{"id":58705,"date":"2018-07-09T17:43:38","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-260\/"},"modified":"2023-02-02T08:33:22","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T06:33:22","slug":"wall-260","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-260\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-I Samuel-28"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"260","date":"20260827","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"58814","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"I Samuel Chapter 28 - Read by Francie Anne Riley ","post_title":"I Samuel Chapter 28 - Read by Francie Anne Riley","slug":"i-samuel-chapter-28-read-by-francie-anne-riley","old_id":"58814","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"I Samuel 28","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"read by Francie Anne Riley","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_I_Samuel_Chapter_28_read_by_Francie_Anne_Riley","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","date":"20260827","wall_id":"260"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"59298","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Listening to the Prophets with Rabbi Abby Sosland- I Samuel 28 ","post_title":"Listening to the Prophets with Rabbi Abby Sosland- I Samuel 28","slug":"listening-to-the-prophets-with-rabbi-abby-sosland-i-samuel-28","old_id":"59298","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56624,"post_title":"Abby Sosland","slug":"abby-sosland","old_id":"56624","first_name":"Abby ","last_name":"Sosland","description":"Rabbi Abby Sosland is a spiritual advisor, writer, and educator, based at The Leffell School in Westchester, New York. 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","post_title":"Why Did The Witch Scream?","slug":"why-did-the-witch-scream","old_id":"112232","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And why did Saul partake of counsel that he himself had outlawed?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Saul is at the end of the line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Philistines prepare for battle and he is cut off from God. He tries in vain to speak with God and to ask God whether the Israelites should go out to battle. Desperate, he has his servants search for a witch who can raise the spirits of the dead for him. In a cruel twist, the servants have difficulty locating a witch because of Saul\u2019s own decree that outlawed all types of necromancy. Saul did the righteous thing by removing this form of idol worship from the land, but his station has fallen so that he must transgress his own ruling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The servants locate a witch in the town of Endor. Not realizing she is talking to Saul, she says she cannot perform magic because Saul outlawed it. Saul assures her she will be unharmed, again emphasizing the fact that he must go against his own decree. The woman begins her incantations and Saul says he wants her to resurrect the spirit of Samuel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then the woman recognized Samuel (<\/span>Septuagint mss. read \u201cSaul<\/span><\/em>\u201d),<\/span><\/i> and she shrieked loudly, and said to Saul, \u2018Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!\u2019\u201d (verse 12).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why does the witch scream when she sees Samuel? Why does seeing Samuel lead to her figuring out that Saul is Saul? It cannot be because he asked for her to resurrect Samuel, then she would have protested immediately. Rashi explains that she shrieked because the spirit of Samuel was not appearing in the regular way of a resurrected spirit. Normally a spirit appears upside down, but Samuel appeared right side up. Rashi explains that she interpreted this as a sign of respect toward Saul. This was the telltale sign that he was the king. Radak agrees with Rashi\u2019s reasoning about how she knew it was Saul, but he says she screamed because she was afraid of Saul once she figured it out. In both of these interpretations, the witch\u2019s magic is real.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another interpretation is that the text should have said she recognized Saul, not Samuel. This is how the verse appears in the Septuagint. This whole verse happens before she even tries to conjure up Samuel. The problem is the text does not explain why she would suddenly recognize him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another interpretation is that she screamed because her magic worked for the first time. She may have been a charlatan witch who claimed to speak to the dead, but instead conjured up a ruse. She fully intended to do that here, but instead she actually saw someone. When Samuel appeared, recognizable in his official cloak, she was frightened that there was actually a spirit in her room. Only the king could have been responsible for such a miracle, and that is why she knew it was Saul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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By collaborating with community centers to exhibit her work, and drawing upon her experience as both an artist and educator, her art acts as a bridge which connects past and present and viewers with one another.\r\nMichal dedicates her work in memory to her father Shamai Zweigreich z\u201dl and her grandfather Yisrael Zweigreich z\u201dl, who loved studying Bible and Talmud.","short_description":"Michal Nachmany is a self-taught artist and educator","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56635,"alt":"","title":"michal nachmany picture","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","width":157,"height":243,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","medium-width":157,"medium-height":243,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","medium_large-width":157,"medium_large-height":243,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","large-width":157,"large-height":243,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","1536x1536-width":157,"1536x1536-height":243,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","2048x2048-width":157,"2048x2048-height":243,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","post_full_size-width":157,"post_full_size-height":243,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","home_baner-width":157,"home_baner-height":243}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"She set this before Saul and his courtiers, and they ate.","post_main_content_content":"

Mixed-media work by Michal Nachmany, courtesy of the artist<\/p>\r\n

Michal dedicates her work in memory to her father Shamai Zweigreich z\u201dl \u00a0and her grandfather \u00a0Yisrael Zweigreich z\u201dl, who loved studying Bible and Talmud.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59115,"alt":"","title":"i sam 28","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","width":839,"height":880,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-286x300.jpg","medium-width":286,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-768x806.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":806,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","large-width":839,"large-height":880,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","1536x1536-width":839,"1536x1536-height":880,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","2048x2048-width":839,"2048x2048-height":880,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","post_full_size-width":839,"post_full_size-height":880,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-400x420.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"I Sam 28:25","tile_main_caption":"And Saul Ate","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"She set this before Saul and his courtiers, and they ate","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59115,"alt":"","title":"i sam 28","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","width":839,"height":880,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-286x300.jpg","medium-width":286,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-768x806.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":806,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","large-width":839,"large-height":880,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","1536x1536-width":839,"1536x1536-height":880,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","2048x2048-width":839,"2048x2048-height":880,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28.jpg","post_full_size-width":839,"post_full_size-height":880,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-28-400x420.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","date":"20260827","wall_id":"260"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":5,"id":"59159","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Creepy Spirit-Raising Necromancer = Jewish Mother!? ","post_title":"Creepy Spirit-Raising Necromancer = Jewish Mother!?","slug":"creepy-spirit-raising-necromancer-jewish-mother","old_id":"59159","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36277,"post_title":"Yedidya Sinclair","slug":"yedidya-sinclair","old_id":"36277","first_name":"Yedidya","last_name":"Sinclair","description":"Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair serves as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon, the leading US Jewish environmental organization. From 2011-16 he was Vice President for Research and Senior Economist at Energiya Global, a Jerusalem-based solar energy company focused on the developing world and he continues to consult on renewable energy and climate change preparedness. In 2014 he published together with Hazon, a translation of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's great work on shmitta, the Sabbatical year, \"Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz.\" Yedidya holds a BA from Oxford University, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and lives with his family in Jerusalem.","short_description":"Yedidya Sinclair is a Jerusalem-based rabbi and economist, and is Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36278,"alt":"","title":"yedidya sinclair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Though she raises the dead by profession, she is a hospitable daughter of Abraham","post_main_content_content":"

Of all the textual parallels between the stories of Saul and David and the book of Genesis, the one at the end of today\u2019s chapter is both the most blatantly deliberate and also perhaps the most perplexing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this terrible scene, a wretched and desperate King Saul, abandoned by God and facing defeat by the Philistines, illegally seeks out a witch at Endor to summon up the spirit of Saul\u2019s mentor, Samuel. The Witch of Endor conjures up a vision of Samuel who declares that God has indeed rejected Saul, whose life and reign are about to end, and that David will inherit the kingdom. Saul falls flat on the ground with shock. The witch begs Saul to let her feed him a good meal and Saul reluctantly agrees.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That the creepy-seeming spirit-raising necromancer unexpectedly turns out to be a Jewish mother is weird enough. Stranger still is that the words the author uses to describe her preparing food for Saul echo precisely the description in Genesis 18 of Abraham bringing food to the angels. As the <\/span>Da\u2019at Mikra<\/span><\/i> commentary shows, the phrases \u201cLet me set before you a little food\u2026the woman had a stall-fed calf\u2026she hastily slaughtered it\u2026took flour and kneaded it\u2026and baked some cakes\u201d (v.22-4) all have striking parallels in the story of Abraham\u2019 open-hearted hospitality recounted in Genesis 18:3-8<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why would the author of I Samuel wish to compare the Witch of Endor, who pursues pagan sorcery that is punishable by death to Abraham, the founder of monotheism?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

My speculative answer is the following: in the nightmare of Saul\u2019s decline and his murderous, paranoid persecution of David, God\u2019s presence deserted Saul and was pressed to the margins of Israel. Saul can only hope to find divine connection and consolation through consorting illegally with witchcraft (which he himself had banned from the land.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When Samuel emphatically announces that Saul\u2019s time is over, the nightmare starts to lift. Just then, this woman who, only moments earlier, was illicitly summoning ghosts, is revealed as a good-hearted and generous daughter of Abraham. The ethical spirit of Israel, crushed and twisted by Saul\u2019s tyrannical rule begins to reawaken.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This direction also imagines a twist on the questions that have puzzled the commentators throughout the ages about this episode: was the Witch\u2019s sorcery real? Do we believe that there is any reality in forbidden witchcraft? Rambam believed not, whereas Ramban and others thought that there can be. Perhaps some say, the witch faked Samuel\u2019s appearance, or maybe the petrified Saul imagined the whole thing?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our line of thought here suggests that the woman\u2019s magic was neither fabrication nor hallucination but a misplaced search for godliness in a time and place where God had fallen silent. And so, as Saul\u2019s reign ends, the Witch of Endor\u2019s quest for divinity, which had been perverted into the forbidden seeking of spirits is now rechanneled into selfless acts of compassion and loving-kindness.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59160,"alt":"","title":"isam28-jewish 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Spirit-Raising Necromancer = Jewish Mother!?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Though she raises the dead by profession, she is a hospitable daughter of Abraham","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59160,"alt":"","title":"isam28-jewish 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Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","date":"20260827","wall_id":"260"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"415","name":"food","old_id":"815"},{"term_id":"418","name":"Abraham","old_id":"818"},{"term_id":"604","name":"Mothers","old_id":"1004"},{"term_id":"718","name":"Hospitality","old_id":"1118"},{"term_id":"881","name":"Genesis","old_id":"1281"},{"term_id":"885","name":"Saul","old_id":"1285"}]},{"order":6,"id":"59162","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Case Of Unusual Hospitality: Saul And the Witch of En-Dor ","post_title":"A Case Of Unusual Hospitality: Saul And the Witch of En-Dor","slug":"a-case-of-unusual-hospitality-saul-and-the-witch-of-en-dor","old_id":"59162","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":58558,"post_title":"Michelle Friedman","slug":"michelle-friedman","old_id":"58558","first_name":"Michelle ","last_name":"Friedman ","description":"Dr. Michelle Friedman is the Founder and Sharon and Steven Lieberman Chair in Pastoral Counseling at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Dr. Friedman is a highly respected psychiatrist who focuses on the Jewish community and has a special interest in the rabbinate and pastoral counseling. In addition to her private practice and her role at YCT, Dr. Friedman is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.","short_description":"Dr. Michelle Friedman is Chair in Pastoral Counseling at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":58559,"alt":"","title":"michelle_friedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman.jpg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman.jpg","large-width":500,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman.jpg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman.jpg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman.jpg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/michelle_friedman-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Her humanity redeems his dignity, as he continues to his death","post_main_content_content":"

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>\r\n

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

Image: The Shade Of Samuel Invoked By Saul, Nikiforovich Dmitry Martynov, c. 1857<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59163,"alt":"","title":"isam28-Witch_of_Endor_(Martynov)","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov.jpg","width":1024,"height":888,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov-300x260.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":260,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov-768x666.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":666,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov-1024x888.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":888,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":888,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":888,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":888,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Witch_of_Endor_Martynov-484x420.jpg","home_baner-width":484,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Case Of Unusual Hospitality: Saul And the Witch of En-Dor","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Her humanity redeems his dignity, as he continues to his 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Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Reading the story from the mental health angle","post_main_content_content":"

The very troubled and troubling relationship between David and Saul comes to a head when David flees to Gath in the land of the Philistines. David has been suffering relentless persecution by the king, Saul, for some time now, resulting in him living in hiding in fear of being found and killed. Eventually he feels his only option is to leave his land and seek protection from the Philistines.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the David and Saul story has so many more layers than just persecuted\/persecutor. On the surface it reads like a disturbing abusive relationship scenario. Saul repeatedly sets out to attack David; David understands he\u2019s at risk and goes into hiding; then David eventually comes forward, tries to repair the relationship, and accepts Saul\u2019s apparent remorse and rehabilitation \u2013 only to have the pattern repeat. But at the same time, the Tanach and commentaries often speak glorifyingly of Saul\u2019s humility, modesty and dedication to his people, the kingship and God.\u00a0 How do we reconcile these conflicting personas of tormentor and holy, committed prophet and king?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Saul narrative openly speaks of his mental illness, referring frequently to his deep depression and linking each \u201coutburst\u201d phase of his behaviour to a decline in his mental health. But when Saul is well, he clearly demonstrates his reverence for David and commitment to God. David evidently recognized that it\u2019s not \u201cthe real Saul\u201d who was persecuting him but rather that Saul too was a victim of his illness. The real Saul was the God-fearing, dedicated king \u2013 it just didn\u2019t shine through all that often.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In a time when mental health was little spoken of, likely heavily stigmatized, and largely untreatable, David handled the situation as best he could. He kept the door open to Saul, repeatedly letting him know that a positive relationship between them was still attainable. At the same time David recognized that he had to protect himself from harm. And sadly, there came a point in time when David admitted that there was nothing more he could do for Saul and his only option was to remove himself completely from the situation. Even God himself finally withdrew from Saul in this chapter (verse 6): \u201cSaul inquired of God, and God did not answer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These are very difficult chapters to comprehend but considering them through a lens of mental health education allowed this reader to at least make my peace with Saul.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59135,"alt":"","title":"isam28-mental 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And David: Navigating A Difficult Relationship","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Reading the story from the mental health angle \u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59135,"alt":"","title":"isam28-mental 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He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A guest column by the Gaon R. Shmuel bar Hofni (d. 1034)","post_main_content_content":"

The opinion of R. Shmuel bar Hofni, Gaon of Sura in the latter half of the 10<\/span>th<\/span> century, has been known ever since it was cited by Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi)\u00a0 in his commentary: \u201cHe said that in spite of the fact that the Sages appear to have confirmed that the woman resurrected Samuel this cannot be accepted because it contradicts reason.\u201d Thanks to the Cairo Genizah, however, we now possess a portion of the original commentary, which took the form of a response (<\/span>teshuvah<\/span><\/i>) to a questioner. Here are some key excerpts (translated from the Judeo Arabic).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The first question [derives] from the language of Scripture: \u201cSaul knew that it was Samuel\u201d (14). The petitioner asked: If Samuel did not truly arise and was not visible, what apparition was [Saul] shown that is referred to by Scripture as \u201cHe knew\u201d? [The Gaon] replied: Knowledge is used metaphorically to signify thought, as in \u201c`Onan knew\u201d (Gen. 38:9). Similarly \u201cSaul knew\u201d [means] he thought, felt, and believed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The second question: \u201cSaul said to Samuel, \u2018Why have you agitated me\u2019? And he replied, \u2018Why do you ask me?\u2019\u201d (15). This states explicitly that Samuel spoke to him, and he could not have spoken to him unless he was alive. We say [in response] that \u201cSamuel said\u201d means that Mistress \u2018Ob said to him that Samuel is speaking to you such and such. If one were to ask, but Scripture does not [explicitly] state that the woman said that Samuel had spoken? We would respond that while this is true, reason mandates that Scripture is only speaking from the perspective of Mistress \u2018Ob. This is not distinct from the language of Scripture in the case of the emissaries of the king of Jericho, \u201cThey pursued [the Israelite spies] all the way to the Jordan\u201d (Joshua 2:7) even though they were actually with Rahab [and could not have been the subjects of the pursuit]\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

[The witch also] misled him into initiating this inquiry by saying \u201cWhom shall I raise for you?\u201d [leading Saul] to reply, \u201cRaise up Samuel for me\u201d (11), and she fooled him into thinking that she had that ability. Every time we encounter the word \u201che said\u201d or \u201che spoke,\u201d wherein it is impossible to be the speech of the one so identified, then we may say that it may be as we have explained in this episode. If it is not impossible, then we may not purge any \u201csaid\u201d or \u201cspoke\u201d of its literal sense unless it contradicts reason or is [otherwise] impossible. Look at the language of Scripture \u201cThe vine spoke\u201d (Judges 9:13); it is as we have explained that it is inconceivable and preposterous for a vine [to speak].\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59142,"alt":"","title":"isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","width":399,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon-249x300.jpg","medium-width":249,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","medium_large-width":399,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","large-width":399,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","1536x1536-width":399,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","2048x2048-width":399,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","post_full_size-width":399,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon-349x420.jpg","home_baner-width":349,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"No, We Don\u2019t Believe in Seances, Ghosts And The Talking Dead","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A guest column by the Gaon R. Shmuel bar Hofni (d. 1034)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59142,"alt":"","title":"isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","width":399,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon-249x300.jpg","medium-width":249,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","medium_large-width":399,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","large-width":399,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","1536x1536-width":399,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","2048x2048-width":399,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon.jpg","post_full_size-width":399,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-samuel_ben_hofni_gaon-349x420.jpg","home_baner-width":349,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","date":"20260827","wall_id":"260"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"444","name":"History","old_id":"844"},{"term_id":"662","name":"Halacha","old_id":"1062"},{"term_id":"752","name":"Reason","old_id":"1152"}]},{"order":9,"id":"59144","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Saul Finds No Comfort Between Gilboa and Tabor\u00a0 ","post_title":"Saul Finds No Comfort Between Gilboa And Tabor\u00a0","slug":"saul-finds-no-comfort-between-gilboa-and-tabor","old_id":"59144","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34245,"post_title":"Rachel Sharansky Danziger","slug":"rachel-sharansky-danziger","old_id":"34245","first_name":"Rachel Sharansky","last_name":"Danziger","description":"Rachel Sharansky Danziger is a Jerusalem-born writer and speaker who blogs about Judaism, parenting, and life in Israel. She currently lives in Boston, where she teaches about storytelling in the bible and the subversive depths of Hebrew words.\r\n","short_description":"Rachel Sharansky Danziger is a Jerusalem-born Boston-based writer and speaker about Judaism, parenting, and life in Israel. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34246,"alt":"","title":"RSDanziger","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger.jpg","width":1171,"height":1769,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-678x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":678,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-678x1024.jpg","large-width":678,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger.jpg","1536x1536-width":1017,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger.jpg","2048x2048-width":1171,"2048x2048-height":1769,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-794x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":794,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\u2018Tomorrow your sons and you will be with me\u2019 - said the ghost","post_main_content_content":"

As his last night spread above the Jezreel valley, King Saul prepared to ride down the slopes of Mount Gilboa. Ahead of him, and across a narrow stretch of valley, his enemies were gathering for war. Beyond them Moreh Hill stretched its arms from east to west, and further still En-Dor lay hidden, and within it, Saul\u2019s only hope for counsel. Beyond it all, Mount Tabor\u2019s silhouette arched against the sky, like a rounded belly, like the promise of new life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Once upon a time, Barak led men from Mount Tabor and earned a victory against all odds. Perhaps King Saul thought of that victory as he rode down the slopes and straight across the valley, braving the proximity of his enemies\u2019 camp. Barak won, but not without prophetic counsel. And Saul rode in search of similar advice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Maybe he looked up at Mount Tabor and thought: it\u2019s worth the risk.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Saul\u2019s ride led him to the place, and ghost, he hoped for. And If you will follow in his footsteps, you could find En-Dor as well. You won\u2019t face Philistines, but you will have to navigate without the help of signage. You won\u2019t have to disguise yourself in \u201cdifferent clothes\u201d, but you will have to drive off the road and through someone\u2019s rows of olives. And at the end, you will find the place you sought but nothing much besides it: a green sign and some beehives will be your only prize. No visitor center will welcome you with maps or souvenirs or candy. No monument will loom above to tell you of King Saul\u2019s nighttime ride.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But perhaps this very absence is the most appropriate commemoration, for Saul, too, reached En-Dor but didn\u2019t find there what he sought. He found his prophet, but his efforts didn\u2019t earn him counsel. He found out the future, but there was naught within it that could give him hope.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When I stood in En-Dor between the beehives and the brambles, I looked ahead to Mount Tabor, and thought of Saul\u2019s disappointment. \u201cTomorrow your sons and you will be with me,\u201d said Samuel\u2019s spirit, and perhaps there was some comfort \u2013 cold comfort to be sure\u2013 in this promise. Did Saul feel it as he turned his back on Mount Tabor and on the hope of Godly aid and counsel? Was it this comfort that spurred him on, as he rode back and to his death<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It took courage to ride out to En-Dor and pass so close to battle-hungry enemies. But perhaps it took a greater courage to ride back.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Mt Tabor, from biblical Ein Dor, photo by the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59151,"alt":"","title":"isam28-Mount Tabor from Endor","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor.jpg","width":4032,"height":3024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1536,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Saul Finds No Comfort Between Gilboa And Tabor\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"\u2018Tomorrow your sons and you will be with me\u2019 - said the ghost","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59151,"alt":"","title":"isam28-Mount Tabor from Endor","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor.jpg","width":4032,"height":3024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1536,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-Mount-Tabor-from-Endor-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","date":"20260827","wall_id":"260"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"373","name":"Literature","old_id":"773"},{"term_id":"519","name":"Courage","old_id":"919"},{"term_id":"885","name":"Saul","old_id":"1285"}]},{"order":10,"id":"59112","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"King Saul And The Witch Of En-Dor ","post_title":"King Saul And The Witch Of En-Dor","slug":"king-saul-and-the-witch-of-en-dor","old_id":"59112","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\"Then Saul said to his servants, 'Seek out for me a woman who can tell the future by raising up a ghost, that I may go to her and inquire of her.'\u00a0 And his servants told him, 'Behold, in En-Dor there is such a woman who divines by means of dead spirits.\" (28:7)","post_main_content_content":"

Disguised, the frightened king has come to find<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>A witch who can revive a prophet's ghost<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Through sorcery, or incantations most<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Of us have never heard.\u00a0 For we are blind<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To seaborne visions that the witch's mind<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Perceives \u2014 stark visions of an island's coast<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>That's filled with shipwrecked vessels and a host<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Of shattered rafts gravediggers left behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But afterwards, the king will leave to meet<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>His enemies; no longer timorous,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>He gallops forward to his certain death.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And we, like Saul, our king, our captain, eat<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The witch's bread, although for each of us<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Gilboa waits to steal away our breath.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"King Saul And The Witch Of En-Dor","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And we, like Saul, our king, our captain \/ eat The witch's bread, although for each of us \/ Gilboa waits to steal away our breath","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","date":"20260827","wall_id":"260"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"},{"term_id":"885","name":"Saul","old_id":"1285"}]},{"order":11,"id":"59165","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Saul\u2019s Fall ","post_title":"Saul\u2019s Fall","slug":"sauls-fall","old_id":"59165","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56118,"post_title":"Tzvi Sinensky","slug":"tzvi-sinensky","old_id":"56118","first_name":"Tzvi ","last_name":"Sinensky ","description":"Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky is the Director of Interdisciplinary Learning and Educational Outreach at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, NJ. He holds a graduate certificate degree in Gender Studies from Utah State University, and is pursuing a PhD on the intersection between Jewish thought and gender studies at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. ","short_description":"Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky is the Director of Interdisciplinary Learning and Educational Outreach at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, NJ.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56119,"alt":"","title":"tzvi_sinensky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","width":240,"height":280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":280,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":280,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":280,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","post_full_size-width":240,"post_full_size-height":280,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","home_baner-width":240,"home_baner-height":280}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But the woman of Ein Dor sees his humanity, and responds with lovingkindness","post_main_content_content":"

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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\n

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And Saul inquired of the Lord and the Lord did not answer him, neither by dreams nor by the Urim nor by prophets (28:6).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Commentary: <\/span>the Lord did not answer\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

One last time, Saul is excluded from Divine knowledge, all the accepted channels for its conveyance, being enumerated here- dream interpretation, oracular device, prophecy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, <\/span>The Hebrew Bible<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. 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\u201cWhat comes next? Jewish sources on the Afterlife\u201d<\/a> by Philip Weintraub: What do Jewish sources tell us about what happens after death?<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe Real Deal or a Bad Deal? Sorcery in the Tanakh\u201d<\/a> by Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone: Biblical texts about magic.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - I Samuel 28","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"260","date":"20260827","wall_id":"260"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":16,"id":"58793","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Samuel 28 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Samuel 28","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-i-samuel-28","old_id":"58793","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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    \r\n\t
  1. Mixed feelings<\/span><\/em>. Besides the very human sympathy for Saul that the chapter arouses, there are also certain hints at criticism that will help the experienced reader understand why Saul deserves his fate. For instance: Saul turns to necromancy, a pagan form of sorcery that he himself outlawed. Moreover, Saul doesn\u2019t listen to God (verse 18), but he does listen to the medium (verse 22). And at the advice of the medium Saul breaks his fast with a feast, while for the merest nibble during a previous fast, Saul was willing to execute his own son Jonathan, in chapter 14.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. In disguise<\/span><\/em>. Who is Saul hiding from, in his getup? From his own people? From the Philistines? From the witch\/medium\/necromancer? From his own fears? In any event, a disguise in the Tanach is not a Purim celebration: it is either folly, in the best case scenario, or deception in the worst (see Jacob and the theft of the blessing in Genesis 27, or the Gibeonites in Joshua 9).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. In his life and also in death<\/span><\/em>. The robe that was Samuel\u2019s distinguishing feature when he was alive, is still his most distinctive feature when he rises from the world of the dead: \u201c\u2018What does he look like?\u2019\u201d he asked her. \u201c\u2018It is an old man coming up,\u2019\u201d she said, \u201c\u2018and he is wrapped in a robe.\u2019\u201d Then Saul knew that it was Samuel\u201d (verse 14).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. The hostess with the mostest.<\/i> The medium offered \u201ca bit of food\u201d (Hebrew - \u201ca piece of bread\u201d, verse 22) and then \u201cThe woman had a stall-fed calf in the house; she hastily slaughtered it, and took flour and kneaded it, and baked some unleavened cakes\u201d (verse 24). 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