Spiritual and
Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach;
JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim) These four books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible. One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical. T'shuva For Monetary Sins (Melachim
Bet 7) Although, Achav too, deserved an end to his dynasty, his repentance earned its postponement to the days of his two sons. Since Hashem deals with all His creatures according to their actions, MIDA K'NEGED MIDA, Gechazi who defrauded Naaman, was stricken with the leprosy that the Aramean general had been cured of by Elisha. So too, were his three sons, for covering up for their father's crime; aiding a sinner is forbidden by Torah: "a stumbling block in the path of the blind" (Vayikra 19:14). "The punishment for [theft through] false weights and measures is more stringent than that for sexual immorality, since the former is between Man and Man whereas the latter is between Man and G-d" (Rambam Hilkhot Geneiva 7:12). It is not surprising therefore that Teshuva for monetary sins requires two separate steps in distinction from the one step needed for spiritual transgressions. For the latter one has to repent only before Hashem whereas for the former we need in addition to appease the injured human party by making good the damage we have caused them and acquiring their forgiveness. So, to receive atonement it was insufficient for Gegazi and his sons only to repent. In order to be healed of the leprosy that is the punishment for social sins, they had to actively perform some deed of righteousness that would restore the spiritual and social equilibrium they had broken; that is the story of our chapter. The four lepers dwelt outside the walls of Shomron in accordance with the biblical injunction (Vayikra 13:46). Since the inhabitants of the besieged city had nothing to give and no possibility of doing so even had they had any food, the starving Gehazi and sons had a narrow choice. They could either remain where they were and die of hunger like the people of Shomron or they could go to the camp of the Arameans, where they would risk death but have at least the possibility of food. They decided to go to the enemy camp, where they were greeted by silence; there were no sentries and no soldiers but there were horses and donkeys, tents with gold, silver and fine clothing and above all, plenty of food. Unknown to them, that night Hashem had granted Israel two miracles, the Arameans had heard a great noise of horses and soldiers and were convinced that these were troops come to save Israel. Fearing the Lord of Hosts, the whole army had fled and the siege had evaporated leaving only the spoils of war. A similar miracle, echoed by Tennyson's famous poem, saved Yerushalayim from the armies of the Assyrian Sennacherib in the days of Yeshayahu (Isaiah 36-37) The four set about gathering as much as they could of the booty, but human conscience being as complicated as it is, their greed was irrationally tempered by pangs of remorse. How could they satisfy their hunger and enrich themselves while their fellows were suffering the worst pangs of hunger and deprivation? However, human beings find it difficult to have the spiritual strength to do what the Rambam writes is essential for true teshuva. "Teshuva requires admission of an act, acknowledgement that the act was wrong and verbal expression of this (Rambam Hilkhot Teshuva 2:2). So, our text details their discussion which reflects their reluctance to repent and repair the damage they had done by stealing. Finally they made their way to Shomron and informed the guards and finally the news made its way up the chain of command to the king himself. He thought that the retreat of the Arameans was a mere tactic such as practiced by Yehoshua at Ai, and that they would ambush anybody who would come into the camp. When a cautious probe involving two of the five horses alive in Shomron showed that all was clear, permission was given to open the city and go into their camp; the siege was ended. The troops sent to follow the enemy, found the whole way to the Jordan strewn with clothes, weapons and valuables cast aside in the haste to retreat before the Hosts of Hashem. The price of food dropped dramatically even as foretold by Elisha whereas Gechazi and his sons condemned by him permanently to leprosy were cured because of their social teshuva. This is the 46th installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times” [The
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