David the teacher

Psalm 34 l’chu vanim shimu li Come, sons, listen to me

yirat Hashem alamedhem Fear of G-d I will teach you

I Samuel 17:45 David said to the Philistine ‘You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin – but I come to you with the Name of Hashem, Master of Legions, the God of the battalions of Israel

David the believer - I Samuel

David was a man of war, the great king, whose life was full of drama and triumph, who lived in palace and caves, had eight wives and countless concubines. Violence and sex filled his worldly life enough for a library of R-rated films, yet his hallmark achievement were Tehillim, divinely inspired songs praising the living God. Compare this to Spinoza, a peaceful secular saint, who denied himself all pleasures of the world to focus on his work, who proved the existence of universal God of philosophers through the means of sheer logic. Which book would you reach for when you life is in danger, which God would you call upon when in excruciating pain?

David the believer - II Samuel

One book cannot fit everything that has to be said about David – the hero, the poet, the singer, the lover, the warrior and the king, but most importantly, the believer, the servant of God, a man in whom God planted ruach hakodesh, the holy spirit.   

Bat Sheva

II Samuel, 11:2-3

Vayihi l’et haerev It happened toward evening

Vayakam David me’al mishkavo  That David arose from his bed

Vayithalech al gag beit hamelech And strolled on the roof of the king’s house

Vayar isha rohetzet meal hagag  From atop the roof he saw a woman bathing

V’haisha tova mare m’od And the woman was very beautiful

… Halo zot bat sheva… Is this not Bat Sheva…?

Yehonathan

Samuel I, 18:1 It was after [David] finished speaking to Saul

that Jonathan’s soul became attached to David’s soul

and Jonathan loved him as himself

Abigail

Chapter 25 of I Samuel drew my attention as an incredible piece of advice on how to deal with men. As a disclaimer, the tongue-in-cheek commentary only masks my awe and admiration of the great personalities in the book.

How to give an advice:

Bring food:So Abigail hurried and took two hundred breads, two containers of wine, five cooked sheep, five measures of toasted grain, a hundred raisin-clusters and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and she put them on the donkeys.

Show respect: When Abigail saw David, she hurried, and dismounted from the donkey, and fell on her face before David, and prostrated herself to the ground.

What kind of advice to give:

Choose life:

May my lord’s soul be bound up in the bond of life, with Hashem, your G-d,

Stay righteous: And may it be that when Hashem performs for my lord all the beneficence of which He has spoken regarding you, and appoints you as leader over Israel, that this will not be for you a stumbling block and a moral hindrance for my lord, to have shed innocent blood for my lord to have avenged himself!

When not to talk to a man:

Don’t talk to a drunk: Nabal’s heart was pleased about himself and he was very drunk, so she did not tell him anything minor or major until the morning’s light.

What to do when a great king asks for your hand:

Show respect: She arose and prostrated herself to the ground and said:“Your maidservant is merely a handmaid to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

Don’t hesitate: Abigail then hurried, arose and mounted the donkey, with her five maids traveling with her, and she followed David’s messengers and became his wife.