YEHONATAN COMES TO VISIT

It is at this juncture, with David hiding in the forest, and Shaul not able to find him, that Yehonatan comes to visit David. That he, Yehonatan, is able to find him means either that David had some kind of advance warning system, revealing himself only to those whom he wished, or that Shaul was particularly inept in tracking David (a thought we will return to below).

Focusing on Yehonatan for the moment, he arrives and offers David words of encouragement, that really everyone, including Shaul, already knew that Shaul would not succeed in capturing him, that David would be king, and he, Yehonatan would be his second in command. Assuming Yehonatan was right, he highlights for us both the tragedy of Shaul’s current experience and the tension of David’s existence.

To the extent that Shaul knows that he will never capture David, his continuing to try (one example of with we see in the end of this chapter) becomes almost obsessive. It is not that he really thinks he can succeed, but he is nonetheless unable to stop himself from trying. While some of the blame falls on Shaul’s head—he could have stopped himself with a concerted enough effort—I think he also deserves our pity as we watch him yield to the pressures of his obsession.

For David, the situation is also distinctly uncomfortable. Some part of him knows that the danger he is currently experiencing is largely illusory, as God had decided that he would rule. At the same time, he cannot ignore the danger that Shaul presents (the promise that he would rule would also not mean that he could freely leap off a tall tower and not get killed). He must therefore expend effort and energy avoiding a danger that some part of him knows cannot really harm him.

Finally, we come back to Yehonatan, towards whom I have a continuing ambivalence. On the positive side, his visit to David constitutes betrayal, at least as far as Shaul was concerned, so that we must respect his commitment to encouraging the future king. He also realizes the course God wants the future to take and fully commits to taking his role in that future, with apparently no lingering bitterness over the loss of kingship.

And yet I still find myself bothered by his return to his home. If David has already begun acting as a king—he has an army of his own, and he has begun to protect Jews from Plishtim—it is puzzling that Yehonatan did not stay with David. Had he done so, for one thing, the experience of losing his son completely to David’s allegiance might have been enough of a shock to bring Shaul somewhat back to his senses (at least enough to forego chasing him). In addition, Yehonatan might then not have died with Shaul, so that David would have had the benefit of his help and counsel in his ruling the country.

The counterargument might be that Yehonatan’s deserting Shaul would have been meridah be-malkut, rebellion against the king. Perhaps only David, who Shaul was unjustly trying to kill, had the right to flee Shaul, but the rest of the Jews had the responsibility to stay with him (although not, perhaps, to obey those of his orders that contravened Torah law). If so, Yehonatan may have been obligated to return, out of respect for the kingship.

Even here, though, I am not sure. While rebellion might be prohibited (Tanakh and the Talmud do not seem to allow for a just rebellion, even when the king is corrupt either religiously or socially, although there probably is a right of civil disobedience), absenting oneself is not rebellion. In parallel, Rambam offers someone who could not deal appropriately with a crazy parent the option of hiring someone else to care for the parent and moving away. If so, it might be that Yehonatan’s return home should be seen as a partial failure on his part.

THE PEOPLE OF ZIF

When David is in the wilderness of Zif, the inhabitants go to Shaul and inform him that David is there. Shaul rejoices mightily at their cooperation, thanking them for having compassion on him. He then asks them to go verify all of David’s hiding places, since David is wily and will otherwise escape.

Before we look at the actual incident with David, the report of the people of Zif and Shaul’s reaction seem worth considering on their own. One issue to question, as we asked last week about the people of Keilah, is whether the Zifites really meant to give David up to Shaul. On the yes side is the simple fact of their betrayal; on the no side, however, is Yehonatan’s realization that David will one day rule. To the extent that the Zifites also accepted that future reality, they might have chosen to tell Shaul about David’s presence merely as a way of currying favor with him, confident that he would never capture or kill the future king. Shaul, too, seems to have gotten used to the futility of his chase. He does not immediately follow the Zifites, but rather asks them to verify all of David’s hiding places, as if he has been down this road before.

Superficially, the people of Zif seem to have done their job well, as Shaul gets close enough to David that he is in hot pursuit, with only a mountain separating them. When we are talking about two groups of people chasing each other, a mountain’s separation is not that much—for those who remember Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Butch and Sundance are being chased by a posse and can see them from several mountains away. As long as the posse keeps coming, however, the fugitives are in clear danger.

THE HAND OF HASHEM

Here, too, David escapes, because Shaul gets an urgent message that Plishtim were attacking the land. He drops his pursuit of David and goes to battle the Plishtim. David goes off to Ein Gedi. The timing of the attack, and the arrival of the message, are a little too convenient for my tastes, as if Hashem had orchestrated it to make a point. If so, however, it was a point that Shaul completely missed, as he will return to chasing David on other occasions.

To Shaul’s credit, his letting David go shows his commitment to his main monarchial responsibility, leading the Jews in war. If there was only a mountain between him and David, we could easily imagine Shaul giving himself another few hours to try to close the gap before turning back. After all, whatever the Plishtim were doing, a few hours would not have made a significant difference. Yet as soon as duty calls, Shaul responds.

As I write this, I am reminded of an episode of M*A*S*H. However it happened, Hawkeye, the surgeon played by Alan Alda, had not gotten to sleep in some ridiculously long period of time. The lack of sleep had gotten to him a bit, so that he was doing really crazy things. Whenever wounded arrived, however, he snapped into perfect surgeon’s mode, operating well and coherently as necessary.

Here, too, Shaul seems to be operating at two levels—whenever the Jews need him for a legitimate kingly duty, he snaps into that mode. Outside of those responsibilities, though, he is free to pursue his David obsession as he wished, and so he does.