History Crash Course #13: The Tragedy of the Spies

Every major disaster in Jewish history is connected to the 9th of Av. It all began with the 12 spies.

After a year at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people pack up their portable sanctuary and come to the borders of the Land of Israel.

They should have entered the land at this point, but the Jewish people came to Moses and said, "Wait a minute, let's scout out the land first before we enter."

So they select 12 "scouts" or "spies" -- one from each of the 12 tribes -- and send them in to do some reconnaissance work.

We have to spend a little time talking about the tragedy of the spies, because the implication of this event is going to reverberate throughout all of Jewish history. It's going to put into place one of the most significant and certainly most depressing dates in the Jewish calendar -- the Ninth of Av -- Tisha B'Av. Virtually every major disaster in Jewish history is going to be connected to the Ninth of Av -- which is the exact date when both the first and second Temples were destroyed.

Again, actions of the Jews have huge consequences which reverberate throughout history. Jews have suffered throughout history because of that mistake they made "back then." So what was the terrible mistake of the spies?

These 12 spies spend 40 days scouting out the land and they come back with a huge cluster of grapes saying, "You all see the size of these grapes? You should see the size of some of the people who eat them. They are giants! No way can we beat them. We may as well go back to Egypt."(1)

Only two of the spies dissent from this report: Joshua ben Nun, who is Moses' chief student, and Caleb ben Yefuna from the tribe of Judah.

But the Jewish people accept the majority report of the spies. The people break down in tears at the news and refuse to budge.

Moses is absolutely horrified and God is very angry. He issue two decrees of punishment:

God tells the Jews that because they displayed this lack of faith after He had brought them so far, they are doomed to wander in the desert for 40 years (One year for every day they spied out the land) until the entire adult male population (except for the Levites who did not listen to the spies) had died off. (The women, who always carried the standard of faith in Judaism, didn't listen to the spies and lived to go into the land.)
God tells the Jews that because they cried on this day for no good reason, they will cry on this day in history for some very good reasons. (We will see how this is carried out in future installments in this series.)

DEATH OF MOSES

The Jews wander for 40 years. It's interesting to note that virtually none of the text of the Bible deals with the details of the wandering. If you examine the text in the Book of Numbers you will notice that between the Torah portion dealing with Korach's rebellion (Num. 16-18) and the next Torah portion Chukot (Num. 19-20), there is a gap of 38 years. The only brief mention of the travels that took place during those 38 years comes at the end of the Book of Numbers in the portion entitled Masei. We see these gaps many times in the narrative. Since the Bible is meant to teach us lessons and was not meant to be a diary or history book, only events that have a lesson relevant to us today are recorded; others are mentioned only briefly or skipped altogether.

Near the end of the 40 years of wandering, they find themselves -- as they did a number of times before -- without water.(2) And as they did a number of times before, they are complaining. God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water will flow.

For the past 40 years Moses has had the hardest job on the planet earth -- leading an unruly group of people God himself described as "stiff-necked." We've talked about the Jewish people's greatest strength and greatest weakness. What's their greatest strength? Their complete dedication to an idea, which enabled them to, exist for 2,000 years as the only monotheists in the world, outlast the greatest nations in history and die for an ideology that would change the world.

What's their greatest weakness? This national characteristic of idealism and independence is a double-edged sword that has a negative side to it. Their complete, stubborn dedication to an idea that makes every Jew think he's right and every Jew think that he's going to change the world his way. This is a group that is very, very difficult to unify and almost impossible to lead. It is far easier to be the premier of a billion Chinese than the prime minister of a few million Jews. (3)

(A humorous story illustrating this point is told about a meeting between former US President Harry Truman and the future Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir. Truman was bemoaning the difficulties of leadership and remarked, "You have no idea what it is to be a president of a country of 200 million people." To which Meir responded, "You have no idea of what is to be a prime minister of a country of 2 million prime ministers.")

So after 40 years of trying to lead this stubborn nation, Moses loses his temper for one moment. "You rebels!" he shouts. And instead of speaking to the rock as he was commanded to do, he hits it. (4)

And God says to Moses, "Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, you're not going to go into the Land of Israel with the Jewish people." (Num. 20:12)

The Sages say that anger is a form of idolatry, because if God runs the world, then everything that happens to you, whether for bad or for good, is the will of God. Losing your temper is a form of denial that God is running the world, a rejection of the idea that whatever happens is for your own good.

For Moses -- the ultimate prophet to whom God spoke face-to-face -- to get angry even for a few seconds, the consequences are awesome. It's a desecration of God's name, done publicly in front of the Jewish people.

The consequences show just how accountable people on such high levels are for the little mistakes they make and the repercussions of those mistakes. This theme will repeat itself over and over again throughout the Bible.

Moses, of course, sees his error right away and accepts God's judgment.

THE FINALE

Moses now prepares the people for their entry into the Promised Land. The last of the Five Books of Moses is his farewell address to the people.

When Deuteronomy begins, Moses already knows he's not destined to bring the Jewish people into the Land of Israel, and this entire book is Moses' farewell address to the people. Here Moses reviews the commandments, and reiterates the Jewish national mission. The most common idea he repeats over and over again is: "Keep the Torah."

In a nutshell, Moses says, "If you keep the laws between 'man and God' and between 'man and man', everything will go fine for you. No other nation will touch you. You'll have material prosperity, and you will live to change the world. But if you don't keep the Torah, if you break your end of the bargain, then the land will vomit you out, your enemies will attack, and you will suffer."

The message is clear. The solution to all our problems has nothing to do with external threats-external threats are merely symptoms of the deeper problem which is always the Jewish people not keeping their side of the bargain. It always has to do with the Jews' relationship to each other and their relationship to God.

The late 19th and 20th centuries were the first time in Jewish history where large numbers of Jews left God (by choice and not by force, a la the Expulsion from Spain in 1492) , and were left wondering, "Where is God?" World War One broke out on the Ninth of Av. The German sweep into Eastern Europe beginning in 1914, uprooted Jewish communities and demolished centuries of tradition. It was the precursor to the horrendous Holocaust.

A Holocaust survivor writes: "The quintessential element that distinguishes this event (the Holocaust) was the search for God. Every Jew who remained in the ghettos and the camps remembers "the God Syndrome" that shrouded everything else. From morning till night we cried out for a sign that God was still with us... We sought Him, but we did not find Him. We were always accompanied by the crushing and unsettling feeling that God had disappeared from our midst."(Machshavot Magazine, Vol. 46, p. 4)

Throughout the rest of Jewish history, Jews in even the worst circumstances have viewed external problems, even the worst problems like being slaughtered en masse in the Crusades, as divine retribution for their mistakes. You will rarely find Jews, until the 20th century, saying "Where is God?" They are almost always saying, "It's because of wrongdoing that God has done this to us."

Prior to his death, Moshe completes the writing of the first Torah scroll. In addition, he writes another twelve scrolls which were given one to each of the twelve tribes. The thirteenth was placed in the Ark of the Covenant and eventually deposited in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. This last scroll, which was occasionally removed from the Ark, served as the proof text for future scrolls to insure the accuracy of transmission of the text of the Oral Law. (5)

Having delivered this final message, Moses dies and is buried on Mount Nebo somewhere across the mountains in Jordan. We are deliberately not told where it is, so nobody will worship his grave over there.

Joshua assumes leadership. Judaism is a meritocracy. Real leadership in Jewish history goes not to those who were born into the right families, but to the people who are best suited for the job. (A great Torah scholar with integrity and leadership skills) So the job of successor does not go to Moses' sons (who are barely heard of) but to Joshua ben Nun, Moses' chief disciple who had proven his mettle in the incident with the spies. In addition to Joshua ( and from the time of Moses-see Numbers 11:16) there was a supreme legislative body of the seventy top Torah scholars know as the z'kenim, or Elders -- later known as the Sanhedrin (Greek word for 70). These too were chosen on the merit of their scholarship and integrity thus creating history's first meritocracy. (6)

At this point in our story we have finished the Five Books of Moses and now enter the next phase of Jewish history and the next section of the Bible-The Book of Joshua.

1) The obvious question that would be asked at this point is: The Jewish people had just seen God destroy the most powerful civilization in the ancient world-Egypt. Why should they be afraid of the Canaanites? The answer seems to be that that while they we in the desert they lived a supernatural existence: manna from heaven, water from a rock, clouds of glory and pillars of fire. They recognized that upon entering the land all that would end and they would have to resort to a normal and more difficult existence of fighting and farming. Their desire not to enter was, therefore primarily fueled by a desire to prolong their supernatural existence. Their mistake was in not trusting in God enough to see that even through natural means they would be able to conquer, settle and prosper in the land.
2) The supernatural phenomenon of the Manna, water from the rock and clouds all came on the merit of Moses (manna), Aaron (Clouds) and Miriam (water). As each of them die toward the end of the wanderings, the supernatural phenomenon cease.
3) A number of years ago I was sitting in lecture given by one of Israel's foremost military historians, Meir Pe'il. He mentioned something which beautifully illustrates this point: He told the audience that he has taught in numerous war colleges around the world: West Point, Sandhurst etc and viewed many of the world's armies in action. Then he said: "On one point every army in the world is the same. In every army in the world the officers give orders, but in the Israeli army the officers have to explain things."
4) Immediately after the Exodus from Egypt (see Exodus 17:5-7) God had commanded Moses to strike the rock in-order-to get it to bring forth water.
5) Ramban, Intro. to the Yad; Dvarim Rabbah9:4; Midrash Tehillim 90:3; Tosafoth, Bava Matra 14a. The accuracy of the transmission process of both the Written and Oral has always been a crucial factor in the preservation of both the Torah and the Jewish people. The laws regarding the accuracy of a Torah Scroll are very, very strict. During the weekly reading of the Torah portion, even the smallest mistake on the part of the reader is corrected by the entire congregation. A Torah scroll (which is always copied by hand) that has even the smallest error (one missing or wrong letter of the 304,805) cannot be used and must be fixed within 30 days or buried. A brief quote from the Talmud illustrates this point: Rebbe Meir said: When I came to study with Rebbe Yishmael, he said to me, "My son, what is your line of work?" I told him I was a scribe. He said to me: "My son, be careful with your work, for it is the work of heaven. Should you perhaps omit one letter or add one letter- you could destroy the entire world." Talmud, Eruvin 13a.
6) For more on the Sanhedrin see: Deut. 1:17; Deut. 16:18; Ex. 23:2. The best detailed description can be found in Miamonides Yad,Shoftim: Laws of the Sanhedrin.. Also see Chapter 11 of WorldPerfect-The Jewish Impact on Civilization.

History Crash Course #14: Joshua and Conquest of the Promised Land

This is no typical war of conquest.

The Book of Joshua begins:

And it was after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, "Moses my servant has died and now arise and cross the River Jordan. You and all this nation go to the land which I give the Children of Israel. Every place on which the soles of your feet will tread I have given to you, as I have spoken to Moses. No man shall stand up before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so shall I be with you. I will not weaken my grasp on you nor will I abandon you. Just be strong and very courageous to observe and do in accordance with all the Torah that Moses my servant has commanded you. Therefore, do not stray right or left in order that you will succeed in wherever you go."

Joshua is one of the great leaders of Jewish history. The Talmud says:"The face of Moses was like the face of the Sun, while the face of Joshua was like the face of the moon." ¹ This is understood to mean that the greatness of Joshua was reflection of his teacher, Moses, which is a tremendous compliment. But it also tells us that just as the sun is much greater than the moon, which only reflects sunlight, so too, had Moses lived to enter the Land, all of Jewish history and all of human history would have been different.

After the death of Moses Joshua leads the Jewish people for 28 years.² The Book of Joshua describes the seven years of conquest and seven years of settlement of the Land of Israel. After the land is conquered is divided into separate tribal portions via a divinely guided lottery. The Book of Joshua also describes the Biblical boundaries of the Land Of Israel.

At this time the so-called Promised Land is bounded by the Egyptian empire to the south and the Mesopotamia to the north. But it is not ruled by either of them. In fact, there is no one power ruling this section of land, rather it is settled by seven Canaanite tribes who inhabit 31 fortified city-states scattered all over the map, each ruled by its own "king."

(Jericho is one of these city-states, so is Ai, so is Jerusalem, where Canaanite tribesmen called Jebusites dwell.)

Before they enter the land, the Jewish people send an envoy to the Canaanites with the message, "God, the Creator of the Universe has promised this land to our forefathers. We are now here to claim our inheritance, and we ask you to leave peacefully."

Needless to say most of the Canaanites don't. (Only one tribe takes the offer and leaves.)

Meanwhile, Joshua has clear instructions from God that if the Canaanites don't get out, the Jews must wipe them out, because if they remain in the land they are going to corrupt the Jews. It is made clear that the Canaanites are extremely immoral and idolatrous people and the Jews cannot live with them as neighbors.

This is like saying today that living in a bad neighborhood messes up your kids. You have to always be careful about outside influences.

So what happens?

THE BATTLE OF JERICHO

The people go into the land and they fight a series of battles. The first is the battle of Jericho, the entrance to the heartland of Canaan.

Some archeologists have suggested that the easy conquest of this heavily-fortified city was made possible by a well-timed earthquake. But isn't it remarkable that precisely when the Jewish people need the city to fall, there is an earthquake and it does? No matter how you explain it, it is still miraculous.

The waters of the Jordan miraculously stop flowing and they cross on dry land, then the Jordan refills with water. Next they march around the city walls, which crumble before their eyes. They conquer the city, taking no booty as commanded by God.

It must be clear by now that this is not the typical war of conquest such as we read about in human history of bloody warfare, of raping and pillaging. God has said, "Nothing like that here. And if you follow My instructions all will go well."

ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE

The Jews move on to the next city-state, a place called Ai.

But here things don't go so smoothly. In fact, they meet with a terrible defeat with many of their number killed. Traumatized by the experience, they plead to know why God had abandoned them and quickly learn the terrible truth -- that one person, Achan, had stolen some items back in Jericho.

One person out of 3 million didn't listen to God and everyone suffers!

One person out of 3 million didn't listen to God and everyone suffers!

The fascinating thing here is that the Bible seems to be saying that obedience to God's commands is paramount and that as far as the Jews are concerned -- it is all for one and one for all.

As an outgrowth of that lesson, Judaism teaches that there is such a thing as collective responsibility as well as individual responsibility -- no person is an island, each exists as part of the whole and is responsible for the actions of others as well as his or her own. Just as in the story of the Golden Calf, every Jew is the guarantor for his fellow Jew.

In today's world, the motto seems to be "Mind your own business," or "It's not my problem." If we operated on the same level as they did back then, most of the world's problems would disappear.

LIFE IN THE LAND

Despite many difficulties on the way, the Israelites do finally lay claim to the Promised Land but their life there is far from calm, particularly after Joshua dies. The Bible relates that they had only themselves to blame:

And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers ... and he gave them over into the hands of their enemies." (Judges 2:8-14)

From a simple reading of the text, one might assume that the entire Jewish people abandoned the Torah and started worshipping idols. But this, in fact, was not true. As with the incident of the golden calf only a small percentage of the people sinned, yet the entire nation is held accountable.

As mentioned previously, the highly self-critical nature of this passage is typical of others which make the Hebrew Bible a unique document -- a holy book of a people, but also relating the sinful history of this people. The exaggerated focus on the mistakes-the self-criticism within the text- gives extra emphasis to the lessons that the Jewish people must learn from their mistakes.

There is no question that the criticism of the Jews in the Bible is hyper-criticism, but there are two reasons why the slightest offense by a small group of people is condemned so strongly:

As noted above, every Jew is responsible for every other Jew, and what one does reflects on all.
It's such an obvious point in the moral history of the world that as soon as you tolerate something, it becomes bearable, and before long it will become common.

Therefore, here God is driving home an important point to the Jews: You're on a very high spiritual level. If you tolerate even small indiscretions by a few, eventually these few are going to pollute the nation.

Indeed, this is eventually what does happen, but before it does, the Jews enjoy a honeymoon period in the land known as the Time of Judges.

1. Talmud-Bava Batra 75a; Rashi, Numbers 27:20.
2. Seder Olam Rabbah. Chap 12.

History Crash Course #15: The Time of the Judges

Jewish guidance came from the "judges," who were both warriors and prophets.

The Talmud calls the Book of Judges, "the Book of the Straight."

Why?

Because the ultimate goal of every Jew is to use his free will to work out what is wrong and right, using the Torah as a guide. And this is what happens in the Time of Judges.

In those days, there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his eyes. (Judges 21:25)

You might think that this verse sounds like a description of anarchy. But there was no anarchy; the vast majority of Jews were totally dedicated to Torah and were making decisions in the right way, and didn't need someone tell them what to do. Indeed, that is the ideal situation. The tribes functioned as a loose confederation of states with strong central leadership arising only when the nation was threatened by an external enemy.

Of course, the lack of central authority following the death of Joshua did have negative consequence; a small minority, took it as a license to slip into idolatry and immorality. This happened largely because the Jews did not get rid of all of the Canaanites, as they were commanded to do, and the Canaanite pagan influence was felt.

Whenever the Jews abandon God, the repercussions are immediate:

And they forsook the God of their fathers and they went after other gods. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers and he gave them over to the hands of their enemies. (Judges 2:8-14)

This is one of the most important and oft repeated patterns we have to understand in how Jewish history works. When the Jews betray their covenant with God, bad things happen ― usually, an enemy comes and attacks.

The covenant with God doesn't just cover the behavior of man toward God; it also includes the commandments mandating the behavior of man toward man. But both are a must.

Heed The Warning

God says over and over again ― keep the Torah, all facets of it and no one will bother you. You will live in peace in your land. You will prosper, and not only that, the whole world will come to learn from you and you will be a light to the nations.

But if you don't, a big fist will not come out of heaven and swat you, because God acts in history. What will happen instead is a physical enemy will appear or a famine will hit the land, and all will suffer. These negative events always served as wake-up call and would only intensify if ignored until they reached the level where they were impossible to ignore.

From Mount Sinai onward the Jewish people were always aware of their covenant with God, the responsibilities it entailed the consequences of their not adhering to their side of the bargain. Because of this awareness, when calamities have befallen the Jewish people they were always viewed as symptoms of deeper problems in the Jewish people's relationship with each other and /or with God.

When bad things happen to Jews, it is never by chance. It is always a consequence of Jewish actions, and therefore, the remedy is never to deal solely with the external threat. If an enemy attacks, defense is in order, but so is introspection; the presence of enemy is only a symptom of a deeper problem that must be dealt with. This cause and effect relationship repeats itself over and over again throughout the period of the Judges and continues throughout Jewish history until today.

We see this in the Time of Judges which extends from 1244 BCE to 879 BCE.

And the Lord raised up judges and they saved them [the Israelites] from the hands of those who had spoiled them. (Judges 2:16)

Who are the Judges?

The Judges are the Jewish leaders who arise during this time, unify the people, get them to repent, deal with the spiritual problems of the nation, and also deal with the physical threat.

They are sometimes military leaders who know how to mobilize the nation for war against an enemy, but their real power lies in their Torah knowledge and ability to adjudicate Jewish law.

The narrative for this entire period appears in the Book of Judges, authored by the last great personality in the period of the Judges-Samuel the Prophet. The period of the Judges spans a period of 365 years from the first judge, Otniel ben Kenaz, and with the last judge, the Prophet Samuel.

During this period there were seventeen different judges. Some led the Jewish people for decades while others only for a few years. The Book of Judges goes into great detail for some of the Judges (Ehud, Deborah and Samuel) while others get only the briefest mention (Ibzan, Elon, Avdon). While all were great leaders, some where greater than others. Tradition tells us that the level of the judge depended on the collective level of the Jewish people. Every generation got the leadership it deserved. During this entire We will highlight a few of the 16 Judges described in the Bible:

Deborah One of the first of the Judges is a woman ― Deborah. (See Judges, Chapters 4-5.) She is famous for sitting under a palm tree where anyone could seek her advice, and from where she issued battle orders.

Barak, Israel's top warrior during that time, refuses to go into battle without her. Together they lead the troops against the much larger Canaanite force backed up by 900 iron chariots, of which Israel had none.

The Book of Judges describes a key battle with the Canaanites led by Sisera.

On the eve of the battle, Barak is doubtful that Israel's warriors could ever beat such a strong opponent but Deborah stands firm. An unexpected storm is unleashed in the heavens, and the resulting downpour turns the ground to mud; the iron chariots get stuck and the Canaanites panic.

Deborah's prophecy that "This is the day on which the Lord will deliver [the Canaanite general] Sisera into your hands..." is thus fulfilled.

Samson

Samson is the Judge famous for his superhero strength, and for leading the struggle against Israel's arch-enemy, the Philistines. (See Judges, Chapters 13-16.)

The Philistines were a seafaring people. They probably migrated from the area of the Aegean near Greece about 3,200 years ago. They settled along the eastern Mediterranean Coast from the southern coast of Israel to Lebanon. In the southern coastal area of Israel they established a confederation of five city-states (Gaza, Ahskelon, Ashdod, Gath and Ekron). During the period of the Judges they are constantly at war with the tribes of Israel pushing them away from much of the coast and into the hilly, inland regions of the country.

Excavations show that the Philistines ― despite what the word "Philistine" has come down to mean in the English language ― were very sophisticated culturally. They had perfected iron tools and iron weapons, gaining an important technological advantage over their neighbors.

Samson, who judged Israel for 20 years, was one of the people who takes on the Philistines. Samson is a Nazir. (Nazir is a form of penitence in which a person temporarily refrains from cutting his hair and abstains from wine) Samson's Nazir status is unusual in that he is a Nazir from birth and remains one his entire life. In addition, his long hair gives him super-human strength.

To undermine the Philistines he pretends to join them by deliberately taking a Philistine woman as his wife. She is killed by her own people; he then consorts with another Philistine woman ― Delilah. This turns out to be a mistake as Sampson becomes very attached to her.

Delilah catches on that Samson is a major threat to her people. After many failed attempts and much pleading she finally succeeds in getting Samson to reveal the secret of his superhuman strength and cuts off his hair while he is asleep. As a result the Philistines are able to capture him. They then blind him and throw him in prison.

But they forget that hair grows. As his hair grew back, his superhuman strength returns.

The Philistines decides to execute Samson in a public display at the Temple of Dagan, one of their gods.

As the masses gather to watch the execution, blind Samson asks a slave boy to position him next to one of the columns supporting the temple.

At the climax of the narrative Samson prays:

"My Lord, God! Remember me and strengthen me just this one time, O God, and I will extract vengeance from the Philistines for one of my two eyes." Samson grasped the two central pillars upon which the building rested, and he leaned on them; one with his right hand and one with his left hand. Samson said, "Let my soul die with the Philistines!" (Judges 16:28-30)

With his renewed superhuman strength he overturns the column and collapses the building killing all inside.

He dies giving his life for the Jewish people and the Bible says he killed more Philistine enemies in that moment than he vanquished the whole rest of his life.

Samuel

The last great personality of the period of the Judges is the Prophet Samuel, who is one of the most important prophets in Jewish history, and who is also famous for anointing the first two kings of Israel ― Saul and David. (See 1 Samuel, chapters 1-16.) He authored the Book of Judges and, together with the prophets Gad and Nathan, the book of Samuel.

By the time Samuel appears on the scene, the Jewish people have gone through close to 400 years of no strong central leadership. They had to live up to a very high level of individual responsibility or else God would let them know they were off course via the Canaanites or the Philistines or the Midianites. This was a very difficult way to live. In the final analysis, the nation couldn't maintain this level of scrutiny without stronger guidance.

When Samuel was younger, he would travel the land adjudicating Jewish law and giving people advice, but now that he has grown old, he can't do it anymore. Meanwhile, his two sons, who have taken over for him, prove unpopular with the people.

So a delegation is dispatched to ask Samuel to anoint a king instead:

And they the people said [to Samuel] "Behold, you have grown old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now set up for us a king to judge us like all the nations. And the thing was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel..." (1 Samuel, 8:5-7)

Samuel doesn't want to do it, but God tells him to go ahead and find a king for the people.

And this is how the Time of Judges comes to a close. Samuel functions as a leader for 13 years and the last of two years he actually co-leads the Jewish people with the first Jewish king whose name is Saul.

History Crash Course #16: King Saul

King Saul was a great man who committed one terrible mistake, dooming his reign from the start.

In his farewell address to his people, Moses prophesied:

"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you and inherit it and live in it, and you say, 'Let us appoint over me a king like all the nation around me,' [then] you will appoint over yourself a king whom the Lord your God shall choose. From among your brothers are you to appoint over yourself a king, you may not appoint over yourself a foreigner who is not your bother."(Deut. 17:14-15)

This time has come to pass now.

The Jewish people have been living for close to four centuries without strong central leadership and they miss it. So they ask the prophet Samuel to appoint a king.

LIKE ALL THE REST

Samuel is not happy over this request but God tells him to go ahead. Still it is clear that God is not happy with it either:

"Listen to the voice of the people according to all that they say to you for they have not rejected you but they have rejected Me from reigning over them." (1 Samuel 8:7)

Why are Samuel and God displeased, especially since Moses had predicted this turn of events and there is even a Torah commandment to do so?

The answer lies in the way the people asked for a king:

And they the people said [to Samuel] "... Now set up for us a king to judge us like all the nations ..." (1 Samuel, 8:6)

A Jewish king was not supposed to be a king "like all the nations" had. A Jewish king was supposed to be a model of what an ideal Jew is all about ― a model for the rest of the nation to emulate.

To ask for a king "like all the nations" suggests that the Jews wanted a big strong guy, like the rest of the nations-an all-powerful leader who would make all the decisions so that they could sit back and throw off that heavy burden of responsibility that they've had to deal with on a day-to-day basis. It's much easier in many respects to have someone decide for you, which is why the Talmud says that "a slave is happier being a slave" ― a slave who is well treated will give up his freedom to know that he is being taken care of and decisions are being made for him.

The Jewish monarchy, as described in the Bible, is a unique institution. A Jewish king has real power and tremendous responsibility, but he is not a tyrant or dictator. He is the model for the rest of the nation to emulate: a leader, a scholar, pious, righteous and God-fearing. He is a catalyst that enables the Jewish people to fulfill their national historic mission as a light to the nations.¹

"Only he [the king] shall not have too many horses for himself...And he shall not have too many wives... and he shall not greatly increase silver and gold for himself...It shall be that when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah...It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the lord, his God, to keep all the words of the Torah...so that his heart does not become haughty over his brethren..." (Deut. 17: 16-20)

In the year 884 BCE, 393 years after the Jewish people first entered the Land of Israel, Saul is anointed as the first king by the prophet Samuel in accordance with the wishes of the people.

The Choice

How was Saul chosen king?

The story of Saul's anointing tells us much about the functioning of Jewish society in this time period.

For one thing, there are many prophets around. So many in fact ― the Talmud says that from the time of Moses to the destruction of the First Temple there were over a million prophets ² ― that the people turn to them for everything. You have a profound question? Ask a prophet. You need advice on marriage? Ask a prophet. You've lost your donkey? Ask a prophet. The Bible itself mentions that prophets were originally called seers (roeh in Hebrew) precisely because their higher spiritual level enabled them to see things that others couldn't, including lost objects. (see 1 Samuel, 9:9)

Indeed this is how Saul and the Prophet Samuel meet. The first seer that Saul encounters while searching for his donkeys happens to be the Judge of Israel and the greatest prophet of his generation.

It's an odd story. A man goes to the greatest prophet alive and asks, "Where are my donkeys?" The prophet answers, "Don't worry, your donkeys have been found, and by the way, you're king of Israel."

Samuel takes out a flask of oil and pours some on Saul's head. The oil he uses is comprised of special mixture of afarsimon oil and spices (see Exodus 30:22-28) called "Shemen HaMeshicha" ― anointing oil. (The Hebrew word Meshiach-Messiah, comes from this wordmoshach-anointed.) This special oil was used by Moses to anoint and consecrate the Tabernacle and its vessels as well as Aaron and his sons as the Priests. From the reign of King Saul until the destruction of the First Temple, it was used by prophets to anoint the Kings of Israel. Just as the Kiddush on Friday night with wine designates the Sabbath as different and special, so too did a prophet's use of this anointing oil designate an object or individual as chosen by God for a special purpose.

Saul does not tell his family what Samuel told him and when Samuel gathers the nation to announce that Saul has been chosen has king, Saul goes to hide. When a few people mock Saul as unsuitable to be king he remains silent. When we could say that his actions are a sign of his humility and modesty, in reality this is where we first see the weakness of his character.

A Fatal Weakness

The Talmud is very clear that Saul is not only head and shoulders above everyone physically, he's head and shoulders above everyone morally and ethically. He's an exemplary human being, but he has one weakness ― his sense of humility interferes with his duty as king. If a prophet of tells you that you're king-you don't argue and you can't reject the offer. Saul has no desire for honor or power, but true leadership requires the leader to take the initiative and distinguish between honor due him and the honor due his position. ³

As great as Saul is, his innate modesty and humility inhibit his ability to properly lead the Jewish people. To lead the Jewish people requires a unique combination of iron will and diplomacy ― as we saw in the difficulties Moses faced leading the Israelites in the wilderness. If the leader is not strong enough the Jewish people will walk all over him, but if he's too aggressive or tries to bully the Jewish people they'll rebel. The problem of flawed leadership ― which begins with Saul ― is something that will plague the Jewish people throughout history as will become glaringly apparent.

When the Ammonites invade, Saul finally rises to the occasion and accepts kingship. He goes on to lead the Jewish people in series of victories against her enemies and thus establishes his authority as king and solidifies his leadership.

According to most sources, Saul's reign lasts from 884 to 882 BCE. He's king for only two years and he dies a tragic death. Indeed, his brief reign is largely tragic. While his great weakness, his misplaced modesty, causes him to make a fatal mistake at the beginning of his kingship. He disobeys the commandment of God to wipe out the nation of Amalek.

One of the key commandments that the Jewish people are given upon entering the Land of Israel is "to wipe out Amalek."

Amalek is the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people in history. This is the people that symbolize evil, and there is a commandment in the Bible to wipe them off the face of the earth, because their pathological hatred for Jews is so great, if they have a chance they will wipe the Jews off the face of the earth.

Amalek's major ambition is to rid the world of the Jews and their moral influence and return the planet to idolatry, paganism, and barbarism.

Since this is a cosmic war between good and evil which cannot be settled with treaties, God commands the Jews to destroy Amalek ― the entire nation, down to the last cow. ⁴

Saul has the opportunity to do so. He wages war against Amalek as commanded and wins, but when it comes to fulfilling the decree he falters-some of the Amalekites are left alive. At the behest of the people the cows are spared, and worse ― through Saul's misplaced mercy Agag, the king of the Amalekites, is spared also.

Ideology Of Amalek

To this day, history continues to struggle with the consequences of Saul's mistake.

The Amalekite nation survives and Agag lives long enough to father a child before he is killed by the Prophet Samuel.

Today, we have no way of identifying the descendants of Amalek ― his descendents a mixed in amongst the nations, but we do know that the Amalekite ideology lives on. There has been more than one occasion when people have arisen bent on exterminating the Jews. The Bible itself mentions that the battle with Amalek represents the ultimate struggle in history between good evil with total victory achieved only at the End of Days.

...I [God] shall surely erase the memory of Amalek from under the heavens...God maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation." (Exodus 17:14-16)

One such example was Haman, the Persian minister who tried to annihilate the Jews in the time of Queen Esther (355 BCE). And Hitler certainly espoused Amalekite ideology:

Yes, we are barbarians! We want to be barbarians. It is an honorable title to us ... Providence has ordained that I should be the greatest liberator of humanity. I free man from ... the degrading self-mortification of a false vision called conscience and morality ... Conscience is a Jewish invention. (Hitler Speaks, pp. 87, 220-222.)

And looking at Hitler and the Holocaust we can understand that such intense hatred as the Bible ascribes to Amalek can exist in the world. The Nazis wanted to kill every Jew. A Jew could have been assimilated, intermarried with Christians for three generations but that didn't matter; the Nazis were bent on killing anyone with the slightest bit of Jewish heritage ― they were bent on wiping out any trace of the Jewish people and Jewish influence.

The End Of Saul

Meanwhile, the Prophet Samuel tells Saul:

"Though you may be small in your own eyes, you are the head of the tribes of Israel; and God anointed you to be king over Israel... Why did you not obey the voice of God?...
I shall not return to you for you have rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected you from being King over Israel."

And Samuel turned to go and he [Saul] seized the hem of his robe and it tore. And Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it your fellow who is better than you.'" (1 Samuel 15:17-28)

With this critical mistake, Saul is finished. He doesn't get a second chance. God doesn't mess around when it comes to the King of Israel.

If this seems harsh, we must keep in mind the guiding principles of the relationship between God and the Jewish people.

1. According to your level of knowledge is your level of responsibility. The mistakes of people in positions of power have huge consequences.

2. According to your level of responsibility is your level of accountability. The greater you are, the bigger the impact of your decisions, therefore you must be held to an extremely high standard.

As we saw previously with Moses hitting the rock ― even the smallest mistakes of great Jewish leaders are severely punished.

Although Saul is finished, this doesn't mean he gets deposed on the spot, but it means that his line will not carry on the monarchy.

Indeed, following this declaration to Saul, Samuel goes looking for another king to anoint and he finds him in the most unlikely place.

1. For a more detailed description of the rights and responsibilities of a Jewish king and his relationship with the Judiciary (Sanhedrin) see: Miamonides, Yad, Sefer Shoftim: Laws of the Sanhedrin and Laws of King
2. Talmud, Megillah 14a
3. For more on Saul greatness and the reason for his downfall see Yoma 22b
4. So evil is this nation that even name should be erased from the history books to the point where even the livestock is destroyed so no one will see on of their animals and say "that was Amalek's cow." Despite the seeming extreme harshness of this commandment ― even an Amalekite is not doomed by birth. Judaism teaches that every human being has free will. While the innate tendency of the Amalekite nation was toward total war with the Jewish people, every human being, including Amalek has free will. Even an Amalekite can say "the ideology of my nation is evil and I choose to do otherwise." An Amalekite can not only opt out of his national ideology ― he could even convert to Judaism.

Jewish History in the Land of Israel

Sunday, November 29, 2015