{"id":57439,"date":"2019-06-14T16:13:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T13:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57439"},"modified":"2023-01-08T14:05:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T12:05:59","slug":"a-man-of-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-man-of-character\/","title":{"rendered":"A Man Of Character"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[886,885,721],"acf":{"old_id":"57439","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":57315,"related_cahpter":"241","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Saul not only looked good, he was good\u2026","content":"

The opening chapters of I Samuel, and the introduction of (not yet king) Saul, can come as something of a surprise for those mostly familiar with the subsequent narrative of King David and his tragic relationship with Saul. We\u2019re almost primed from the get-go to view Saul as an archetypal villain: one who resorts to heresy, who mistreats his son, and who \u2013 spurred on by a jealous fit \u2013 pursues David with murderous intent. <\/span><\/p>\n

But here in these early chapters, we meet an entirely different version of Saul. At first, the Tanakh dwells on his physical appearance, describing him as “a good (<\/span>tov<\/span><\/em>) young man; no one among the Israelites was more handsome (<\/span>tov<\/span><\/em>) than he\u2026\u201d (9:2) While it\u2019s typically understood that <\/span>tov<\/em> <\/span>here indeed refers to Saul\u2019s pleasing appearance, the Malbim (19<\/span>th<\/span> Century, Russian Empire), comments that the doubling of <\/span>tov<\/em> <\/span>indicates both a goodness of appearance, <\/span>and <\/span><\/i>a goodness of character (Malbim on I Samuel 9:2).<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, Saul\u2019s character appears unblemished in his introduction. We meet him on a quest to find and retrieve his father\u2019s lost donkeys \u2013 a particularly lengthy journey; one comparatively tamer than when he gives chase to David. Concerned at how long he has been away from home, Saul opens up to the servant who is with him: \u201cLet\u2019s go return, or else my father will stop worrying about his donkeys, and worry about <\/span>us<\/span><\/i>\u201d (9:5).<\/span><\/p>\n

Our rabbis notice in this seemingly simple moment the depths of Saul\u2019s character at this moment in his life. Rather than a pragmatic statement of fact, they see a profound \u2013 and consequential \u2013 moment of humility and compassion. Since Saul says \u201c<\/span>us,<\/span><\/i>\u201d including his servant in his concern, he shows that he saw his servant as important as himself. It is for this, the Tosefta says, that Saul merited to become king of Israel (Tosefta <\/span>Berakhot<\/span><\/i> 4:16).<\/span><\/p>\n

The beautiful thing about reading about Saul with fresh eyes is that we see how human he is. Knowing his inevitable downfall doesn\u2019t actually make his story any less compelling. Rather, it\u2019s precisely <\/span>because<\/span><\/em> we know what will happen to him, that the text is all the more penetrating. Saul is not a one-dimensional antagonist nor a melodramatic villain. He\u2019s a complex reminder of that very real human tendency to mess up completely.<\/span><\/p>\n

So it\u2019s not an accident that the Tosefta pinpoints this as the moment which signifies Saul is worthy of great leadership \u2013 the ability to sublimate our own momentary desires is a hallmark of leadership with integrity. While it is David who ascends to become one of the most important figures of our tradition, it\u2019s here \u2013 in these tender moments with Saul that raise the stakes for what comes later \u2013 that we receive a crucial reminder of how fragile our relationships can be.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a poignant message of how seriously we must engage in a robust sense of self-examination, so that we might stay true to the goodness of character within each of us that we should always seek to raise up.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57440,"id":57440,"title":"isam9-character","filename":"isam9-character.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam9-character.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-man-of-character\/isam9-character\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam9-character","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57439,"date":"2019-06-14 13:12:45","modified":"2019-06-14 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