing that rested upon the house of Oved-Edom when the
This is one of three
things that
Indeed, it is this blessing that in the end brought David to continue his
attempt to bring the
And it was told King
David, saying, The Lord has blessed the house of Oved-Edom, and all that he has,
because of the Ark of God. So David went and brought up the Ark of God from the
house of Oved-Edom into the City of
II. DAVID AND MIKHAL DAUGHTER OF SHAUL
The story ends with a
piercing conversation between David and Mikhal:
Then David returned to
bless his household. And Mikhal the daughter of Shaul came out to meet David,
and said, How glorious was the King of Israel today, in that he uncovered
himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the low
fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! And David said to Mikhal, It was before
the Lord, who chose me before your father, and before all his house, to appoint
me prince over the people of the Lord, over
This argument between David, who is trying to repair the sin committed
during the first attempt to bring the Ark up to Jerusalem, and Mikhal,
daughter of Shaul, seems to revolve around a certain point that is
directly connected to our discussion: the proper conduct of a human king as he
stands, in the presence of his subjects, before the King of
kings.
David reveals himself in his ultimate lowliness (in the positive sense of
the word) and humility. Together with the entire people he dances with joy,
leaping and dancing before God. While standing before God, David,
as it were, relinquishes his standing and rule, nullifying himself among his
people, and this itself is his glory before God.
Regarding this matter, Mikhal the daughter of Shaul reflects the position
of her father, according to which a king enjoys an independent position of honor
even before God. Quite interesting is the formulation found in Bamidbar Rabba
(4, 20):
He said to her: Members
of your father's house sought their own glory and forsook the glory of heaven.
But I do not act in this manner, but rather I forsake my own glory and seek the
glory of heaven. This is what is written: "And I will yet be more lightly
esteemed than this." And you might say that I was lowly in the eyes of others,
but not in my own eyes. Therefore it says: "Holding myself
lowly."
From this understanding followed Shaul's conception of the monarchy,
expressing itself in his attitude toward the prophet and the word of God, in his
attitude to the priesthood, and to inquiry of the Urim ve-Tumim, and also
in Mikhal's attitude here. [4] The disagreement between David and Mikhal brings
into much sharper focus David's absolute submission and self-effacement before
God.
This fundamental disagreement has additional significance. The split
between David and Mikhal that followed from this difference of opinion made it
impossible for the kingdom of the House of David to serve also as a continuation
of the House of Shaul, and for there to be a unification of the two houses. In
this context it is important to understand the order of events as described from
the end of chapter 6 to the beginning of chapter 8 in II Shemuel. At the
end of chapter 6, in the disagreement between David and Mikhal, it becomes clear
that the Davidic monarchy will not achieve permanence by way of its connection
with Mikhal. This fits in clearly and directly with the justification given to
God's negative reply in chapter 7 to David's request to build the
iii.
THe threshing floor of Nakhon the threshingfloor of Kidon the threshing
floor of Aravna?
The place where Uzza
sends out his hand to touch the
It is written "Kidon,"
and it is written "Nakhon." Rabbi Yochanan said: At first Kidon, and in the end
Nakhon. (Sota 35b)
As Rashi explains:
At first when the
The Arukh writes:
"At first Kidon, in the sense of din, judgment, but in the end
Nakhon (correct, established)"
The Maharsha (ad loc.)
writes: "When they acted improperly transporting it on the cart it was a
javelin, but when the Levites carried it on their shoulders it was
correct."
Rashi, in the continuation, proposes an exceedingly novel
idea:
I heard in the name of
R. Menachem bar Chelbo: The threshing floor of Nakhon is the threshing floor of
Aravna the Yevusi. If so, we should read as follows: "At first Nakhon and at the
end Kidon, on account of the altar that at first was built but in the end was
destroyed, Kidon denoting calamity and destruction, as in 'Let his eyes see his
own destruction [kido]' (Iyyov 21:20)."
This position draws a direct connection between the revelation and
punishment of Uzza when he sent his hand out to the
IV. THE TRUE REPAIR OF PERETZ-UZZA - BA'AL PERATZIM
The fact that in
Divrei Ha-yamim the campaign against the Philistines is sandwiched
between the two attempts to bring the
At the beginning of I
Divrei Ha-yamim 13, David says to the entire congregation of
If it seem good to you,
and that it be of the Lord our God, let us send abroad (nifretza)
to our brethren everywhere, who are left in all the land of Israel, and with
them also to the priests and Levites who are in their cities that have pasture
lands that they may gather themselves to us.[6]
Scripture seems to be alluding to what is stated there in verse
11:
And David was vexed,
because the Lord had broken out (paratz) upon Uzza; so that place
is called Peretz-Uzza to this day.
The linguistic similarity repeats itself in 14:11:
So they came up to
Ba'al-Peratzim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God has broken
(paratz) through my enemies by my hand like a bursting
(ke-peretz) flood of waters: therefore they called the name of
that place Ba'al-Peratzim.
This victory at Ba'al-Peratzim was achieved in the wake of David's
inquiry of God whether to go out to war and God's answer in the affirmative.
David also inquired of God in the second battle with the Philistines, and there
God commanded him to wait until he hears the sound of marching in the top of the
bakha trees - "Then you shall go out to battle: for God has gone out before you
to smite the camp of the Philistines" (Ibid. v. 15). Here, in the very
midst of the battle, comes the most perfect repair of the smiting of Uzza. It is
precisely during the battle a clearly royal action, dictated for the most part
by human considerations alone that David waits, refrains from fighting, and
subjugates his royal will in absolute manner to Divine
decree.[7]
V. PSALM 29 - A PSALM
FOR THE BRINGING UP OF THE ARK?
In his book, Ha-Mikra
Ve-hamesora (pp. 16ff.), Rav Reuven Margoliyot suggests that psalm 29 "A
psalm of David; Ascribe to the Lord, O you mighty" was composed at the time
that the Ark was brought up to Jerusalem. He bases his argument on the psalm's
repetition of the word "glory"[8] and on the parallels between psalm 29 and
psalm 24, which Chazal (Shabbat 30a) interpreted as referring to
the bringing of the Ark into the Holy of Holies.[9] He also suggest that the
psalm's heading in the Septuagint, "When the tent set forward," alludes to the
tent that David pitched for the Ark in the City of David.[10] It is possible
that the psalm expresses the desire to give glory to God by bringing up the Ark
and recognizing His power and strength, which manifest themselves in the world
in various ways, but only in His Temple does everyone speak of His glory, and
does His kingdom become evident in the world, and only when the Ark reaches its
resting place does the blessing of peace rest upon Israel.
SUMMARY
David's desire to do the will of God is not in doubt; there is also no
doubt about Uzza's desire to prevent a desecration of God's name through the
falling of the Ark. The moral of this story is similar to the moral of the
incident involving Nadav and Avihu and the moral of the story of the census and
the plague: nearness to God demands absolute self-effacement before His
will.
Another lesson relates to the place of a human king in relation to the
King of kings, and the proper stance of human kingdom before
God.
The sin committed in connection with the Ark was repaired when the Ark
was left in Jerusalem during the rebellion of Avshalom and when it was decided
that the Ark should remain in the city with whichever king that is found
there.
The process of repair
was completed with Chazal's statement (Shabbat 30a, and
many parallels) that bringing up the Ark from the City of David to the Temple
and bringing it into the Holy of Holies, its final and permanent resting place,
was made possible only by virtue of the loving-kindness of David, who began the
process.
In the next shiur
we shall deal with the reasons for which David was barred from building the
Temple.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Gemara in
Sota 35a discusses the relationship between these two
verses.
[2] This may, however,
stem from an outlook that sees the primary connection with God in the resting of
His Shekhina, and less in the vessels and the preparations that are
necessary for that process. This issue is connected to a broader issue in the
life of David: the relationship between the altar and the Ark. We have already
noted in the past David's intense connection to the Ark, as opposed to his weak
connection to the great altar in Giv'on and to the offering of sacrifices on the
altar. Rav Ariel devoted a chapter of his book, Oz Melekh Iyyunim be-Sefer
Shemuel, to this topic, and we will not expand upon it in this
forum.
[3] There are those who
read "pur'anut" calamity based on the
Mekhilta.
[4] This is a very broad
issue, requiring separate treatment that would take us beyond the parameters of
this shiur. I will note here
only one instructive expression of this matter that I learned from my teacher,
Rav Yoel Bin Nun. Shaul's house was located in Giv'at Shaul, which is identified
with Tel Al Ful, west of Pisgat Ze'ev. The site of the Mishkan in the
priestly city of Nov is identified, according to one important opinion, in Tel
Shu'afat, which is situated topographically below Tel Al Ful. Shaul's house
rules topographically over the site of the Mishkan, just as his kingdom
rules over the priesthood (as was illustrated by the killing of the priests of
Nov). David, in contrast, builds his house in the City of David, and Shelomo
builds the house of the king at the foot of Mount Moriya, out of subjugation and
effacement of the kingdom before the Temple.
[5] We shall expand on
this topic in our shiur on the census.
[6] The Rishonim
offer various explanations of the word "nifretza": strengthened
(Metzudat David); was spread out to all sides (Radak); a fence that had
theretofore stood, nobody having sought God, was breached (Rashi).
[7] The Midrash sees in
this point a difference between Shaul and David: "And similarly you find that
when Shemuel went to anoint David, the ministering angels hurled their charges
against him before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: Master of the Universe,
why did You take the kingdom from Shaul and give it to David? He said to them: I
will tell you the difference between Shaul and David. Shaul went and inquired of
the Urim ve-Tumim; when he saw that the Philistines were coming upon him,
he said to the priest, Withdraw your hand, and he did not wait until he
completed the matter. As it is stated: 'And it came to pass, while Shaul talked
to the priest
and Shaul said to the priest, Withdraw your hand' (I Shemuel
14:19). But when David saw that the Philistines were coming upon him in the
valley of Refa'im, he immediately began to inquire of the Urim ve-Tumim.
As it is stated: 'And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves
in the valley of Refa'im. And when David inquired of the Lord, He said, You
shall not go up; but make a circuit behind them' (II Shemuel 5:22-23).
You are not permitted to attack them, even if they are close to you, until you
see the tops of the trees shaking. As it is stated: 'And let it be, when you
hear the sound of marching in the tops of the bakha trees' (Ibid. v. 24),
and not behind them, 'Then you shall bestir yourself (techeratz)'
(Ibid.), in the sense of cutting, as it is stated: 'Seeing his days are
determined (charutzim)' (Iyyov 14:5)
Once the Philistines came,
Israel saw them, and they were less than four cubits away. Israel said to David:
Why are we standing? He said to them: I have already been commanded from heaven,
not to attack them, until I see the tops of the trees shaking. If I attack them,
we will die immediately, and if I do not attack them, they will immediately kill
us. Better that we die righteous, and not guilty. Rather, let you and me turn
our eyes to the Holy One, blessed be He. Immediately, all the trees moved, and
immediately they attacked them. As it is stated: 'And David did so, as the Lord
had commanded him; and smote the Philistines' (II Shemuel 5:25). The Holy
One, blessed be He, said to the ministering angels: See the difference between
David and Shaul. What brought about David's salvation? The word of the Holy One,
blessed be He, which he fulfilled, and it illuminated for him. Thus it is
stated: "Your word is a lamp to my feet" (Tehillim 119:105) (Midrash
Tehilim, ed. Buber, psalm 27). The words of the Midrash complement what we
have said regarding the difference between Shaul and David, and bring into
sharper focus the qualities of inner strength, humility and lowliness that are
required in order to refrain from entering into battle on account of God's will,
even though militarily such fighting is possible.
[8] The connection
between the word "glory" and the Ark is found in many places. The revelation of
the Shekhina is called glory, and the Ark is the Shekhina's
resting place in the Mishkan; see Shemot 40:34: "And the glory
of God filled the Mishkan." See also I Shemuel 4:21: "And she
named the child I-Khavod, saying, Glory is departed from Israel because the
Ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband."
[9] Rav Margoliyot notes
the custom of reciting one of these two psalms whenever the Torah scroll is
returned to the Ark.
[10] His argument that
the next psalm, psalm 30, relates to David's census, fits in well with the
chronological order: the bringing up of the Ark, followed by the revelation of
the site of the Temple.
(Translated by David
Strauss)
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