Musar su II Samuele 15:32

Perhaps we have something similar in a statement of our sages on Samuel II 15,32: ויהי דוד בא עד הראש אשר ישתחוה שם לאלוקים, "When David reached the top where he would usually prostrate himself before G–d." Rabbi Yehudah in Sanhedrin 107 uses this verse to claim that David was about to commit an idolatrous act, claiming that the word ראש is a description of an idolatrous deity. He cites proof from Daniel 2,32. All this occurred when David had to flee for his life from his own son Absalom. His friend Chushai remonstrated with him saying that it was unseemly for a king of his stature to become guilty of such a grave sin. David responded: "How is it possible that a king such as myself should be pursued by his own son! Better that I should die having committed the sin of idol-worship than that the name of the Lord be desecrated publicly if my own son were to kill me." We must ask ourselves what could have possessed David to even contemplate the commission of such a sin? Clearly David knew that in the eyes of most of his people he was viewed as a pious G–d-fearing individual. Many people would begin to question G–d's justice if he were to become the victim of Absalom's revolt. He therefore preferred to commit a public sin so that people would not question how G–d could have allowed a pious man such as David to have been killed by his own son. David certainly harboured no idolatrous thoughts which would have led him to commit such a sin. Eventually, he did not go through with his plan, and that is why he said: "a king such as I, etc." [He fled, leaving ארץ ישראל, which is tantamount to serving idols, since one foregoes G–d's direct protection, cf. Maharsha. Ed.]