Something a little bit different again today, with a more experimental piece. This is based on something I studied in the Conservative Yeshiva last year and is an attempt to show the workings of midrash in a piece of prose. I'd love to hear some feedback on whether this works at all.
Who is Mighty?
Based on 2 Samuel 23:8-17
The scribe was alone, looking at a dozen rolls of parchment by flickering lamplight.
It was nearly finished. But there was still much to do. He continued the work, writing them out, putting them in order, arranging, reshaping:
These are the names of the mighty ones that David had: sitting in the seat is the Tachmonite, head of the captains, he is Adino the Eznite - against eight hundred he slew at once.
After him was Eleazar son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. In the three mighty ones with David when they defied the Philistines, gathered there for battle. The men of Israel had gone up - but he stood and slew Philistines until his hand grew weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. God made a great victory that day, and the people came back after him only to strip the slain.
And after him is Shammah, son of Ageh the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered into a company in a portion of a field full of lentils, and all the people had fled from before the Philistines. But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the portion and saved it, and slew the Philistines. God made a great victory.
Three of the thirty chiefs went down and came to the harvest, to David, unto the cave of Adullam. But a company of Philistines were encamped in the Valley of Ghosts. David was in a fortress and the Philistines were in Bethlehem.
But David felt a craving and said, “who will give me to drink from the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate?”
So the three mighty ones broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate, and took it up and brought it to David. But he would not drink it, and poured it out to God.
He said, “God forbid that I should do this! This is the blood of the men who went with their lives.”
And he would not drink it. Such did these three mighty ones.
The scribe put down his quill. The work was almost done and for now at least, he could sleep.
* *
Based on 1 Chronicles 11:4-47
Matathiah sat next to his young son as he lay under the blanket. Yehoshua had already grown so much.
“Tell me a story, father,” Yehoshua said.
“Well okay,” Matathiah answered, “but it had better be a quick story - it’s past your bed time.”
Yehoshua looked disappointed.
Trying to distract him, Matathiah continued “how about the story of how God created the world?”
“No,” his son said, “tell me a story about heroes! I want to hear about King David and his mighty warriors.”
Matathiah sighed under his breath. Yehoshuah always wanted to hear about King David.
“Let’s see, where to begin. Ah yes, I remember now.
“In those days, the Jebusites were in control of the holy city of Jerusalem but David knew that it was supposed to become the city of God. But the evil Jebusites taunted him mercilessly, saying that he would never conquer the city of Jebus.
“However, David knew that his warriors were mighty and that the Jebusites would be no match for them. He declared that whoever lead the attack would become commander of all his armies. His warriors were eager to prove themselves against the foes of God and the king, so they immediately rushed to attack the city. Yoav was first to attack, and he nearly routed their forces single-handedly, slaying Jebusites left and right until his arm grew weary. That was how Yoav came to be King David’s commander. And so Jerusalem was taken and became the royal city of the House of David - and the king’s power continued to grow, because the Lord was with him.”
“Tell me more father, what of his other heroes?”
“Well, there was Yashobeam, the head of the thirty, chief among David’s mighty warriors. He could raise his spear against three hundred foes and slay them all at once.
“Then there was the mighty Eleazar son of Dodo, who stood tall among the Three most mighty. He was with David in Pas-Dammim where the Philistines had gathered for battle. They were a mighty host, like a wolf eager for prey. They camped in a field full of barley and all of Israel fled before them - but not Eleazar and certainly not David. They stood alone, two against a thousand in the middle of the field. All day they slew the Philistines and delivered Israel - truly God did a great wonder that day.
“Now you must go to bed, my son, it’s time for you to sleep.”
“Just one more story, please? Tell me another story about the Three. Please?”
“Okay, just one more story.
“Let’s see now. There was the time that King David was encamped in a fortress at Adullam, while the Philistines were camped in the valley of the ghosts and had even captured David’s home city of Bethlehem! Well, David was sitting around trying to work out what to do when a terrible thirst seized him - he longed for a taste of home.
“‘If only I could get a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem’ he said out loud.
“Now, three of the thirty were with him, and when they heard what the king said they took matters into their own hands. They took up their spears and swore a solemn oath to God not to stop until they had brought the king water to drink from the well inside the gate of Bethlehem.
“Eleazar led the charge,” said Matathiah, warming to his subject, “and the others followed. From Adullam they attacked the Philistines, three against a thousand. They jabbed left and right, killing every Philistine within reach,” Matathiah waved a stick around to demonstrate.
“God was with them and before long they had broken through the lines and reached the well of Bethlehem. Eleazar lowered his helmet into the well and filled it to the brim with clear water, while his two brothers-in-arms stood guard over him. Then they began the long march back to their king.
“The Philistines were in a panic now but still they tried to bring down David’s mighty warriors. Again and again they charged the heroes, again and again the mighty ones slew their foes, never spilling a drop of the precious water.
“Finally they reached the fortress where King David was camped, and Eleazar presented his king with a helmet full of the water of Bethlehem!”
“Yeah!” said Yehoshua.
“Do you know what happened next?” Matathiah asked his son.
“Of course, the King would not drink the water.”
“That’s right. ‘How can I drink this water?’ King David said, ‘when it was at the risk of the lives of my three greatest warriors?’
“And so the king poured the water onto the ground as an offering to God, and all the soldiers bowed their heads and worshipped.
“Now my son, it is time to sleep.”
“But there’s so much more to tell!” Yehoshua protested. “What about Avishai, Yoav’s brother? What about Benaiah and the lion in the pit? And Asahel brother of Yoav, and Uriah the hittite and...”
“Hush my son,” Matathiah stroked his brow. “There will be time for more stories tomorrow night.”
“Okay father.” Yehoshua closed his eyes.
“Sleep well,” said Matathiah giving his son a kiss.
He blew out the candle and got up to leave.
“Father, where have all the mighty ones gone?”
“They will be back soon, my son, when the seed of King David resumes his rightful place on the throne. Then we will all see what it means to be mighty. Now go to sleep.”
Yehoshua rolled over. Matathiah watched him for a few minutes. Soon, his son’s regular breathing told him that he was asleep. He was growing up so fast.
* *
Based on Babylonian Talmud, Baba Kamma 60b-61a
The sages had gathered for their sabbath discussion. Ben Zoma’s attic was packed with rabbis and their disciples. The afternoon prayers had been recited, the third meal had been eaten and now was the time for a discussion on a matter of torah. The older sages sat on wooden chairs, their younger colleagues sat on the floor around them. Meanwhile the students crowded the outside wall, straining to hear every word that was uttered.
It was Rava who opened the debate: “My teacher, Rav Nachman, used to explain the story of King David and the water of Bethlehem in the following manner.
“King David and his mighty warriors were in their fortress, when a longing came over the king. What was it he longed for? Water! And we all know that water means that he craved a teaching.
“For the wise King David needed an answer to a certain legal problem that had arisen in his battle with the Philistines - what is a man liable for if he burns down a stack of hay and it turns out there were other objects hidden inside it? Is the law like Rabbi Yehuda and the man is obligated for payment? Or does the law follow the sages who say he is exempt, because he didn’t know the articles were there? You see, his warriors had just burnt down some haystacks and destroyed the property of one of King David’s subjects and he needed to know if he was liable to pay them back. But this was a tricky question - who could answer it? Only the rabbinical court that sat in the gate of Bethlehem. But the city was in the hands of the Philistines! Still, King David knew he had to find the answer.
“He sent his warriors to find the answer, they reached the rabbinical court, and brought the answer back to the king. If only we still remembered the answer they brought back.”
At this point, when Rava stopped speaking, Rav Huna stood up and began his own discourse.
“With respect, I strongly disagree. You must realise that the longing that came over the righteous King David is related to what is written just before.
“For the Philistines had gathered in a field of barley that belonged to Israelite farmers - and the crafty Philistines had hidden themselves inside heaps of the grain. Before the king would allow Shammah and Eleazar, and his other mighty warriors to attack the foe, he needed to know the answer to this question - is it permitted to save yourself through destroying someone else’s property?
”His captains fought their way to the rabbinical court in Bethlehem and they brought back to the king the following response: It is forbidden for a person to save themselves through the destruction of another’s property but you are the king! The king is allowed to break through people’s fields to make way for his army and no one is permitted to prevent him.”
Rav Huna had finished his words and sat down again. This time it was Rabba bar Mari who got up to speak.
“This was the real situation,” Rabba bar Mari explained. “King David was arrayed against the Philistine hosts. He was in a field with heaps of barley belonging to Israelites but also heaps of lentils belonging to the Philistines. The urgent question to which the king had to have an answer, was this: could he take the barley of the Israelites and give it to his warhorses now, and promise to pay the farmers back later with the lentils of the Philistines?
“The mighty warriors brought back judgement from the court at the gate of Bethlehem, in the words of the prophet Ezekiel “if the wicked returns his pledge, he pays what he stole” - which is to say, even if he pays the money back, he is nonetheless wicked; but you are the king! The king is allowed to break through people’s fields to make way for his army and no one is permitted to prevent him.”
Rabba bar Mari returned to his place on the floor. The talks were concluded - now was time for the discussion.
“Rav Huna!” called one of the listening sages. “The idea that King David was asking about exchanging lentils for barley makes sense. After all, in the book of Samuel it says lentils and yet in Chronicles it says barley! How can you explain the mention of lentils?”
“That’s easy,” called another, “Rav Huna can say the Philistines hid themselves in heaps of barley and heaps of lentils.”
“Rabba bar Mari! You say that King David was asking about an exchange - but how then do you explain that Shamma had to stand in the field and defend it? Surely he was protecting the field from being burnt down because King David did not want to do something forbidden.”
“It just means Shamma stopped anyone from exchanging the barley for the lentils” answered a rabbi from the corner.
“This all makes sense so far but I think Rava has a problem. If the righteous king was asking about fire burning objects that were hidden, what connection is there between the story of the field of lentils and barley, and the rabbinic court in Bethlehem?”
“Maybe King David asked two questions,” returned a wizened sage, “both the question about concealed objects and either Rav Huna’s or Rabba bar Mari’s question.”
For a moment, the attic fell silent. Each view seemed to be well-grounded and consistent with the text and the tradition.
“But what about the end of the story?” asked a student. “What does it mean that King David did not accept the water and poured it out to God?”
Rav Huna answered first: “King David, on hearing that the action he sought was generally forbidden, decided that he would not take advantage of his royal prerogative. He commanded Shamma and his other mighty warriors not to burn the field. In doing so, he performed a holy act to God.”
Rabba bar Mari spoke: “King David, on hearing that the action he sought was generally forbidden, decided that he would not take advantage of his royal prerogative. He commanded Shamma and his other mighty warriors not to allow any exchange to take place between the barley and the lentils. In doing so, he performed a holy act to God.”
All eyes looked to Rava. How could he explain the same passage?
“King David was horrified to see that his mighty heroes had risked their lives to answer his question,” Rava began. “And he said them ‘I learnt from my teacher, the prophet Samuel, that you don’t recite laws in the name of someone who risked their lives for the sake of the teaching’. ‘He poured out the water’, means that he refused to teach the answer he received in the names of his heroes. Yet he poured them out for God. This shows that while he did not teach the answer in their names, he nevertheless repeated the teaching anonymously for it was important that all should know whether you are liable or not.”
In their different centuries, their different attics, the rabbis finished their debate. Separated but united.
The sabbath was over.
The rabbis and their students stood, and began to pray the evening prayers.
* *
“Ben Zoma asks... who is mighty? One who conquers his own inclination.”
-Ethics of the Fathers, 4:1
