HAFTARAT PARSHAT VAYECHI - A Lion in Jerusalem
Save
Copy
Add to Collection
Export to Google Docs
ShareDavid’s reign began in Hebron, but it reached its fullest strength only in Jerusalem—when he chose a capital that belonged to everyone, not just his own tribe. Real leadership rises above “us vs. them,” embraces every part of Am Yisrael, and builds unity from a shared center.
This week’s haftara speaks about the last will and testament of King David, conveyed to his son, Shlomo. After this, the haftara closes with a short, matter-of-fact summary of David’s reign: “The length of time that David had reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron for seven years, he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-three years” (I Kings 2:11).
At first glance, this seems like a simple biographical note, similar to summaries of the reigns of the subsequent monarchs that appear throughout the book of Kings, noting how long they ruled and where they lived. Upon closer inspection, however, we can discern a deeper significance to this fact about David, one which sheds light both on his own character and the national character of the Jewish people, then and now.
After the death of Shaul, as recorded at the end of I Samuel, David began to reign as king in Hebron. However, at that point he was not, in practice, king of all of Israel. Shaul’s son Ish Boshet still ruled over the majority of the tribes, while David held sway only over the tribe of Yehuda and its immediate environs. Only seven years later, when Ish Boshet’s rule crumbled and he was assassinated by his own men, did David assume rule over the entire nation of Israel.
At that point, we are told (II Samuel, chapter 5), that the tribes of Israel approached David in Hebron and asked him to assume kingship over all the people. After that covenant was established, the very first thing that David did was to capture the city of Jerusalem and move his capital there. As king of the entire nation, he could not maintain his capital in a sectarian city like Hebron, which was closely associated with the tribe of Yehuda from which he hailed. Rather, it was important for him to rule from Jerusalem, a city that is not associated with any particular tribe, but is the territory of the entire nation (Rambam Hilchot Beit HaB’chira 7:14), symbolizing the impartial and national nature of his rule.
Hence, David’s reign in Hebron and that in Jerusalem differed not only in simple geography. They differed fundamentally in their scope and nature. As king in Hebron, David ruled only over a specific subset of the Jewish people. He was tasked with looking after their needs in accordance with their specific character. When ruling from Jerusalem, however, he was responsible for all the tribes, without privileging any one over the others. Jerusalem, in that sense, symbolizes a sense of holistic responsibility for the Jewish people, and the recognition that all its different tribes are equally important and have something to contribute.
Rabbi Moshe Alshich (Tzfat, 1508–1593) offers a powerful reading of this contrast between Hebron and Jerusalem in his commentary on our parsha (49:9) :
“Yehuda is a lion’s cub” – This is a reference to King David, who at first would be a cub ruling only in Hebron over Judea, but who afterward would become a full-grown lion ruling all of Israel [in Jerusalem] as a lion is king of beasts. Why was David’s full rule not consummated immediately? It was because he had to fulfill the prophecy “From the prey, my son, you have risen,” to acquire that highest level of kingship. At first, when he and his brothers conspired to kill Yosef, and cast him into a pit, Yehuda did not protest, since he did not wish to lord over his brothers. He was able to control only himself, keeping his silence and not joining in the fray. In this same way, David first took control of only his own tribe. Only afterward did Yehuda muster the fortitude to stand up to his brothers and convince them not to kill Yosef. And this is parallel to David’s later success in winning over the other tribes until he ruled them all. From thence forward he would be called a lion.
In our own day, the lesson of leadership through unity could not be more pressing. During his tenure, former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin articulated a language of four modern “tribes” of Israel – religious, secular, haredi, and Arab. To this we might add the Jews of the diaspora in their various denominations, whose membership and contribution to Am Yisrael as a whole cannot be underestimated. Even if we have very deep, principled disagreements with many of our brothers and sisters, recognizing the inherent worth and value of every Jew, as well as the non-Jewish members of our society, must be a paramount Jewish value symbolized by the city of Jerusalem. Recognizing the inherent value of Jerusalem, both symbolically and in a very real practical and physical sense, as the eternal seat of Jewish kingship is essential in guaranteeing our future as a unified nation.
Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, not only politically, but spiritually and ethically as well. It represents our commitment to one another and the idea that God, our true King, is ruler of all of us equally. May we be blessed, despite political pressures to the contrary, to always remember that David’s full sovereignty only begins when he rules in Jerusalem.
