The Recording

The Summary

Shemuel Alef Chapter 13

King Shaul and his son Yonatan, commanding an army of 3,000 men, have already made inroads in their battle with the Pelishtim. This progress alarms the Pelishtim and begin to ready themselves for what they hope will be a decisive strike against Israel. Many Jews are intimidated and flee the area or hide in caves from protection from what they perceive as an imminent onslaught. Shaul and his men camp at Gilgal and anticipate the arrival of Shemuel who had commanded the king to wait for him for seven days before proceeding to the battlefield.

Noticing that the troops had begun to lose confidence in him and defect from the war effort, Shaul gives up on Shemuel and offers the standard sacrifices himself instead. As soon as he finishes, Shemuel appears and takes Shaul to task for failing to follow the divine instructions. Shaul explains that he was compelled to act quickly because the troops were losing patience and abandoning him, Shemuel was late, and he did not want to head out to battle without having first paid homage to the Almighty.

Shemuel castigates Shaul for his foolishness and informs Shaul that his monarchy is now doomed to fail; he will eventually be replaced by a king who is true to the word of Hashem. In the meantime, only six hundred unarmed men remain in Shaul’s camp (the Jews were forbidden by the Pelishtim from possessing weapons or even having metalworkers in their midst who could sharpen agricultural implements, leaving them at a distinct military disadvantage.) The Pelishtim, by contrast, have divided themselves into three enormous groups that are fast approaching and expecting to leave death and devastation in their wake.

This chapter represents a watershed moment for King Shaul – it is the ultimate test of his ability (or lack of ability) to overcome his need for approval and popularity and remain true to the word of Hashem. There is a stark contrast between the previous two chapters, in which Shaul and Shemuel seemed to be working together toward common goals, and this chapter, in which Shemuel rebukes Shaul and then leaves him stranded on the battlefield to fend for himself.

Shaul’s failure to follow the instructions of the spiritual leader was tantamount to a declaration that the political and military operations of Israel, governed by the king, would function independently of the wisdom and guidance of Torah. Shaul justified his action based upon practical-logistical concerns, as well as blaming Shemuel (he was late) and offering his own religious rationale (that it would be inappropriate to go to war without bringing a sacrifice first.)

The latter two “excuses” not only treat political matters outside of any Torah perspective, they go so far as to imply that Shaul “knows better” on religious issues than a “rabbi” or prophet. This catastrophic move validates the concerns of Shemuel (and Hashem) regarding the establishment of the monarchy to begin with, and demonstrates why Shaul will not ultimately live up to the lofty expectations that the Torah has of a Jewish King.

There is an interesting parallel in the story to the narrative of the Golden Calf. In both cases, the spiritual leader of the nation is absent and his return is delayed; as a result, the people begin to panic or lose hope. In response, the acting leader (there, Aharon; here, Shaul) engages in an unauthorized religious service to reassure them and hold onto their allegiance, rationalizing that it is necessary in order to prevent an even more tragic outcome.

The sin of the Golden Calf occurred because the people’s clamoring for emotional security threatened the stability of communal life and the decision was made to choose the politically expedient route over the religiously correct one – in essence, to give the people what they wanted. This error proved to be a devastating one for the Jewish people, undermining its covenantal relationship with the Almighty, forcing fundamental changes in infrastructure (the firstborn were replaced by the Levites) and placing its whole existence in jeopardy.

Similarly, Shaul’s lack of trust in the word of Hashem and his capitulation to the people in the name of political necessity sets a terrible precedent for his regime which will eventually cause it to disintegrate, as we will see in the chapters ahead.