The Reading
The Summary
Shemuel Alef Chapter 12
In this chapter, Shemuel once again (perhaps more officially) presents the newly selected King Shaul to his subjects. In so doing, Shemuel is essentially retiring from his career as undisputed leader of the Jewish people. Shemuel remarks on his own advanced age and challenges the citizens of Israel to speak up if he has ever mistreated or taken advantage of them in any way. They unanimously declare that he has never oppressed them nor utilized his position of authority for personal gain.
Shemuel then recounts the history of Hashem’s salvation of the people of Israel, beginning with their sojourn in Egypt until the era of the Judges, which is now reaching its conclusion. He emphasizes that Hashem’s protection and support of the nation has always been dependent upon one fundamental factor – whether or not the Jews remained committed to the observance of Torah and the rejection of idolatry. When they deviated from the covenant, Hashem abandoned them to the persecutions of their enemies; when they returned to the proper path, He ensured that the appropriate leaders would arise and liberate them.
Despite this clear historical pattern, Shemuel observes, the recent conflict with Ammon has finally pushed the Jews to their breaking point and moved them to demand a king. While Hashem has honored the request of His nation and chosen a fitting monarch for them, they must remain cognizant of the fact that their success and failure will continue to depend not on the strength of the human king who leads them but on the quality of their relationship with the Almighty.
Shemuel warns the people that Hashem will now indicate His disapproval of the movement to establish a monarchy by bringing heavy rain in the midst of the typically dry harvest season. Such rain could potentially destroy the crops in the fields. The clouds quickly appear and the nation acknowledges its wrongdoing in the eyes of Hashem. Frightened of the consequences of rainfall for their food supply and livelihood, they appeal to Shemuel to pray to Hashem to stop the storm. Shemuel does so, but once again reminds them of the lesson they have learned – that Hashem, and not Shaul, will determine their destiny in the long run.
One question we can raise about this chapter is what Shemuel’s motive was in asking the people to acknowledge that he had treated them fairly and never mistreated or taken advantage of them. How was this relevant to the message about kingship he wished to convey here? It seems that he is contrasting the style of prophetic leadership with that of a monarch which he had described at length just a couple of chapters ago.
The king possesses substantial authority and not only CAN but WILL make use of his power to enrich himself and his family. The benefits the king reaps from his position may be legal but they nonetheless impose unnecessary financial and physical hardships on his subjects. Shemuel wants the community to declare that he did not conduct himself in the manner of a king during his tenure so that they will perceive the difference between what they are seeking and what they are dismissing in this shift from prophet/judge to king.
The challenge of Shemuel to the people is reminiscent of the statement of Moshe Rabbenu to Hashem during the rebellion of Qorah, “not one donkey did I take from them, nor did I commit any trespass against any of them.” Here, Shemuel, the descendant of Qorah, is paraphrasing the words that Moshe used when confronted with the uprising against his authority. There, Moshe Rabbenu was perceived by the rebels as a self-styled King rather than a religious leader, and he was being accused of political overreach in making himself king. He responds to the accusations by drawing attention to the honesty and integrity that characterized all of his dealings with members of the nation. Here, Shemuel the religious leader is being rejected in favor of a political figurehead who will, in fact, seize and confiscate the property of Jewish citizens. The irony can’t be missed.
The appearance of rainfall during the harvest season is the perfect sign to prove Hashem’s point as conveyed by Shemuel. Ultimately, the environment and the weather are in the hands of the Almighty; He will therefore determine the prosperity of any given year. This, in turn, means that essential factors impacting the economic welfare of the Jewish people are beyond the control of any human being, including the king. The Book of Ecclesiastes observes that “the king is enslaved to the land.”
In the story of the Exodus, we see that even the mighty Pharaoh was brought to his knees after the decimation of crops in the plague of Hail. Our story is certainly reminiscent of that iconic narrative; the people, fearing the total destruction of their food supply in a “plague”, express remorse for their sins, and Shemuel (like Moshe before him) accedes to the request that he pray for the removal of the ominous existential threat. This experience reminds the people of the fundamental principle they were taught through the Exodus – all human power, no matter how impressive, is an illusion. True salvation is found in the presence of Hashem alone, and our point of connection to Him will always be through the Torah and the teachers, Levites and prophets who represent His will and wisdom.