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. "NIMROD WAS A MIGHTY HUNTER BEFORE
THE LORD" Gen.10:8-9 We can distinguish three views of this new development in human history among our sages that demonstrate the Jewish political philosophy. These views are not mutually exclusive; on the contrary, they present different perspectives that together add up to a united intrinsically Jewish value system. They show that ideas like republicanism, democracy, and the monarchy are legitimate Jewish concerns and that there exists a Jewish approach to these and other questions regarding the role of political rule and government. [1] Radak explains that before Nimrod, humanity had lived in smaller communities, ruled by elders and elected leaders. He sees the verses concerning Nimrod not as value statements but rather as presenting facts. The Netziv carries this further in saying that, "actually urbanization, centralized government and strong rulers fulfill the Divine wish that Mankind should prosper and multiply; "without the fear of it [the government] men would swallow one another alive" (Avot 2:2). The Torah supports this when it writes, " a mighty hunter before the Lord", seeing Nimrod as a instrument in Hashem's hands, in the same way as Nebuchadnezzar is described as being a scourge of Hashem's against Israel; this does nothing to minimize the evil of both of these men, who only acted in their own selfish interests" (Ha'amek Davar). [2] "The Torah wishes to show his sin when it wrote that Nimrod began to be a GIBOR, since before his time all men were equal since they were all the descendants of one man; he, however, began to rule and reign over them. He did this by showing his strength and physical prowess in hunting fierce beasts like the lion and bears, so that people feared him and subjected to him. It is possible to explain the verse, "a mighty hunter before G-d", as showing that Nimrod offered sacrifices to G-d from his hunt, thereby appearing to be pious and so drawing people to subject themselves to him. Furthermore, he constructed fortifications and castles in order to rule over the people, so the Torah tells us that the beginning of his empire was in Bavel and lists the names of the great cities that he built in order to centralize his rule. Seeing that mankind chose urbanization and statehood even though these are evil in His eyes, Hashem did not forbid them to Israel, but rather commanded us to do them in piety, justice and truth. That is the way of kingship in Israel, that although it displeased Hashem (Shmuel Alef 8:7), He commanded that the appointment should be by a prophet and according to all the restrictions written in Devarim (17:14-20)" (Abarbanel). [3] "'But the glory of kings is to search out a matter' (Mishlei 25:2); public life, the rule of a ruler - and here we are at the cradle of Kingship - is never honored by secrecy. According to the Jewish idea publicity, openness and transparency have to be the doing of rulers. However, Nimrod was a hunter that ensnared men with cunning and falsehoods as Chazal explain, and these are by definition, hidden. GEVURA always assumes that something else has been overcome by the exercise of considerable force. While the GIBORIM naturally go to the lead, the well-being of society requires that they only use their power in the interests of others and protect the rights of the weak. The GIBOR TZAYID, Nimrod the mighty hunter, is the diametric opposite of this. Here is shown the evils of tyranny which continued so perniciously throughout the history of nations ; moreover it is shown here that its origin lies in force and cunning from above and not in the voluntary submission from below" (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch). Furthermore, our verse calls Nimrod a mighty hunter and he became the symbol for mighty hunters and powerful rulers as evidenced by the Crusader fortress near the Baniyas that bears his name. However, our commentators regard him as the prototype of all those who revolt against G-d, seeing this verse as referring to a cunning hunter, one who hunts not only animals but also humans with guile and cunning. Chazal also describe Eisav in the same way. Not only did Nimrod use his bravery, strength and guile to rule but also to turn men to idolatry. So too, did Yeravam ben Nevat when he set up the two Calves to wean the ten tribes from going up tothe Temple in the Davidic capital, Yerushalyim (Melachim Alef 12: 27-30). "In truth, His name is Nimrod from 'mered', to rebel" (Bereishit Rabba 37:2). So, idolatry became a state religion giving the ruler an additional source of power over his subjects (Sforno). It is little wonder that the Midrash has many stories to tell of Nimrod's persecution of Avraham, till the latter had to leave Ur and Haran. Even though Terach his father was a senior adviser to the evil king, Avraham was the opposite in every respect of Nimrod. For Avraham was a Prince of G-d, who brought people close to Him and who taught his descendants to pursue justice and righteousness. This is the 93rd installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times” [The
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