사무엘하 1:4의 유대 사상

Next, and third, we come to the blemishes on a person's head. These are due to a lack of faith and other shortcomings in a person's philosophical approach to life. When a person is deficient in these matters, which are after all, functions of his brain, the same midah keneged midah, punishment fitting the crime, will occur. There are two kinds of such blemishes that occur on the head. 1) Blemishes on areas normally covered by hair. 2) Blemishes on areas not subject to hair growth. The first is symbolic of covering up one's sins, i.e. someone who was not a believer having acted piously, devoutly, voicing only traditionally held beliefs. The other is the one who has the audacity to publicly proclaim his lack of belief etc., such as king Uzziah, who insisted on taking over the functions of a priest, though he belonged to the tribe of Yehudah. (Chronicles II, chapter 26.) His effrontery was punished by a blemish on the visible part of his forehead. The first category is too commonplace to require examples to be cited, as these people cover up their shortcomings being afraid of the reaction of the conservative society they live amongst. The four men outside the gates of Shomron, who had lost credibility due to their own testimony, is a further such example. (Kings II chapter 7.) Here too, the midah keneged midah, principle is seen in action, through the type of tzora-at they had been afflicted with. The sequence of the whole story, following the public scorn of the prophet displayed by the captain, suggests strongly that the four men in question had concurred with that captain's attitude. They repented, having seen what happened to their captain, and seeing the camp of Aram abandoned. Their main reason for wanting to be re-admitted to the city, was to await G'ds help which the prophet inside the city had already promised. This approach to that story provides the rationale for the otherwise apparent irrelevance in the verse about that day being a "day of good tidings." The third category of physical afflictions, nega-im, corresponds to the fifth venue, the one suggested by Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach, namely to let Torah illuminate our mind.