When Shabbos falls on
the last day of the month, the haftorah “Machar Hodesh” (מחר
חודש), literally “tomorrow is the new month”, is read, because it
contains this phrase. The phrase can also be understood as “tomorrow is new”
and it is in fact the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between
David the shepherd boy and King Saul.
After Saul fails to
kill the king of Amalek, the holy One, blessed be He, rejects him as king of
Israel, and he is told so by Samuel the prophet. Shortly after this episode David
the son of Yishai is anointed as king, but Saul continues to occupy the throne.
When he is tormented by an evil spirit from Hashem, Saul is advised to bring in
someone to play the harp and soothe him.
Shaul suggests David
not only because of his excellence as a musician but also his renown in
warfare, eloquence, and beauty. In addition G-d is known to be with him. When
David is brought, Shaul loves him greatly immediately. After David slays
Goliath, Saul’s son Jonathan loves David like his own soul and publicly garbs
him in his own royal raiment and weaponry.
Things go very bad
after David has a military victory so great that the women sing Saul has slain
thousands but David has slain tens of thousands. Saul reasons what more can be given
to him except the kingdom and from then on looks at David with suspicion. When Saul
goes mad and conspires to have David killed, he flees. David then meets with
Yehonatan and they discuss the situation.
It happens that the
next day starts a new month and it is customary for the king to have a festive meal.
David plans to be absent and tells Jonathan to explain to the king that David
is attending a yearly dinner with his father and family in Bethlehem. If Shaul
becomes angry then he is possessed by evil and no reconciliation is possible.
When Jonathan does
what David suggested, Saul goes into a rage. He curses him and says that neither
his succession nor his kingdom will be secure as long as David lives. He then
demands that Jonathan deliver David to him to be killed. Jonathan, livid, and
leaves the table.
He then secretly meets
with David and tells him that the situation is beyond them. The two of them cry
profusely. Jonathan tells David they should part in peace because they have
sworn in the name of G-d that Hashem should be between them and their families
forever.
Saul’s essential sin
is that he could not accept the idea that his throne would pass to anybody other
than his son. This is the reason he did not kill the king of Amalek and for his
mad pursuit of David. The name Shaul literally means borrowed and Saul was so
to speak a borrowed king leading to the dynasty of David.
Samson Raphael Hirsch
praises Jonathan for succeeding, “in navigating treacherous shoals of power,
privilege, family, and friendship while retaining his integrity, humanity,
heart and soul. His story evokes a reevaluation of what it means to live a
worthy life; too often we praise others only for worldly success and pay no
mind to the spiritual costs”.
Others also had to
deal with a similar test. There is a story in the Talmud (Brachos 27b – 28a)
that when Rabban Gamliel acted very improperly towards the sages, they removed
him from the post of rosh yeshiva. When they asked Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya to accept
the position, he consulted his household. His wife advised him that Rabban
Gamliel would certainly do teshuva and be restored to his rightful place and
asked him if he could accept that. He replied that a man should use a fine cup
for one day even if it is certain it will be broken the next day.
There is also the
story of Rabbi Tzvi Hersh of Pinsk, who succeeded his father, the Baal Shem
Tov, as leader of the Hasidic movement. The Baal Shem Tov appeared to Rabbi
Tzvi on his first yahrzeit and said he should transfer leadership to his
outstanding student the Maggid of Mezritch. The next day he recounted the dream
in the beis midrash and found that the Maggid also had the same dream. With
that the two of them immediately changed places.
It is explained in
Ethics of our Fathers (6:5) that a person should not seek personal greatness
more than his scholarship allows or envy the table of kings because their own
table is better and the Boss will compensate them for their works. In addition
the Gemara expounds on the verse, “everything is beautiful in its time”,
(Ecclesiastics 3:11). It explains that everybody’s profession is beautiful
before the holy One, blessed be He. Rashi comments this even applies to a
tanner who must use the most disgusting of substances in his work. He continues
that a person that goes into this type of work does not desire delicacies.
The point seems to be
that a person’s greatest resource and source of pleasure is his unique soul.
When he delves into what talents he has and what really makes him happy, he sees
that there are things that are meant only for him; therefore is no need to
chase after flashy things that belong to somebody else. There are many who
would rather be the greatest rabbi, the greatest opera singer, or best football
player, than the president of the United States. Others desire money, wisdom,
health, beauty, truth, a wonderful family, or a loving wife. Sometimes all that
is needed is for a person to count their blessings.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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