Spiritual and Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach; JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim)
by Dr. Meir Tamari

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.

On Being a Jewish King
The Sin of a King
The revolt of Yoravam ben Nevat against Shlomo was not only the result of the crushing tax burden that he imposed on Israel. That was the apparent social, political and natural cause, yet in Judaism it is always the actions of men and women and G-d's judgment of them that really shape events. In keeping with this idea, Divine displeasure at Shlomo's sin, irrespective of how we understand it, resulted in the socio-political phenomenon in the form of that revolt.

"For it came to pass, when Shlomo was old... he went after Ashtoret, the goddess of the Zidonim and after Milkom of the Amonim. And did evil in the sight of the Lord... built a bamah for Khemosh, the abomination of Moav.. and for Molekh the idol of Amon. Since this is so, I, Hashem will rend the kingdom from you and give it to your servant" (Melachim Alef 11:4-11).
We may understand this as punishment for Shlomo's sin of idolatry. However, Chazal (Shabbat 56b), following the text itself, "not as David, his father", saw that it is only relative to the deeds of David that he is considered a sinner. He did not rebuke the women of the many foreign nations he had married in order to cement Israel's political relations with them. Nevertheless, in keeping with the rest of Tanach, his wrongdoing and punishment are clearly recorded; that is made even clearer by the opinion of Shimon bar Yochai (Talmud Jerushalmi, Sanhedrin 5:6), that Shlomo simply took many women for pleasure. Nobody, no matter how pious or how powerful or how sanctified, is free of Judaism's evaluation of their conduct and where deserving, of rebuke. Although the biblical figures are not average or ordinary people, but spiritual-religious giants, their shortcomings and judgment are reported without favouritism, in order that we may be warned and strive to prevent them in our own lives. It is true that G-d postponed the breaking up of the kingdom till Rechavam, Shlomo's son ruled, just as He rendered the kingdom from Saul, for his sin with Amalek, but waited till Saul's death before allowing David to ascend the throne, and just as He delayed the promised punishment of Achav because of his T'shuva. However, in a generation that likes to stress and teach only Divine Chesed, we should remember that in all these cases, G-d's mercy only weakened the severity of His Din, but did not cancel it; there is no evading the consequences of our actions.

We could ascribe Shlomo's wrongdoing to the corruption of power. After all he ruled the greatest Jewish empire, acquired unparalleled wealth, foreign kings and princes did homage to him, and his wisdom was world famous; his wrongdoing, surely an example of the biblical verse, "Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked" (Dvarim 32:9). World history is replete with the empires and kingdoms that collapsed at the very peak of their power, under a burden of similar arrogance, flowing from a belief in their own might, power and ability. Social and religious movements, holding promises of utopia and a cure for all the ills and problems of Mankind, have been perverted to great evil by this self-same arrogance and delusion of power. Rabbi A. H. Kook wrote that national- ism is natural to all peoples and has very positive functions of melding the spiritual forces of a people and permitting their cultural, social and moral development. However, it contains in it the potential for oppression, strife and war. The same is true of Jewish nationalism and if we lose our moral and spiritual compass, our nationalism will degenerate, just like any other nation. Such results were clearly spelt out both to David and to Shlomo. "And if you walk before Me as did your father David... then I will establish the throne of your kingdom for ever. But if you turn from following me, then will I cut off Israel from the Land I have given them and this house [Beit HaMikdash] will I cast out of My sight" (ibid 9:4-10).

This warning echoes and re-echoes throughout the Tanach, yet there is however, an additional spiritual factor introduced by Shlomo. He was quite aware of the dangers to a king's spiritual, moral and religious behaviour flowing from the multiplication of wives, money and horses. He understood and accepted the necessity and the wisdom of the Torah's restrictions on the rights of a Jewish king regarding all of them (Dvarim 17:16-17).

However, he believed that for him there was no danger, since in his wisdom he would be able to do all of the forbidden things but they would not cause him to sin. His view has been paralleled by the objection of other religions to the whole Jewish concept of practical mitzvot, to our concept of legal restraints to human actions in all spheres of life and to our insistence on fear of G-d as a deterrent to evildoing. They and indeed many Jews have argued that human wisdom, common decency or social education suffice to build a humane, moral and just society that is the aim of all people. Avimelekh questioned Avraham as to what evil among the Philistines led him to believe that they would kill a man in order to take his wife. And Avraham answered, "Surely there is no fear of G-d in this place" (B'reishit 20: 11). To Shlomo, Hillel would answer, "Do not believe in yourself till the day you die" (Pirkei Avot 2:5).

This is the 27th installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times”

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