Sotah 013
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BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI
of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP |
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Samson followed his eyes: therefore the Philistines put out his eyes (as it is said: 'And the Philistines took him and put out his eyes'). Absalom beautified his hair: therefore he was hanged by his hair. And because he had conjugal relations with ten of his fathers mistresses he had ten spears thrust into him (as it is said: 'And then of Joab's armed force surrounded him'). And he stole the hearts of three: his father, the Bet Din and the men of Israel (as it is said: 'And Absalom stole the heart of the men of Israel'); this is why he was struck by three darts (as it is said: 'And he took in his hand three darts and thrust them into Absalom's heart').
EXPLANATIONS (continued):
3:
In an act of revenge (of which more later) Absalom, a son of King David, had murdered his elder brother, Amnon, thus incurring the king's disfavour. In addition the bible [2Samuel 14:25-26] gives us a curious biographical detail: In all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. He would cut his hair annually and only because it became too heavy for him; when he did so he would weigh his hair at two hundred shekels, using the royal measure.
Absalom initiated a rebellion against his father which was put down with great difficulty. At the very end Absalom tried to flee from a detachment of David's army which had caught up with him. The bible [2Samuel 18:9-14] now describes what happened:
Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his hair was caught by the oak, and he was suspended between the sky and the ground, but the mule that was under him went on. A certain man saw it, and told Joab [David's cousin and head of his military], and said, 'I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.' Joab said to the man who told him, 'You saw it, so why didn’t you strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver, and a sash.' The man said to Joab, 'Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver I still wouldn’t harm the king’s son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Avishai and Ittai, saying, "Take care that no one harm the young man Absalom." … Then said Joab, 'I can't waste time like this with you.' He took three darts in his hand and thrust them through Absalom's heart while he was yet alive, [caught] in the oak.
DISCUSSION:
Usually I try to present to you items for discussion in the chronological order that I receive them, but one message is so apposite to today's shiur that I give it priority. It is from Jim Feldman. He first quotes the relevant passage from our mishnah and then comments as follows:
But how convenient of the rabbis to ignore the whole reason for Absalom's rage. His sister had been brutally raped by his half brother and the flawed King of Israel wrung his hands and did absolutely nothing. The rape was utterly horrible, but David did nothing. As a direct result of his father's failure to fulfill his duty, his favored son was forced to murder his half brother and revolt against his father. David's mourning for Absalom is just one of his 'al chaits' that bad behavior brought down on his head. I once asked a rabbi I respect how we could so honor either the terribly flawed David or even worse, his son, Solomon, who is a murderer and an egocentric oriental potentate. The rabbi's responses were instructive. His first was: 'The rules for kings are different.' [I agree with the words but only because a worthy king must live up to higher standards than the rest of us. -JF] His second reason was more interesting: 'Do you remember what Samuel said a king would be like? Well, could Samuel be wrong?' Ah! I cannot disagree. Samuel got it right. But that brings me back to the question, which the rabbis above clearly refuse to ask: How then can we honor David or his son Solomon? Or for that matter, the words of the chachamim who do so? I respond: Jim raises here a very weighty and very worthy question, and I am not going to be able to respond in worthy manner in just one shiur. Before I start my response let me say that my reading of the character and motivations of Absalom are different from Jim's. Jim presents Absalom as a righteous avenger who, having despaired of his father ever taking Amnon to task decides to do what he thinks his father should have done and, with careful and guileful planning, encompasses the death of the half-brother who raped his (Absalom's) sister. But was Absalom so 'innocent'? Jim says that Absalom 'was forced to murder his brother'. Murder is murder, and no one is forced to murder (as opposed to kill). But let us leave that point as one upon which Jim and I will probably agree that we only differ as to the language Jim has chosen to use. I suggest that in the meantime everyone try to read the whole story in 2Samuel, and I would suggest that the reading start with chapter 11 and continue through to the end of chapter 18. In this way you will be able to form your own judgement of the character of the main protagonists, David, Absalom and Joab. To be continued. |