{"id":78330,"date":"2020-08-02T16:53:05","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T13:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78330"},"modified":"2020-08-02T16:53:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T13:53:05","slug":"the-skill-of-a-shepherd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-skill-of-a-shepherd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Skill Of A Shepherd\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Micah 5:3 employs a pastoral verb to represent the Messiah\u2019s overall leadership style: \u201cHe shall stand and shepherd \u201c<\/span>ve-ra\u2019ah<\/span><\/em>\u201d by the Might of the LORD, by the power of the Name of the LORD his God\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The theme of \u201cshepherding\u201d appears in the next verse, as well: \u201cWe will set up over it seven shepherds\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentators debate the identity of these seven, but the Talmud (Sukka 52b) identifies them definitively:\u00a0 \u201cWho are these seven shepherds? David is in the \u201cmiddle\u201d (<\/span>the centrality of his role as progenitor of the Messiah<\/span><\/em>); Adam, Seth, and Methuselah are to his \u201cright\u201d (<\/span>earlier \u201cshepherds<\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/i>); Abraham, Jacob, and Moses are to his \u201cleft\u201d (“<\/em><\/span>later shepherds\u201d<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

While Rashi on v. 4 states that he is at a loss regarding how the Talmud arrived at these specific individuals, Maharsha, in his commentary on Talmudic Aggada, s.v. Zayin Ro\u2019im VeChulai, offers the fullest explanation:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026and they are called \u201cshepherds\u201d rather than \u201cleaders,\u201d because it is stated explicitly in connection to \u201cmost\u201d of them that they were actually shepherds in this world: David shepherded his father\u2019s flocks (I Samuel 16:11); Jacob shepherded the flocks of Laban (Genesis 31:38-40); Moses shepherded his father-in-law Yitro\u2019s flocks (Exodus 3:1); concerning Seth, it is written: (Genesis 4:25) \u201c\u2026for God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel\u2026\u201d and Abel was a shepherd (Ibid. 2.) And certainly the Messiah will be greater than all of them, as it is written: (Ezekial 37:22) \u201c\u2026and one king shall be king to them all\u2026 \u201d It is therefore derived that these seven will have some authority, and they had a tradition that these seven would share responsibilities (<\/span>of leadership<\/span><\/em>) with the Messiah.<\/span><\/p>\n

While this interpretation assumes the miraculous resurrection of the dead, the description of worthiness for leadership via the experience of \u201cshepherding\u201d is an extension of the following midrash (Exodus Rabba 2:2):<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026And whom does He test? The righteous individual, as it says: (Psalms 11:5) \u201cThe LORD trieth the righteous\u2026\u201d And with regard to what does He test him? With shepherding a flock. He tested David with shepherding, and found him to be a good shepherd\u2026He would hold back the more mature animals to allow the younger animals to graze first on the softer blades of grass, then he permitted the elder animals to graze on the middling blades, and finally the \u201cyoung bucks\u201d to graze on the toughest blades. Said the Holy One, Blessed Be He: Whomever knows how to allow animals belonging to another to graze each according to his own ability, he should come and \u201cshepherd\u201d My flock\u2026\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One does not ordinarily associate sensitivity to animals dependent upon you for their care, with the ability to properly lead large groups of people. Micah\u2019s shepherd metaphor certainly supports this literary tradition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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