{"id":61156,"date":"2019-08-15T14:10:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T11:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=61156"},"modified":"2023-03-13T11:37:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T09:37:45","slug":"be-the-song-you-sing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/be-the-song-you-sing\/","title":{"rendered":"Be The Song You Sing!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Toward the end of the Second Book of Samuel, near the very end of the reign of King David, the old monarch erupts in a song of gratitude, expressing wonder for the life he has been able to live, the House he was privileged to establish, and the centrality of justice and reverence as the defining traits of Israelite governance and prestige. By way of contrast, those whose grasping for influence is poisoned by wickedness and brute force will be \u201craked aside like thorns.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Knowing, as we do, the actual behavior of the kings of the House of David, we recognize the aspirational nature of the founding sovereign\u2019s description. We are to strive for the ideal of justice and law, to build a society in which there is no favoritism for the rich or the poor, in which the widow and orphan and stranger are fed, clothed, housed, and honored. Those virtues remain worthy of unceasing effort and of our greatest song.<\/span><\/p>\n

And what is that greatest of songs? Well, the obscurity of the Biblical Hebrew invites us to offer a few possibilities. In Hebrew, David is described as <\/span>ne\u2019im zmirot Yisrael<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> conventionally translated as \u201csweet singer of Israel.\u201d The NJPS translation offers \u201cthe favorite of the songs of Israel,\u201d implying that David isn\u2019t necessarily a composer of songs, but that he, himself, is the favorite of songs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Living up to his Hebrew name (David means \u201cBeloved\u201d), David has always found special favor.\u00a0 Beloved by the Holy One who singled him out for glory and allowed him to reshape the history of God\u2019s people, David was beloved by a cluster of compelling and talented women, by his soldiers who adored him until his life had ended, and by so many members of the Israelite court. He wasn\u2019t a prophet, nor did he live a blameless life. But he was loved and he changed our history forever. His life was itself a song; his deeds, the notes that we continue to sing and which reverberate across the ages. The symphony of David\u2019s inspiration lures us toward a messianic future and a world of unimagined harmony and joy.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we brace ourselves to say farewell to this most extraordinary of Israel\u2019s kings, we can hum his life as the melody we are all meant to sing: in the face of life\u2019s threats, to be bold. In the face of life\u2019s possibilities, to risk and create. In the face of our relationships, to love and to be loved.<\/span><\/p>\n

In that way, we each become the song that can cascade across the ages, joining a chorus of our people and our species that can link us across time and lift us above all tribulation.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":61157,"id":61157,"title":"2sam23-song","filename":"2sam23-song.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam23-song.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/be-the-song-you-sing\/2sam23-song\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam23-song","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":61156,"date":"2019-08-15 11:10:47","modified":"2022-08-15 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