{"id":61322,"date":"2018-07-09T17:44:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-289\/"},"modified":"2023-03-15T07:21:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T05:21:13","slug":"wall-289","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-289\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-I Kings-2"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"289","date":"20261007","book":"I Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"61248","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - I Kings Chapter 2 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - I Kings Chapter 2","slug":"jps-audio-bible-i-kings-chapter-2","old_id":"61248","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":"289","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 Kings Chapter 2","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_I_Kings_Chapter_2","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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"113526","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"God\/Father ","post_title":"God\/Father","slug":"god-father","old_id":"113526","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":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"I\u2019m going to give you a legacy you can\u2019t refuse\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

To have the best experience possible reading chapter 2, one needs to play Nino Rota\u2019s famous score for <\/span>The Godfather<\/em> <\/span>in the background. With all the transitions in leadership in Tanach, there are actually only a handful of discussions between a leader and their successor. Moses to Joshua is one, and David to Solomon is another. There is no other king to successor speech recorded in Tanach.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We can glean certain aspects of David\u2019s character from his instructions to Solomon. David\u2019s message to Solomon comes in two parts. The first is the \u201choly\u201d message. David instructs Solomon to love and follow God, to keep God\u2019s commandments, and to always stay true to God. The second part of David\u2019s message is the more human, political message. This part is the Godfather part where David instructs Solomon to take care of all the people who have harmed or helped David during his reign.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The style of this messaging is the perfect example of David\u2019s life. It encapsulates the two worlds that David lived in, and was known by: the ethereal world of the book of Psalms and the very physical world of death and destruction. The same man who composed one of history\u2019s greatest works of poetry and prayer was also the man who spent most of his life on the run- escaping Saul, Joab, Absalom, Sheba, even Adonijah on his deathbed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David\u2019s charge to Solomon also reveals David\u2019s true feelings about these struggles. In his lifetime he let Joab run all over him. On his deathbed he could finally charge someone to get rid of the man that both helped and undermined him his entire reign. When David fled Jerusalem, Shimei cursed him on the way out. Faced with such humiliation, he urged his followers to be calm. But on his deathbed, he lashed out, and revealed what he wanted to do years before. He instructed Solomon to keep his promise, but set a standard that would be impossible for Shimei to uphold. In fact, the story fast forwards and tells us that Shimei ends up being killed for refusing to follow the strict rules.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Solomon takes these instructions one step further. He also takes out Adonijah, his rival brother after Adonijah tricks Bathseba into requesting Avishag as a wife.\u00a0 Solomon also dealt with competing priestly families and completed the curse that God made against the house of Eli the priest, through Samuel. Solomon dismisses Abiathar, Eli\u2019s descendant, from the priesthood, and transfers it to Tzadok.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

With all of David\u2019s loose ends tied up nicely, Solomon can start his reign with a clean slate and in peace.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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By The Bay","tile_main_caption":"I Kings 2: Adonijah's Strange Challenge to Solomon","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"With Shira Hecht-Koller and Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey 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She has a BA from the University of Chicago in the History and Philosophy of Science and a JD from NYU School of Law. She studied in the Drisha Scholars Circle as well as at other programs in Israel and Boston, and has taught at a variety of synagogues and Hillels. She previously practiced commercial litigation at a large law firm, and completed a judicial clerkship in the Southern District of New York","short_description":"Miriam Gedwiser teaches Talmud and Tanakh at Ramaz and at Drisha.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":60045,"alt":"","title":"Miriam Gedwiser 2 cropped","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","width":453,"height":522,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1-260x300.jpg","medium-width":260,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","medium_large-width":453,"medium_large-height":522,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","large-width":453,"large-height":522,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":453,"1536x1536-height":522,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":453,"2048x2048-height":522,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":453,"post_full_size-height":522,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1-364x420.jpg","home_baner-width":364,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But Joab was too essential to David\u2019s monarchy to be disposed of so easily","post_main_content_content":"

David cursed Joab back in II Sam. 3, when Joab killed Abner.\u00a0 David kept Joab on, however, relying on him even after Joab killed Absalom and then Amasa.\u00a0 Now, as David lies dying, he instructs his successor Solomon: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cFurther, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of Israel\u2019s forces, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether: he killed them, shedding blood of war in peacetime, staining the girdle of his loins and the sandals on his feet with blood of war.\u00a0 So act in accordance with your wisdom, and see that his white hair does not go down to Sheol in peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cShedding blood of war in peacetime\u201d is the crime, and Abner and Amasa the victims.\u00a0 But Joab had two other famous, named victims, killed in wartime, who loom large in the wings of this scene: Absalom and Uriah.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Joab\u2019s killing of Absalom seems vindicated by what follows in II Sam. 19, but the reader may wonder whether David ever forgave Joab on a personal level.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Absalom\u2019s rebellion and death were themselves among the many consequences of David\u2019s own sin, fulfilling Nathan\u2019s prophecy that \u201cI will make a calamity rise against you from within your own house\u2026\u201d All because \u201cYou have put Uriah the Hittite to the sword; you took his wife and made her your wife\u201d (II Sam.12:9-11).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David\u2019s misery, it turns out, traces back to his own murder-adultery. And the one who helped him commit the murder was Joab.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From Solomon\u2019s perspective, Joab is guilty of the additional crime of supporting Solomon\u2019s rival Adonijah. And indeed it is after Solomon kills Adonijah that Joab realizes he is in peril, \u201cfor Joab had sided with Adonijah, though he had not sided with Absalom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What can we make of Joab\u2019s fate? Is it high-minded, just-deserts for Joab\u2019s personal, backstabbing machinations? Is Joab a casualty of Solomon\u2019s political consolidation? Or is it revenge for his personal slights to David or Solomon?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps it is all of the above. Joab lives by a mixture of cold strategic calculations, loyalty to the Davidic monarchy, and personal grudges, and dies by that same mixture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is not only Joab who lives by this mixture of personal and political, noble and ignoble, but David himself. Cursed Joab and blessed David (and his son) cannot be so easily separated.\u00a0 Perhaps this intertwining lies behind the<\/span> Talmud\u2019s<\/span> imagined dialogue between Joab and Solomon:\u00a0 According to the Talmud, Joab warned Solomon that \u201cyou cannot perform two against that man\u201d (i.e., you cannot punish me twice). If you kill me, Joab explained, be ready to accept the curses that David placed upon me. If you let me go, I will accept the curses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Solomon chose to eliminate Joab, but the separation came at a cost: \u201cRav Yehuda says that Rav says: All the curses with which David cursed Joab were ultimately fulfilled in David\u2019s descendants.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Joab was too essential to David\u2019s monarchy to be disposed of so easily.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span>This is the final post in a series.\u00a0 Previous posts can be found here,\u00a0<\/span>The Saga of Joab<\/span><\/a>, and here - Joab: Outside Looking In<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61519,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-the end","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end.png","width":3600,"height":1736,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-300x145.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":145,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-768x370.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":370,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-1024x494.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":494,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":741,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":988,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-1200x579.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":579,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-871x420.png","home_baner-width":871,"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":"Joab: The Final Chapter","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But Joab was too essential to David\u2019s monarchy to be disposed of so easily","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61519,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-the end","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end.png","width":3600,"height":1736,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-300x145.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":145,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-768x370.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":370,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-1024x494.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":494,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":741,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":988,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-1200x579.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":579,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-the-end-871x420.png","home_baner-width":871,"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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"423","name":"Politics","old_id":"823"},{"term_id":"834","name":"David","old_id":"1234"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"},{"term_id":"900","name":"Joab","old_id":"1300"}]},{"order":5,"id":"61527","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Abishag, Accessory to Power ","post_title":"Abishag, Accessory to Power","slug":"abishag-accessory-to-power","old_id":"61527","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39842,"post_title":"Avigayil Halpern","slug":"avigayil-halpern","old_id":"39842","first_name":"Avigayil ","last_name":"Halpern ","description":"Avigayil Halpern graduated from Yale in May of 2019 and is beginning study toward rabbinic ordination at the Hadar Institute. 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Access to Power","post_main_content_content":"

When we meet Bathsheba at the beginning of I Kings, she appears much more powerful than she has previously been. In Chapter 1, she has negotiated with King David for her son Solomon\u2019s right to rule rather than one of his older brothers. It is this power, one can assume, that draws Adonijah to approach her in Chapter 2.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After he is not anointed as king, but watches his brother take the throne, Adonijah comes to Bathsheba with a request. \u201c\u201cPlease ask King Solomon\u2014for he won\u2019t refuse you\u2014to give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife,\u201d (2:17), he asks. Bathsheba is willing, and takes up his cause with her son the new king.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Solomon, though, is not as acquescient to the request his mother brings before him as Adonijah expects. Not only does he not grant Adonijah\u2019s wish to marry their father\u2019s former attendant, Solomon treats this entreaty as a threat to his authority: \u201cWhy request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Request the kingship for him!\u201d (2:22). For Adonijah to marry Avishag, in Solomon\u2019s eyes, would be a declaration of his authority. Much like Absalom sleeping with David\u2019s concubines as part of his rebellion, for the king\u2019s son to engage with his father\u2019s woman attendant would be to claim his father\u2019s right to rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is an attitude towards women in which they are commodities, representing and containing male power without being granted agency themselves. Abishag is not given the opportunity to express her own wishes; she is a metaphoric representation of David\u2019s authority.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is notable that Bathsheba is willing to be the messenger for Adonijah\u2019s request. She does not refuse him on the grounds of solidarity with Abishag, even though Bathsheba herself was once similarly subject to the king\u2019s absolute power. Even for those of us who have experienced marginalization and the abuse of power, once we are granted access to the halls and thrones of power it is too easy to settle there. We must resist the urge to become comfortable making others disposable in the ways we have been.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61528,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-power","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power.png","width":1280,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power-300x224.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power-768x572.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":572,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power-1024x763.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":763,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":954,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":954,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power-1200x894.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":894,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-power-564x420.png","home_baner-width":564,"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":"Abishag, Accessory to Power","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And Bathsheba? 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She is a graduate of Mandel School For Educational Leadership, works at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and is writing a doctorate in psychology at Bar Ilan University.","short_description":"Naomi (Jaffe) Eini is an educational psychologist, lecturer and workshop facilitator, and doctoral candidate in psychology.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":58420,"alt":"","title":"naomi eini","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","width":960,"height":1135,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-768x908.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":908,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-866x1024.jpg","large-width":866,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":1135,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":1135,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":1135,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Start preparing now","post_main_content_content":"

\"When David\u2019s life was drawing to a close, he instructed his son Solomon as follows...\" (verse 1).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter relates David's demise. It is read as the <\/span>haftarah<\/span> of the portion of <\/span>Vayechi<\/span><\/em>, which relates the demise of the patriarch Jacob and his son Joseph.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Although these two readings discuss death, they are not about dying but rather about life. A life that was lived and lives that will be lived.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not everyone is as lucky as Jacob or David, who were fortunate enough to leave this world <\/span>compos mentis<\/em> <\/span>surrounded by their children. This farewell setting, in which the entire world is condensed into a single room, enables the dying person to observe his deeds and his progeny and share his values, feelings and hopes with them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A \"Good\" Farewell<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

As a rule, we do not like saying goodbye. It is not only difficult for us to part in the time of death, but also in our daily interactions. Dropping a child off at daycare is difficult; when our teenager is away from home for a few days, it is an emotional challenge for us, and we shed emotional farewell tears bringing our child to the marriage canopy. We go to great lengths to avoid bidding farewell to someone close to us, due to the emotional difficulty involved.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, our leaders acted differently and taught us what it means to bid farewell with eyes wide open and from a position of strength. They teach us that everyone eventually dies, but it is not a final end. When a person dies, his or her values and the impression they left in the world remain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to modern psychology, two key fears make it difficult for us to say farewell \u2013 a fear of loneliness and a fear of losing control. Both Jacob and David experienced solitude and loss of control during their lifetimes. As they take leave of this world, they provide us with coping strategies: forging an intimate relationship between parents and children (the father invites his children to his deathbed) helps cope with loneliness, and trust in God helps cope with loss of control.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are sometimes caught unprepared for bidding farewell. It would be wise to start practicing how to say goodbye.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Let us prepare to say goodbye by regularly telling our loved ones how much we love them, what we learn from them and what our hopes for them are.\u00a0 Let us learn to live our lives according to the values that are important to us and strengthen family ties. Now is the time to practice letting go and put our trust in God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We may not be kings or patriarch, but nevertheless saying goodbye is part of our lives and it can become a key for living a meaningful life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Translated by: Chava Wilschanski<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61498,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-farewell","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell.jpg","width":1920,"height":1036,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-300x162.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":162,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-768x414.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":414,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-1024x553.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":553,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":829,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1036,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-1200x648.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":648,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-778x420.jpg","home_baner-width":778,"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 Guide To Bidding Farewell","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Start preparing now","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61498,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-farewell","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell.jpg","width":1920,"height":1036,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-300x162.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":162,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-768x414.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":414,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-1024x553.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":553,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":829,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1036,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-1200x648.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":648,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-farewell-778x420.jpg","home_baner-width":778,"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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"381","name":"love","old_id":"781"},{"term_id":"383","name":"Death","old_id":"783"},{"term_id":"428","name":"Parent","old_id":"828"}]},{"order":7,"id":"61504","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Death Of King David ","post_title":"The Death Of King David","slug":"the-death-of-king-david","old_id":"61504","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But he lives on, and sits on a gigantic throne of fire","post_main_content_content":"

In our chapter, David dies, after having ruled Israel for forty years (1 Kings 2:1-11).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash (Tanhuma Buber Berakhah 7) elaborates on the opening of our chapter: \u201cNow the days of David drew near that he should die\u201d by asking: \u201cDo days die?!\u201d But rather this expression (compare the approaching death of Moses in Deuteronomy 31:14), teaches that when the righteous die, their days cease, but they themselves continue to exist, as it says: \u201cIn His hand is every living soul\u201d (Job 12:10). Now, if the living are in God\u2019s hand, are not the dead also in God\u2019s hand?! But rather, this verse teaches that the righteous, even in their death are called \u201cliving\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to the Talmud (Shabbat 30a-b), King David was destined to die on Shabbat. But this was the day on which he regularly studied Torah all day long. And so long as he was reciting oral traditions aloud, the Angel of Death could not take his soul. So, the Angel of Death made a sound out in David\u2019s garden. When David went out to investigate, a step broke beneath him and for just a moment he stopped reciting Mishnah. This gave the Angel of Death just the chance he was waiting for and he was only then able to take David\u2019s soul.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Heaven, King David again sits on his throne, but it has now become a gigantic throne of fire, from upon which David proclaims: \u201cThe Lord will reign forever and ever\u201d (Exodus 15:18). Metatron and his heavenly retinue respond: \u201cHoly, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts\u201d (Isaiah 6:3). The Holy Hayyot sing out: \u201cBlessed is the Name of the Lord from His place\u201d (Ezekiel 3:12). The Heavens cry out: \u201cThe Lord shall reign forever and ever \u201c(Psalms 146:10). And the Earth echoes: \u201cThe Lord shall reign forever and ever\u201d. And finally, all the Kings of the House of David will shout out: \u201cIn that day, the Lord shall be One, and His name shall be one\u201d (Zechariah 14:9). [Jellinek, Bet Ha-Midrasch V, p. 168]<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: from Bible Historiale<\/em> (The Hague, MMW, 10 A 19, fol. 33r), c. 1435 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61505,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-King_Davids_death (1)","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","width":529,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1-300x272.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":272,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","medium_large-width":529,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","large-width":529,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":529,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":529,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":529,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1-463x420.jpg","home_baner-width":463,"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":"The Death Of King David","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But he lives on, and sits on a gigantic throne of fire","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61505,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-King_Davids_death (1)","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","width":529,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1-300x272.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":272,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","medium_large-width":529,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","large-width":529,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":529,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":529,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":529,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-King_Davids_death-1-463x420.jpg","home_baner-width":463,"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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"383","name":"Death","old_id":"783"},{"term_id":"820","name":"Afterlife","old_id":"1220"},{"term_id":"834","name":"David","old_id":"1234"}]},{"order":8,"id":"61514","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"\u201cBe A Man\u201d - But What Does That Mean ","post_title":"\u201cBe A Man\u201d - But What Does That Mean","slug":"be-a-man-but-what-does-that-mean","old_id":"61514","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56290,"post_title":"Sandra Cohen","slug":"sandra-cohen","old_id":"56290","first_name":"Sandra ","last_name":"Cohen","description":"Rabbi Sandra Cohen teaches, provides pastoral care, and works in mental health outreach. She and her husband live in Denver, Colorado. ","short_description":"Rabbi Sandra Cohen teaches, provides pastoral care, and works in mental health outreach.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56293,"alt":"","title":"Sandra Cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","width":279,"height":303,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen-276x300.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","medium_large-width":279,"medium_large-height":303,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","large-width":279,"large-height":303,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","1536x1536-width":279,"1536x1536-height":303,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","2048x2048-width":279,"2048x2048-height":303,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","post_full_size-width":279,"post_full_size-height":303,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":303}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What kind of men do we want our sons to become?\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cAs King David\u2019s death was drawing near, he tells his son explicitly what men have been telling their sons implicitly for as long as we know: \u201cBe strong and be a man.\u201d Are the two equivalent?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Tanakh is full of blessings from father to son. Isaac blesses Jacob. Jacob blesses his grandsons. David continues in the tradition, blessing his child and charging him to follow in the ways of God, and adhering to the Torah\u2019s commandments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But his first words are more basic. \u201cChazak! - Be Strong!! Man up!!\u201d\u00a0 What does this charge mean? What is King David telling us it means to be a man?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Western culture has long understood \u201cbeing a man\u201d to mean being a strong, silent type. Work hard, provide, be tough, no feelings, John Wayne-rugged. The Jewish ideal man is almost the opposite: learned, pale, weak, an intellectual.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What kind of men do we want our sons to become? Feminists are rightly pointing out that we often teach our daughters how to avoid being raped, rather than teach our sons not to rape, not to view women as objects. As Jews, we want our sons to value our heritage; like King David, we urge them to guard our traditions and relationship with God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Solomon has a heavy task in front of him: leading the nation in the wake of his powerful and popular father\u2019s death. The succession has not been an easy one, nor will the next steps be clear. David goes further than just urging Solomon to follow God\u2019s path. He tells Solomon that if he, and Solomon\u2019s descendants, are scrupulous in doing God\u2019s will, David\u2019s line will endure forever.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is both a remarkable promise, and a heavy burden. \u201cDo it right son,\u201d David implores, \u201cand you ensure my legacy forever.\u201d But, he implies, if Solomon messes up, it will not just be his failure; it will destroy the family\u2019s place in history.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is the burden we place on our sons. \u201cBe strong. Be a man.\u201d There is no room for failure.\u00a0 There is no room to be hesitant, unsure. Do not appear weak; that is the way of women. Vulnerability will destroy you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In many ways Solomon follows this advice. He builds the Temple and a huge palace for himself. He has 600 wives, horses galore, riches beyond imagination. He is strong, he is mighty, he is a man.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But one of the stories we most remember Solomon for shows his other side. Two women come before him, arguing over whose baby is alive. King Solomon understands, intuitively, that the real mother would do anything \u2014 even give up her baby \u2014 so as not to hurt the small infant. He shows he knows what love is, how a parent feels for her child.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This, too, is being a man. Teaching our daughters and SONS to love, to be vulnerable, to respect one another, and as well as being capable, smart, and learned in God\u2019s laws.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61515,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-father son","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son.png","width":640,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-150x300.png","medium-width":150,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-512x1024.png","medium_large-width":512,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-512x1024.png","large-width":512,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son.png","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son.png","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-600x1200.png","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-210x420.png","home_baner-width":210,"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":"\u201cBe A Man\u201d - 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If you had to reduce all wisdom into a single sentence (and I would discourage you from doing that), I can\u2019t think of a better single epigram than the one King David offers on his deathbed to his son, Solomon.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Everything follows the same trajectory. We come into being, thrive for a while, fall apart and then cease to be. This path is the one constant for all existent becomings, be they galaxies, planets, mountains, oceans, plants, animals, or people. All of us have a beginning and an end. It is indeed the \u201cway of all the earth\u201d and there are no exceptions. Mortality, finitude, forms the framing of our being. Whatever meaning we create is bounded by this surrounding ocean of non-existence and may well also be inspired by this finitude.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Humanity is unique in the extent of our awareness of birth and death. It does appear that some mammals are aware of death in its concrete manifestations, when they lose a loved one. But we don\u2019t have access to the mind of a dolphin or an elephant to know if they are aware that they too will one day die. We can\u2019t enter into their thoughts to see if they conceive of mortality itself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But we do. We know that everything has a beginning, a birth. Everything has an end, a death. And we measure the span of our life in that intervening period after birth and prior to death.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David doesn\u2019t invite us to pretend that we are immortal. He doesn\u2019t diminish the reality of death. Instead, he invites us to take a stance of bold honesty and shocking courage. In the face of the certitude that we must die, he says, muster the courage to flourish nonetheless. Find somehow the strength to be a mensch.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The tale is told of a Hasidic master who prayed for mercy for a suffering person, even at the expense of his own divine reward, and a heavenly voice granted the request but announced that he had forfeited eternal life. His response was to double down on gratitude: \u201cAll my life I never knew if my service to God and people was motivated by self-interest or not, but from this moment on, I know that my service is pure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David asks us to reach that level of selfless service: to do good without thought to reward, to love each other with all the tenacity we can must, even if only for the flickering moment of our life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is the way of all the earth to perish. It is the glory of humanity to rise, nonetheless, to love, and to live in the shadow of that destination.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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And his feet. And...","post_main_content_content":"

2:5 \u201cAnd what\u2019s more, you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether -- he killed them, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his belt that was round his waist and on his sandals that were on his feet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Both killings were done on the roadway, Joab approaching his victim with gestures of peace. In the case of Abner, his rival had come to make peace with David, and the phrase \u201cwent in peace [<\/span>shalom<\/span><\/em>]\u201d was attached to Abner in a triple repetition (2 Samuel 3). In the case of Amasa, Joab\u2019s last words to him before stabbing him in the belly were \u201cIs it well [<\/span>shalom<\/span><\/em>] with you, my brother?\u201d (2 Samuel 20). The virtually visual emphasis of blood on belt and sandals recalls in particular the murder of Amasa, who lay in the middle of the road wallowing in blood, while the mention of Joab\u2019s belt looks back to his stratagem of belting his sword to his waist so that it would fall out when he bent over, to be picked up by his left hand. The reference to Joab\u2019s waist and feet conveys an image of a man splashed all over with blood. Beyond this integration of details from the preceding narrative in the words David chooses, the concentration on blood reflects a general belief that blood shed in murder lingers over not only the murderer but also over those associated with the victim like a contaminating miasma until it is \u201credeemed\u201d or \u201ctaken away\u201d by vengeance.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"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":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Joab\u2019s Crimes","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He had blood on his hands. And his feet. And...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"61468","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"On The Lam At The Altar ","post_title":"On The Lam At The Altar","slug":"on-the-lam-at-the-altar","old_id":"61468","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The authority of the king has no place in the palace of the King of Kings","post_main_content_content":"

When he realizes that his life is in danger, Joab flees to the altar, as Adonijah does in Chapter 1. What is the origin of this act, and how does it work?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Torah instructs: \"And if a person comes maliciously against his fellow to kill him with guile, you shall take him from My altar to die\" (Ex. 21:14). It seems that this is a reference to an ancient tradition which perceived the sacrificial altar, a classic instrument of atonement, as able to offer protection to fugitives from the law. The law in Parashat Mishpatim explicitly rejects this arrangement of asylum, stating that even when criminals seek protection at the altar, they will be taken from there to their deaths.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If Jewish tradition rejects this practice, why do Joab and Adonijah run to the altar?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rambam applies the law of \"take him from My altar to die\" in a particular context:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

An individual who is afraid to be killed by order of the king or by emergency order of the court, and escapes to the altar and leans on it, even if he is not a priest, he is saved. We do not ever take him from the altar to die, unless he is liable for the death penalty by the court with complete testimony and forewarning, like others who are executed by the court at all times. (Laws of the Murderer and Protection of Life 5:14)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In other words, the right of asylum is not extended to criminals liable in a court of justice; it applies exclusively to people who are entangled with the ruling powers. A murderer will be tried in court, and the altar offers no protection, but fugitives from the king on account of treason have the advantage of the protection of the Temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is the logic behind this distinction? Perhaps the Temple, the altar, is in some way extraterritorial: Torah law may apply at the altar (the Sanhedrin, after all, sits adjacent to the altar), but the authority of the king has no place in the palace of the King of Kings. By fleeing to the altar, Joab seeks to declare that his offense is a crime against the king alone; he is not guilty of murder in the standard sense. Solomon, however, insists that he be treated like a willful murderer; he is guilty as a criminal and must pay for his crimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Alex Israel, 1 Kings: Torn in Two<\/em>, Maggid Books, 2013, <\/span>Race to the Throne<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61437,"alt":"","title":"alex israel - kings 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from: 1 Kings - Torn in Two","tile_main_caption":"On The Lam At The Altar","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The authority of the king has no place in the palace of the King of Kings","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61437,"alt":"","title":"alex israel - kings 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Snapshots","tile_main_caption":"I Kings 2: The Kingdom Of Solomon Is Unshaken","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Adam Mintz ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/_yOTXrQjvvQ","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":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I 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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":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The murder charge doesn\u2019t stick, but Solomon got Joab for treason","post_main_content_content":"

We have already alluded to the events in this chapter on previous occasions. In 2 Samuel 3, we noted that we would revisit, here, the question of whether Joab\u2019s killing of Abner was justifiable\u2014as an act of blood vengeance\u2014or coldblooded murder. In 2 Samuel 11-12, we indicated that at that same revisiting we would address the question of David\u2019s killing of Uriah. These ingredients come together in the following talmudic aggadah (legend).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

[King Solomon] brought Joab to trial and said to him: Why did you kill Abner? He replied: I was avenging [my brother] Asael. Was Asael not in pursuit of Abner? \u2026 Since Abner was able to strike him at the fifth rib... he could have just wounded him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

[Solomon] said: Why did you kill Amasa? [Joab] replied: Because Amasa committed treason against the king. \u201cThe king [David] ordered Amasa to summon all the men of Judah in three days\u2019 time... Amasa went to summon them and tarried\u201d (2 Samuel 20:4 ff.)\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

[So why was Joab executed?] He was a traitor, as it states: \u201cThe news reached Joab who had sided with Adonijah, although not with Absalom\u201d (1 Kings 2:28) (<\/span>Sanhedrin<\/span><\/i> 49a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The conclusion appears to be that while Joab was morally guilty regarding Abner and Amasa, he was not legally culpable. The passage continues:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God brought [Joab\u2019s] guilt down upon his own head for having struck down two more righteous and better men than he. Better, in that they [Abner and Amasa] construed the \u201cbuts and onlys\u201d [see our comments on Joshua 1], while he did not. More righteous, in that they refused a command [from Saul, to slay the priests of Nob] that came [only] orally; while he obeyed a command [to place Uriah in jeopardy] that came in writing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That last reference addresses the question of David\u2019s guilt or responsibility for the death of Uriah. Since his order to Joab (\u201cin writing\u201d) was plainly illegal, Joab should have refused to obey it. Indeed, by following it, he exposed himself to its consequences, pursuant to the Talmudic stipulation:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If one commissions an agent to commit murder and he complies, the agent is guilty and the principal is exempt. Shammai the Elder said in the name of the prophet Haggai, the principal [too?] is guilty, as it states [of David]: \u201cYou slew Uriah\u2026 by the sword\u2026 and killed him by the Ammonite sword\u201d (2 Samuel 12:9) (<\/span>Kiddushin,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>43a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David\u2019s guilt, notwithstanding the above exclusion, is explained by Radak (2 Samuel 12:9):<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Generally, a person should refrain from following the king's orders in such a case. We have explained, apropos of \"Anyone who defies your word shall die\" (Joshua 1:18), that this does not include the commission of a crime, as the verse states: \"<\/span>Only<\/span><\/i>\" [be firm and resolute, excluding instructions that violate Torah law].<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not everyone, however, is capable of construing \"buts\" and \"onlys.\" The onus [punishment], therefore, is on the king.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61512,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-treason","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason.png","width":1280,"height":966,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-300x226.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":226,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-768x580.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":580,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-1024x773.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":773,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":966,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":966,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-1200x906.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":906,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-557x420.png","home_baner-width":557,"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":"\u201cOne Cannot Delegate the Commission of a Crime\u201d","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The murder charge doesn\u2019t stick, but Solomon got Joab for treason","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61512,"alt":"","title":"1kings2-treason","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason.png","width":1280,"height":966,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-300x226.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":226,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-768x580.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":580,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-1024x773.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":773,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":966,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":966,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-1200x906.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":906,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason-557x420.png","home_baner-width":557,"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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"499","name":"Trial","old_id":"899"},{"term_id":"762","name":"Murder","old_id":"1162"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"},{"term_id":"900","name":"Joab","old_id":"1300"}]},{"order":15,"id":"61269","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - I Kings 2 ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - I Kings 2","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-i-kings-2","old_id":"61269","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42228,"post_title":"Sefaria","slug":"sefaria","old_id":"42228","first_name":"","last_name":"Sefaria","description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. 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\u201cShould Our Moral Values Trump Our Respect For Our Leaders?\u201d<\/a> by Josh Pernick: How and when do we approach those in power?<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAirtime in the Tanach\u201d<\/a> by Dan Epstein: Explore which characters get more attention in the Bible, and why.<\/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":"Source Sheets - I Kings 2","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":16,"id":"61386","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Kings 2 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Kings 2","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-i-kings-2","old_id":"61386","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. Be shrewd!<\/em> This is the thread that runs through David\u2019s deathbed instructions to Solomon. \u201cAct in accordance with your wisdom\u2026 for you are a wise man\u2026\u201d And that\u2019s exactly what Solomon does in the second half of the chapter.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. When heavenly plans and earthly politics meet<\/em>. Dismissing Abiathar from the priesthood is both a political distancing of a priest with dubious loyalties, and also the fulfillment of an old prophecy: \u201cthus fulfilling what the LORD had spoken at Shiloh regarding the house of Eli\u201d (verse 27).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Joab: War and Peace<\/em>. This is how David defines Joab\u2019s problem: \u201cshedding blood of war in peacetime,\u201d which fits the description of how Joab killed Abner and Amasa. Executing Joab is defined here as punishment. But it\u2019s not just about closing past accounts; it\u2019s also \u201cclearing the decks\u201d for a new beginning for Solomon.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Shimei<\/em>. His story concludes here, and we can ask: Was he a lone wolf, who paid the price for his mistake? Or did he have political clout in Benjamin, and therefore important to insure that he can\u2019t organize? The story can be read both ways.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"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 Kings 2","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"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 Kings","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"289","date":"20261007","wall_id":"289"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/61322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}