{"id":59162,"date":"2019-07-09T15:56:10","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T12:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=59162"},"modified":"2023-01-31T14:46:19","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T12:46:19","slug":"a-case-of-unusual-hospitality-saul-and-the-witch-of-en-dor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-case-of-unusual-hospitality-saul-and-the-witch-of-en-dor\/","title":{"rendered":"A Case Of Unusual Hospitality: Saul And the Witch of En-Dor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As Saul\u2019s kingship disintegrates in a spiral of paranoia and despair, chapter 28 does an about-face with a story that is both shocking and tender. Samuel has died and the frantic Saul is desperate to connect with the prophet who made him king. Saul, however, has previously banished all practitioners of magic from his realm. He now seeks out a remaining witch, a woman in En-Dor, and visits her in disguise. Though the woman is frightened for her life, she obliges and conjures up the ghost of Samuel who, in harsh words, informs Saul that obliteration is upon him. Saul falls to the ground in a faint.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, the witch switches her services and offers the famished king food and comfort.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is no accident that the witch of En-Dor follows in the great Biblical tradition of hospitality, calling to mind such meals as those prepared by Abraham for the angels or, with a twist, Lot for the strangers. Hospitality, in addition to acts of direct service, implies acceptance of the guest, the other. This trait does not characterize Samuel who grew up in harsh circumstances \u2013his mother gave him up as a small child, albeit for a religious purpose. He then has to tell his adoptive father Eli, the priest, that Eli\u2019s own sons will die. Later, when Samuel\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9e, Saul, fails in the mission to annihilate the Amelekites, the prophet is ruthless in his condemnation and abandons Saul.<\/span><\/p>\n

This rocky beginning of the prophet\/king relationship evokes other rocky beginnings. Creation itself can be understood as happening in multiple iterations starting with the Adam 1 and 2 narratives, being destroyed in the flood and then renewed with Noah. So too, family, tribe and nation struggle through successive challenges of survival and identity. Stories of destruction alternate with stories kindness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So too in our story. The witch of En-Dor, doubly marginalized as a woman and a sorceress, reminds us that power must be tempered with compassion. Saul, certain that God has abandoned him, feels hopeless. The witch of En-dor offers him bread. Saul, despondent, refuses. But the woman does not acquiesce to Saul\u2019s depression and give up. Rather, she stays and encourages him. Finally Saul accepts his hostess\u2019s offer at which point she prepares an extensive meal of meat and freshly baked bread. The witch of En-Dor\u2019s hospitality gives Saul the strength to rise and continue on his way. Her humanity redeems his dignity and he can die a death befitting the first King of Israel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: The Shade Of Samuel Invoked By Saul, Nikiforovich Dmitry Martynov, c. 1857<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":59163,"id":59163,"title":"isam28-Witch_of_Endor_(Martynov)","filename":"isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-case-of-unusual-hospitality-saul-and-the-witch-of-en-dor\/isam28-witch_of_endor_martynov\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam28-witch_of_endor_martynov","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":59162,"date":"2019-07-09 12:55:54","modified":"2019-07-09 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