Close To Torah

One of the most fascinating aspects of David’s life was “the forsaken stone became the head of the building” (Tehillim 118:22 and see Pesachim 119a). In the coronation of David a most interesting phenomenon occurred. The great prophet Shmuel was sent to anoint a new king (Shmuel I, Chapter 16) and Hashem told him to go to Beis HaLachmi and anoint the son of Yishai. Shmuel was unable to get the information from Hashem regarding which of Yishai’s seven children would be the king. He had to go through each one of them, one at a time, and have Hashem tell him, “no, this one is not the one I chose…” Chazal (Midrash Agadas Bereishis 70) say that this was a punishment for an arrogant comment that Shmuel had made at the beginning of his meeting with Shaul many years back when he introduced himself as, “I am the great prophet Shmuel” (Shmuel I:1:19). At this time now he was humbled and had to admit that his power came solely from Hashem. What needs to be understood is why was it that Shmuel was specifically corrected for his comment at this time when he was sent to anoint the great Jewish king?

Shmuel saw the tall and handsome oldest son of Yishai named Aliav and figured that he must be the chosen one. Hashem told Shmuel (ibid verse 7), “He is not the one, don’t just look at his high and haughty posture, he has been rejected from being crowned; whereas humans only see the external, I Hashem judge him from the inside.” Chazal say (Pesachim 66b and Sifri Devarim 17) that really Aliav was destined to be the king, but because of his anger (see Shmuel I, 17:28 explicitly) and haughty demeanor, he was rejected. This needs to be understood, what is going on here?

Meanwhile, one by one, each son of Yishai’s was rejected until Shmuel asked, “do any others exist?” Yishia replied, “there is one more young lad who is shepherding the sheep.” As soon as David was seen by Shmuel, Hashem told him: “Anoint him for he is the one!”

David had been the rejected son of Yishai. Yishai came from Rus the Moavite who married Boaz. There was a big dispute as to whether a Moavite woman could even convert. Although it was later unequivocally proven that she was a completely valid convert, at that time it was a raging controversy. Recognizing this, Yishai separated from his wife and did not wish to create more questionable children. His wife knew that he was mistaken and she dressed up as another concubine wife of Yishai and lived with Yishai. When Yishai’s wife was discovered to be pregnant, she was suspected of adultery, looked down on and questioned (even though she was really pregnant from her own husband!). David was born from this incident and entered the world in a most rejected way. He was seen as an illegitimate child, coming from Moavite descent and looked down upon by his brothers. He was not accepted in the community and instead spent his days in the field tending to the sheep and turning towards Hashem, the only One who knew the truth about him and whom he could pour out his heart and soul and grow closer to.

When David was anointed, all of the questions were answered and he was accepted. He went from being the rejected stone to the primary cornerstone in one moment. This was a great day of joy. David’s life experiences were painful, but they taught him true humility and trust in Hashem. They gave him the most vital and precious skills in life. They gave him what it took to be the king of the Jewish nation. Shmuel was taught a lesson about arrogance specifically when trying to anoint the new king in order to show that when it came to the Jewish kingship, there was absolutely no room for arrogance. The person who would bring the nation closer to Hashem could not have a trace of arrogance. This was same reason that Aliav was rejected as his minor imperfection of arrogance was an unacceptable flaw for royalty. David shows us through his beautiful Tehillim how to open our hearts and purify our souls to long for and get closer to Hashem through heart-felt prayer and true humility.

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