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. Farewell to a Prophet,
Farewell to a King (Melachim Bet 13) Elisha became mortally ill, the third of his life; after inciting bears to attack those who jeered at him, then after rejecting completely his disciple Gehazi for defrauding Naaman, and now this final one (Sotah 47a). When Yo'ash ben Yehu, king of Israel, came to visit the sick prophet, he wept and cried: "My master, Israel's chariots and horsemen". These were the same words uttered by Elisha when Eliyahu ascended heavenward. Here they were meant to show that Elisha's prayers and prophecies were greater protection against the Arameans who were harassing Israel than horses and chariots. The prophet by dramatically telling the king to shoot arrows through the open window showed that Israel would actually defeat the enemy in the same place, Afek, where Achav years previously had defeated them. Nevertheless, this salvation would come only after the death of Elisha, since he himself had prophesied when he anointed Hazael the Aramean king, that he would plague Israel, and therefore, could not reverse it. The use of the plural form to describe the burial of Elisha, shows how beloved and appreciated this prophet was, who had performed more miracles of salvation for his people, both individually and collectively, than those before him. This calls to mind Aharon who was similarly was mourned by “All the Children of Israel”, rather than Moshe, who was mourned by the “Children of Israel”. “After his death, Moav who had been subjected to Israel by David revolted and harassed them by guerilla warfare. One such group of guerillas was passing by the cave in which Elisha was buried [similar to the many grave-tombs of the 2nd Temple period, that are being revealed nowadays in archeological digs], disturbing a burial party. In a panic, the burial party dropped the corpse and fled. Not only while they live but even in their death, the righteous bring salvation and refuah. “And when he went [actually rolled] and touched Elisha’s body, he came to life and stood up on his feet ” (verse 21). On this verse, R. Chama bar Chaninah taught: “The tzaddikim are even greater in their death than in their lives”. “After his death, it was sufficient for the corpse to only touch the prophet’s body, whereas when alive Elisha had to pray for chesed and physically to place his mouth and his eyes on those of the dead boy, in order to merit reviving him (Chullin 7bRashi). Chazal seem to present us with
two different perspectives on this last miracle of Elisha’s: Noting that the text says that the dead man stood up, not that he later went home, Rabbi Acha bar Chanina taught he only came alive so that he could be reburied elsewhere. From this we learn that one does not bury evil people alongside the righteous. (Sanhedrin 47a). "Do not gather with sinners my soul" (Tehillim 26:9). Radically different were the
burials of the two kings Yehoachaz and Yo'ash that are also
mentioned in our chapter. Of both of them the evaluation was the
same - "They did not turn away from all the sins of Yeravam ben
Nevat"; even though their father Yehu had destroyed the house of
Baal, the Ashera still stood in Shomron. It is true that despite the
destructive incursions of Hazael, Hashem listened to the prayers of
Yehoachaz but it was only because of His Covenant with the Avot that
He did not destroy Israel but delivered them from the hands of Aram.
In both cases the text tells us that they died in Shomron and they
were buried in the place of burial of their fathers. What is of
greater importance is the verse that tells us that all their other
deeds and acts of valor are in the chronicles of the kings of
Israel. A similar phrase is used with regard to all the kings of
Israel and of Judah [in their case these were the chronicles of the
kings of Judah]. These chronicles, not to be confused with the
Chronicles that complete our Tanach, were merely the historical,
fiscal and political records of these kings. In that they were no
different from the records of kings and queens, emperors and states
in every country or time in history. At one level, they seem to be
similar to Tanach, however, this appearance is at best illusionary
and at worse, false. The stories, events, and the facts in the whole
of the 24 books of Tanach, from Bereishit till the end of
Chronicles, are not records of politics, social behavior nor of
personal psychology. They are, however, ethical, spiritual and
religious value judgments, guiding principles or behavioral patterns
from Hashem concerning the lives, actions and achievements of the
men and women that He created. Therefore, only the things that had
eternal spiritual relevance are included in the Tanach. Perhaps,
that is why, only David HaMelekh merited that all his deeds were
written in the Tanach and nothing in a chronicle of the kings of
Israel. [The
Parshat Sho-f'tim Homepage]
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