Acting more like Shaul than David in this war

Everything is in the Torah. Everything.

As we read last Shabbat in Sefer Shmuel 1, Shaul, the first king of Israel, failed in his most profound mission to utterly annihilate and destroy Amalek — and as a consequence, lost the kingship forever.

David was chosen by Hashem to be the new king, anointed by Shmuel Hanavi, but had not yet assumed the throne. Shaul, consumed with jealousy, anger, self-doubt, depression, and paranoia, strove to kill David; failing that, he set off to fight the Philistines, in one last battle, one that Shaul knew would be his end.

Meanwhile David, who had amassed a fighting force of 600 men, returns from hiding out among the very same Philistines to his home in Ziklag, a small town located in what we today call the “Gaza envelope,” near to kibbutz Nir Oz.

David returns and finds his wives and family and those of his entire army have been taken hostage, the town pillaged and burnt by Amalekites. The soldiers and David “lifted their voices and wept until they had no power to weep” (30:4).

Fast-forward to Oct. 7, 2023. The Bibas boys, their mother Shiri and father Yarden are taken hostage from Nir Oz. Every time we thought about those redheaded cherubs we cried till we could cry no more. When we heard confirmation of the horrible deaths of these little nefeshels and their mother over 500 days later, once again endless tears flowed. Their father Yarden, the lone survivor freed three weeks earlier, is a broken man.

T

he parallels of the two stories 3,000 years apart, of hostage taking of Jewish wives and children near Gaza by barbaric hordes, are striking. But so are the differences.

How did the story of David play out? What happened to his wives and children who were taken hostage? 

The Tanach tells us exactly.

After they could cry no more, David’s men, their souls grieving and filled with anger, wanted to stone David for his failure to protect their loved ones. But David, rather than protest or make excuses, “drew strength from Hashem, his G-d” (30:6).

He called over Evyatar the Kohen and said, I must consult G-d on what to do. He inquired via the Urim V’Tumim, the bejeweled breast plate: “Hashem what shall I do? Shall I pursue them?” And Hashem answered, “Yes pursue them for you shall surely overtake them and recover them all, without fail” (30:8).

Ultimately, they found the perpetrators, a band of Amalekites celebrating “eating and drinking and dancing” (30:17). And David “smote them … and recovered all that Amalek had taken … rescued his wives … sons and daughters … recovered it all” (30:17–19).

Why the difference in outcome? One could argue the presence of our current adversary Hamas in a network of underground tunnels, the 20-day delay before Israel launched a full scale offensive, the pressure by international forces and governments, hindered a successful outcome. All true.

Or, could you argue, the failure by our own Jewish Israeli leadership to seek out and be strengthened by G-d as David did immediately, led to the delay so that Hamas could hide their hostages and kill them; led to the delays so that over 500 days later we still don’t have everyone back; and that the misplaced compassion for “innocent Gazans” supplied with “humanitarian aid and corridors,” led to the deaths of so many of our soldiers and hostages.

The failure to consult with G-d!? How?

We don’t have access to a direct line to G-d with the Urim V’Tumim, but we have G-d’s instruction manual, our Holy Torah. Had we consulted that, rather than rely on our “practical, secular strategies,” perhaps the results might have been different.

We, who debate such minutiae of Jewish life as whether we may carry in this area or that on Shabbat, or use hot water, or discuss the intricacies of basar v’chalav, or if our etrog is kosher, we couldn’t inquire how to proceed with something as monumental as this?

Sadly, we acted more like Shaul than David in prosecuting this war that was foisted upon us. May we learn from our mistakes and realize the Torah is our guide for everything.

Shabbat Shalom.

Former ZOA Chairman Dr. Alan A. Mazurek is a retired neurologist, living in Great Neck, Jerusalem and Florida.

Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com