{"id":59165,"date":"2019-07-09T16:02:20","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T13:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=59165"},"modified":"2023-01-31T22:14:49","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T20:14:49","slug":"sauls-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sauls-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"Saul\u2019s Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Given the Bible\u2019s attitude toward idolatry and its associated practices, under any other circumstance, if the king encountered a <\/span>ba\u2019alot ov<\/span><\/em>, necromancer, we might assume the king to be the more righteous of the two. Yet, in the tragic episode of Saul and the <\/span>ba\u2019alat ov<\/span><\/em>, the opposite is the case. It is Saul who is most sinful; the woman only raises Samuel from the dead at Saul\u2019s insistent behest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even more striking is the chapter\u2019s conclusion. Saul has starved himself, and the woman urges him to eat. Finally prevailing over him, Saul gets up from the floor, onto which he had thrown himself in despondency, and gets up onto a bed. The chapter concludes:<\/span><\/p>\n

The woman had a stall-fed calf in the house; she hastily slaughtered it, and took flour and kneaded it, and baked some unleavened cakes. She set this before Saul and his courtiers, and they ate. Then they rose and left the same night. (v. 24-25)<\/span><\/p>\n

The language in this verse is strikingly reminiscent of two episodes involving the generosity of Abraham. In Genesis chapter 18, Abraham welcomes the angels, and the verses record:<\/span><\/p>\n

Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!\u201d He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree as they ate. (v. 7-8)<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, when Lot invites the angels into his home (19:3), he bakes <\/span>matzot<\/span><\/em> for them, just as the <\/span>ba\u2019alat ov<\/span><\/em> does for Saul in our chapter. And while Lot is far from a morally perfect character, he clearly does receive his commitment to welcoming guests from the model of his uncle Abraham.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accordingly, our text, by twice invoking the model of Abraham, once implicitly and another time explicitly, suggests that it is the woman who is righteous, and Saul who has been abandoned by God.<\/span><\/p>\n

The story thus highlights two key points. One one hand, we see first-hand Saul\u2019s tragic fall. His desperation and indignity in our chapter lead him ever closer to his inevitable death at the hands of the Philistines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, simultaneously, there is an inspiring message of lovingkindness. True, the women now knows that Saul will die imminently, and he is a shadow of the king once revered by a nation. Yet she sets that all aside, and simply focuses on the emotionally-defeated, starved human being in front of her. He may die tomorrow, but today he requires nourishment and caring. Like Abraham, she rises to the occasion.<\/span><\/p>\n

In emulating her forefather Abraham\u2019s model, then, the <\/span>ba\u2019alat ov<\/span><\/em> simultaneously extends it: <\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>, lovingkindness,<\/span> is not just about looking into the future, but, equally important, about caring for the individual before us, irrespective of his destiny.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: William Blake, The Witch of Endor Raising the Spirit of Samuel<\/em>, 1783<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":59167,"id":59167,"title":"isam28-Blake_The_Witch_of_Endor_Raising_the_Spirit_of_Samuel","filename":"isam28-Blake_The_Witch_of_Endor_Raising_the_Spirit_of_Samuel.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Blake_The_Witch_of_Endor_Raising_the_Spirit_of_Samuel.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sauls-fall\/isam28-blake_the_witch_of_endor_raising_the_spirit_of_samuel\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam28-blake_the_witch_of_endor_raising_the_spirit_of_samuel","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":59165,"date":"2019-07-09 13:02:04","modified":"2019-07-09 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