Musar sobre II Samuel 7:31

David was troubled by this condition of the שכינה, Divine Presence; he wanted G–d to have a permanent abode on earth in a fixed place. This is why he wanted to build a Temple, as opposed to the Tabernacle which by definition was a temporary structure, (cf. Samuel II 7,2) He could not abide the fact that whereas he, David, dwelled in a solid house, G–d should be content with a structure the ceiling of which consisted merely of hides and carpets. This is also the mystical dimension of Psalms 132,2: "When he swore to G–d, vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: 'I will not enter my house, nor will I mount my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes, nor slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for the Lord, an abode for the Mighty one of Jacob.'" In addition we read in Psalms 132,13: "For the Lord has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His seat. This is My resting-place for all time; here I will dwell, for I desire it."

Because David wished to establish a permanent residence for G–d's Presence and said: קומה ה' למנוחתך אתה וארון עוזך, "Advance, O Lord, to Your resting-place, You and Your mighty Ark!" (Psalms 132,8), his thoughts found favour in the eyes of G–d and He sent him a message through the prophet Nathan. In Samuel II 7,5, Nathan is instructed to go to David and tell him: "Thus says the Lord: 'Are you the one to build a house for Me to dwell in? From the day I brought the people of Israel out of Egypt to this day I have not dwelt in a house, but have moved about in Tent and Tabernacle. As I moved about wherever the Israelites went, did I ever reproach one of the tribal leaders whom I appointed to care for My people Israel: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' In Chronicles II 6,9 Solomon quotes G–d as having said to David his father: "However, you shall not build the House; your son, the issue of your loins, he shall build the House for My Name." What did King David do? He assembled and prepared the silver, gold, and all other building materials required to execute construction of the Temple. Details of all this are recorded in Chronicles I ch. 29. All of David's preparations were divinely inspired. David knew all the correct sizes, measurements and weights required for every detail of the construction of the Temple that was to be built by his son Solomon. The Holy Spirit had informed him of all these details. He planned the entire blueprint of the building, including all the offices for the priests, etc., described in the book of Kings. All that Solomon had to do was to execute the plans his father David had drawn up. When the construction was completed, the שכינה descended to take up permanent residence on earth.

Once we understand 6,2 in the Torah in this way we will be better able to understand an extremely enigmatic verse in Samuel II 7,23: ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ אשר הלכו אלקים לפדות לו לעם ולשום לו שם ולעשות לכם הגדולה ונוראות לארצך מפני עמך אשר פדית לך ממצרים גוים ואלו-היו, "And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth, whom G–d went and redeemed as His people, winning renown for Himself and doing great and marvellous deeds for them and for Your land [driving out] nations and their gods before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt." All the commentators have great difficulty with this verse. One of the difficulties is the expression "like Your people Israel." Another difficulty is that in this instance G–d is described as הלכו, went (pl.), whereas in a parallel verse in Chronicles I 17,21, G–d is described as הלך, went (sing.).

We shall now explain the verse preceding the line of כח וגבורה נתן בהם in Samuel II 7,23 we have quoted earlier. It says there: אין כמוך ואין אלוקים זולתך, "There is no one like You nor any other deity beside You." [There actually seems to be an error in the text, since the wording in Samuel II 7,23 is not identical with the wording quoted from the liturgical poem א-ל אדון which the author also quoted. Ed.] The first half means that there is no one of equal status. Even if You were to create such a power, it is impossible for it to be comparable to You. The very fact that You had to "invent" such a power makes it inferior to You. The words אין זולתך, refer to powers, deities, already in existence to whom G–d has assigned various domains within which they appear to reign supreme, as mentioned in the poet's statement כח וגבורה נתן בהם להיות מושלים בקרב תבל, "He has equipped them with strength and power to be ruling in the midst of the universe." Their rule is not independent of You, i.e. אין זולתך. When it is Your will, these powers exercise dominion; when it is Your will, You take this power away from them.

We continue in Samuel: ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד, "Who is like Your unique nation Israel?" After the damage inflicted on the earth by Adam, the generation of Enosh, and subsequent generations, the שכינה withdrew to the Celestial Regions and the angels then constituted G–d's army and assumed the role of G–d's "people." It is in reference to these angels that David speaks about "who is like Your people," these are the people of G–d. Once the Jewish people had been refined, G–d wanted to bring bring back His שכינה to earth, and He selected Israel to become His people. This is why the prophet has both the words עמך and ישראל preceded by the letter כ. Without this letter, we would have thought that the "Your people" referred to are the same as "Israel." As it is, the message is that Israel on earth i.e. its domain, is as unique as the angels, i.e. the "people" of the Celestial Regions, in their domain. The words אשר הלכו in the plural in Samuel, and אשר הלך singular, in the matching verse in Chronicles, are essentially the same. Inasmuch as the miracles were performed by G–d in His capacity as the Ineffable Name, the use of the singular is appropriate. In view of the fact that G–d employed Moses as the instrument of העברה, "filter," the use of the plural is justified. David alluded to the latter aspect in Samuel, and to the former in Chronicles. This is the meaning of the second last verse in the Torah in which Moses is described as having been assigned by G–d to perform all the signs and miracles in Egypt against Pharaoh, his servants and his country. Both the use of the singular and the plural are justified when describing who promoted the redemption of the people of Israel.

But when the righteous man attains great honor he says, as did King David, of blessed memory, (II Samuel 7:18), “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that Thou has brought me thus far?” The righteous man will continue and say, “Why has God caused me to merit all this good? For I have no good deeds, and I deserved to be oppressed and afflicted all my days because of my many sins. But the Creator has turned my evil into good, and with what can I repay Him even a little of what He deserves?” The righteous man will debate with himself and will say, “O my heart, my heart, do not trust in your great glory, for who knows if it is for your good or if this wealth is being guarded for someone else! Or do you know if night robbers will come and despoil you of all for which you have labored? Or do you know that God has given to you this glory because he rejects you, and if you have any merit whatever, he is rewarding you for it in this world in order that you go empty of merit in the world to come?”

Yet, for everything there is an occasion, and for every experience, a time.¹²Compare Ecclesiastes 3:1-2. R. Salanter is saying that the epidemic has created a time for grief in our life. We also are pained by the untimely loss of life. Nevertheless, we should guide our emotions not to fear the plague. Now that this plague has appeared in the land, and even here—may the Merciful One save us—this is the teaching that should guide a person,¹³Compare II Samuel 7:19. The verse in II Samuel carries the overtone that this guidance is a gracious, unmerited gift from God. and this is common sense: Do not be afraid of [the disease] at all. For what is human life in any case? Who knows if his [future] path [in life] would have turned out [to be] upright. Furthermore, we must act in accordance with the wise doctors’ instructions - for our religion tells us to walk by the light of their words¹⁴Halakhah considers “you shall safeguard your lives very much” (Deut. 4:15) to be a mitzvah. Halakhah also rules that saving a life overrules all of the Torah’s commandments except for three. and thus uphold this life to be good and do good.

Behold, this is the type of examination and contemplation proper for every person whose intellect is straight and not perverse. When this will become clear to him, he may be called a truly humble person, for he is humble in his heart and inner being. This is as David said to Michal: "I was lowly in my own eyes" (Shmuel II 6:22).

The Shach [Sifsei Kohen by Rabbi Mordechai HaKohen] on Parashas Ki Teitzei (55a) writes as follows: It is stated, “When a man has two wives, one beloved and the other hated, etc.” (Devarim 21:15). This passage can be explained with reference to a man’s wife and the wicked Lilis. These are the two “wives.” And since only one man in a thousand is spared the sin of wasting seed the Torah warns that a man should at least guard that first drop. Thus the verse continues, “And the firstborn should be to the hated one [i.e., his real wife].” This is in order that “on the day that he bequeaths to his sons” — i.e., the day of death — he will be able to overcome all the demons, spirits and liliths born from those droplets of wasted seed, which the Zohar (1:54b) calls, the “plagues among Adam’s offspring” (II Shmuel 7:14). For when it is time for him to be buried these spirits will try to attach themselves to him but they will be unable to do so because his firstborn son will overcome them. This is the deeper meaning of the verse, “streams of water ran down from my eyes because they did not keep Your Torah” (Tehillim 119:136). Note that the verse does not say “because I did not keep Your Torah,” but “because they did not keep Your Torah.” That is, a man’s eyes will themselves shed tears because of the harm they caused through gazing. For the eye sees and the heart desires, such that all of a man’s deeds are caused by the vision of his eyes. This is what brings him to wasting seed. Tears, by contrast, are the rectification for wasting seed. For just as the seed originates in the brain, so do tears. Therefore a man must pray specifically with tears. He must also shed tears when he mourns for the destruction of the Holy Temple or for an upright individual who has died.