Chapter 21 in Shmuel A is a chapter of flight. David parts from Yehonatan, understands that he is in a moment of real danger, and seeks a solution to protect his life. He has two stops in this chapter: Nov, the city of the Kohanim, from which one of the darkest episodes in Shaul's life will unfold, and afterward Gat, with Achish king of the Pelishtim, where he is forced to save his life in a way he never would have imagined. We will follow the order of the pesukim in the footsteps of the Malbim's explanations and the words of Chazal.
וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלַךְ וִיהוֹנָתָן בָּא הָעִיר׃ - And he arose and went, and Yehonatan came into the city.
וַיָּבֹא דָוִד נֹבֶה אֶל־אֲחִימֶלֶךְ הַכֹּהֵן וַיֶּחֱרַד אֲחִימֶלֶךְ לִקְרַאת דָּוִד וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַדּוּעַ אַתָּה לְבַדֶּךָ וְאִישׁ אֵין אִתָּךְ׃ - And David came to Nov, to Achimelech the Kohen, and Achimelech trembled at meeting David, and said to him: Why are you alone, and no man with you?
"נֹבֶה" refers to the city of Nov, and Achimelech was the Kohen Gadol. Achimelech trembled at meeting him and wondered: why are you alone? If you are going out for the needs of war, where is the army? And if you are on the king's mission, the king's emissary travels with young men and attendants. How can it be that you come entirely on your own, with no man alongside you?
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַאֲחִימֶלֶךְ הַכֹּהֵן הַמֶּלֶךְ צִוַּנִי דָבָר וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי אִישׁ אַל־יֵדַע מְאוּמָה אֶת־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחֲךָ וַאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִךָ וְאֶת־הַנְּעָרִים יוֹדַעְתִּי אֶל־מְקוֹם פְּלֹנִי אַלְמוֹנִי׃ - And David said to Achimelech the Kohen: The king charged me with a matter, and said to me: Let no man know anything of the matter about which I am sending you and which I have commanded you. And I have appointed the young men to a certain unnamed place.
David explains: the king charged me with two things. First, that no one should know what the mission itself is; and second, that no one should know even the place to which I am going. This is "אֶת־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחֲךָ" - the content of the mission, "וַאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִךָ" - and also the place. For this reason he could not take a young man with him, since the young man would know the place. Nor could he leave the young men at a particular spot and tell them "we will meet there," because then, when David came, the young men would learn from the passersby where he had come from: "we saw him leaving the corner of the city," "we saw him leaving so and so's house." Therefore "וְאֶת־הַנְּעָרִים יוֹדַעְתִּי" - I appointed the young men to stand at a certain unnamed place, a place hidden from everyone. Therefore, David says, I had no choice but to arrive alone.
וְעַתָּה מַה־יֵּשׁ תַּחַת־יָדְךָ חֲמִשָּׁה־לֶחֶם תְּנָה בְיָדִי אוֹ הַנִּמְצָא׃ - And now, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is found.
David requests: since I have placed five young men far from any settled place, I need five loaves for the five young men. And if you do not have five, then "אוֹ הַנִּמְצָא", give me whatever there is. Chazal expound that David asked for five loaves because the Kohen Gadol would take five loaves, and he told him that he would immediately give him the five loaves of the Kohen Gadol, so that his mind would be at ease. And in the phrase "אוֹ הַנִּמְצָא" he hinted: if you have ordinary (non sacred) bread on hand, that would be preferable.
וַיַּעַן הַכֹּהֵן אֶת־דָּוִד וַיֹּאמֶר אֵין־לֶחֶם חֹל אֶל־תַּחַת יָדִי כִּי־אִם־לֶחֶם קֹדֶשׁ יֵשׁ אִם־נִשְׁמְרוּ הַנְּעָרִים אַךְ מֵאִשָּׁה׃ - And the Kohen answered David and said: There is no ordinary bread on hand, only sacred bread, if only the young men have kept themselves from a woman.
Why is there no ordinary bread in Nov? Nov is the city of the Kohanim, and it is exactly as its name implies. A city whose inhabitants are all Kohanim, and all of them are permitted to eat sacred food. Consequently there was no need there for a grocery and for ordinary bread, since there is no one there who does not eat sacred food. Therefore he said to him: I have no ordinary bread on hand, bread that you, David, as a Yisrael can eat, but only sacred bread. And there is one condition: "אִם־נִשְׁמְרוּ הַנְּעָרִים אַךְ מֵאִשָּׁה" - if they have kept themselves from the impurity of a seminal emission. In truth, because of the hunger the bread is permitted, since this is a case of danger to life, but the Kohen prefers that those who eat it be pure, because of the sanctity of the bread.
Chazal explain that this refers to the lechem hapanim, the showbread, and regarding the showbread there are two states: as long as it lies upon the table it is holy and forbidden to be eaten, even by a Kohen; but once it has been removed from the table and the frankincense bowls have been offered in order to place fresh bread - and every week, on Shabbat, they remove the old and set out the new - its sanctity is less stringent. This is what he told him: I have the bread that has already been removed from the table.
וַיַּעַן דָּוִד אֶת־הַכֹּהֵן וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כִּי אִם־אִשָּׁה עֲצֻרָה־לָנוּ כִּתְמוֹל שִׁלְשֹׁם בְּצֵאתִי וַיִּהְיוּ כְלֵי־הַנְּעָרִים קֹדֶשׁ וְהוּא דֶּרֶךְ חֹל וְאַף כִּי הַיּוֹם יִקְדַּשׁ בַּכֶּלִי׃ - And David answered the Kohen and said to him, indeed women have been kept from us as before, when I set out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and though it is an ordinary journey, how much more so today shall it be sanctified in the vessel.
"אִשָּׁה עֲצֻרָה־לָנוּ" - women have been kept from us, meaning we have not been intimate with a woman. "וַיִּהְיוּ כְלֵי־הַנְּעָרִים קֹדֶשׁ" - both their garments and their vessels, all is holy and pure. "וְהוּא דֶּרֶךְ חֹל" - this bread, after it has been removed from the table and the frankincense bowls have been offered, is close to being ordinary; it does not have the standing of full sanctity, and it has left the category of me'ilah, since the Kohanim are already permitted to eat it, whereas beforehand even a Kohen was forbidden to eat it. And he added further: "וְאַף כִּי הַיּוֹם יִקְדַּשׁ בַּכֶּלִי" - even if the bread were now lying upon the table in its stringent sanctity, forbidden even to the Kohanim, you would be obligated to give it to me on account of pikuach nefesh; all the more so bread that has already been removed and no longer carries me'ilah. For Chazal say that David was seized by bulmus. Bulmus means a terrible hunger that suddenly grips a person, and one must feed him on the spot, and if not, there is genuine danger to life, he could die.
וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ הַכֹּהֵן קֹדֶשׁ כִּי לֹא־הָיָה שָׁם לֶחֶם כִּי־אִם־לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים הַמּוּסָרִים מִלִּפְנֵי יְהֹוָה לָשׂוּם לֶחֶם חֹם בְּיוֹם הִלָּקְחוֹ׃ - So the Kohen gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there except the showbread that had been removed from before Hashem, to set out fresh bread on the day it was taken away.
The Kohen gave him specifically the showbread, and in this lies a great teaching. The Gemara says that one who is seized by bulmus is fed "the lighter prohibition first." That is, even though it is a case of pikuach nefesh, we do not say "give him whatever he wants" and bring him the more severe prohibitions. If before us there are neveilot and tereifot and pig and creeping and crawling creatures, we begin with the lightest prohibition of them all; if that did not help, we give a more severe prohibition, and so on until we quiet his hunger. We do not give him cheilev, which carries karet, but rather neveilah, which is a lo taaseh. We always prefer that which carries the lesser prohibition. And here: to David's request "אוֹ הַנִּמְצָא," that is, ordinary bread would be preferable, Achimelech answered that there was no ordinary bread but only holy bread, and the showbread after the offering of the frankincense bowls is the lightest bread that he was able to give him.
Let us note the wording "לָשׂוּם לֶחֶם חֹם בְּיוֹם הִלָּקְחוֹ." Chazal say that with the showbread there was a tremendous miracle: the bread lay upon the table from the beginning of the week until its end, seven days, exposed, not wrapped in plastic nor in vacuum packaging. Imagine such bread: our children do not want to eat yesterday's bread, and here it is seven days. By the natural order of things, after a week you would need not a knife for it but a saw. And Chazal say that when they would come to take out the bread and set out the new, steam would rise from it - "לֶחֶם חֹם בְּיוֹם הִלָּקְחוֹ," on the day you take it from the table it is warm as though it had just come out of the oven. This is one of the wonders that existed in the Beit HaMikdash. And it is written in Chazal that the Kohanim would bring out the showbread to the pilgrims coming for the festival, show it to them and say: "See your belovedness before the Omnipresent" - see how much Hashem loves you, see this wonderful miracle, that the bread from a week ago is still warm as though it had just been taken from the oven. And let this not be simple in your eyes: the showbread was made without any leaven at all, without any leavening agents, like a matzah a handbreadth thick, and even so it was warm as though it had just been placed upon the reeds of the table.
וְשָׁם אִישׁ מֵעַבְדֵי שָׁאוּל בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא נֶעְצָר לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וּשְׁמוֹ דֹּאֵג הָאֲדֹמִי אַבִּיר הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר לְשָׁאוּל׃ - And there was a man of the servants of Shaul on that day, detained before Hashem, and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of the shepherds who belonged to Shaul.
David did not pay attention, he did not look to the sides, and there was a wicked man of Shaul's servants, and his name was Doeg the Edomite. "נֶעְצָר לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה" in its plain sense: he had come to offer sacrifices with other people, his companions departed and he remained detained there to pray or to offer more. And Chazal expound that he would restrain himself before the Ohel Moed in order to engage in Torah. "אַבִּיר הָרֹעִים" according to the plain meaning of the verse means that he was in charge of all the king's shepherds; and Chazal expound that he was the head of the beit din, for "the shepherds" are the leaders - the people of Israel are called "My flock" and their leaders "the shepherds" - and he was the mightiest among them, the head of the beit din, above all the judges and above all the sages, the greatest of them all.
And what is "הָאֲדֹמִי"? Chazal say that he was from the land of Edom but he was an Israelite, like Uriah the Hittite who was from the land of the Hittites yet was an Israelite, and like Yitra the Ishmaelite and Ittai the Gittite - Yitra was an Israelite who lived among the Ishmaelites, and Ittai was from Gat. This is like what people say today about a person: this one is Yemenite, this one Polish, this one Russian, this one Iraqi - do they mean, heaven forbid, that he is a gentile? No, rather it refers to his land of origin. And there are those who explain that he was an Edomite convert, and there are those who explain that he was a Jew who came from Bavel, from Baghdad.
The text tells us that the Kohen was not on guard against Doeg the Edomite, and the reason is this: Doeg used to be detained there for a long time, sitting and engaging in Torah, and through this he managed to deceive the Kohen into thinking there was nothing to be wary of and nothing to fear from him. From here we have a strong proof: Achimelech did not for a moment suspect that David was lying to him or that he was rebelling against the king. For had he harbored such a suspicion, would he have done this right next to one of Shaul's servants? Would a person go to help the king's enemy in full view of the king's servants? This proves how completely Achimelech trusted that David was on a mission for Shaul, and that he had no doubts at all, for had he had any doubt he would not have done a thing next to one of Shaul's servants, a man named Doeg the Edomite.
The Yalkut writes on "וּשְׁמוֹ דֹּאֵג": it is written "Doeg" and it is written "Doyeg" - sometimes it is written one way and sometimes the other, and we will see this further on. Rabbi Yochanan said: at first the Holy One, blessed be He, would sit and worry (doeg) lest he go astray to a bad end; once he had gone astray, He said "woe" (vai), for this one has already gone astray to a bad end. And therefore "Doyeg" - dalet, vav, yod, gimel - with the word "vai" in the middle, as it were an expression of grief: woe upon him, a pity that he went astray to a bad end.
And why was he called the Edomite? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: after his city, and this is the plain meaning, that he came from Edom. Rabbi Shmuel said: because he was jealous of David, who was called "admoni" (ruddy) - the Edomite envying the admoni. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: because he permitted the blood of Nov the city of the Kohanim, "Edomi" from the word for blood (dam), and we will soon see how he caused their killing. Rabbi Nechemiah the son of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: because he permitted the blood of David, which too we will see further on - how he wanted it to be permitted to kill David without hesitation as the law of a rebel. Bar Kappara said: because he forbade the blood of Agag to Shaul. Hear yet another sin he had: he said to Shaul, "and an ox and a sheep, a suckling and a nursling you shall not slaughter on one day" - if the Torah has compassion on an ox and a sheep, will it not have compassion on human beings who are in the image of God? So Doeg said to him and forbade the blood of Amalek, and following this Shaul listened to him and did not kill Amalek. Rabbi Yitzchak said: because he would redden everyone's face in halachah - he had a penchant for arguing with people and crushing them, belittling his fellow, asking all sorts of difficult questions only to show you that you are nothing, and this shows corruption of character. Rabbi Chanina said: just as Edom wears away the merits of Israel - for the angel who fights against Israel with the greatest severity is the ministering angel of Edom, the Samech Mem - so Doeg came to wear away David's merits. And our Rabbis said: just as Edom avenges and bears a grudge and hates, so too Doeg avenged and bore a grudge and hated David.
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַאֲחִימֶלֶךְ וְאִין יֶשׁ־פֹּה תַחַת־יָדְךָ חֲנִית אוֹ־חָרֶב כִּי גַם־חַרְבִּי וְגַם־כֵּלַי לֹא־לָקַחְתִּי בְיָדִי כִּי־הָיָה דְבַר־הַמֶּלֶךְ נָחוּץ׃ - And David said to Achimelech, "Is there not here under your hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business was urgent."
David asks whether the Kohen has a sword to give him. Here Achimelech should have wondered: how do you go out on the king's mission without a sword? Therefore David preempts and explains: "כִּי־הָיָה דְבַר־הַמֶּלֶךְ נָחוּץ" - the matter was urgent, there was not even time to take my weapons, I received the order right on the spot and left just as I was. And for this same reason I also had no provisions with me.
וַיֹּאמֶר הַכֹּהֵן חֶרֶב גָּלְיָת הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֲשֶׁר־הִכִּיתָ בְּעֵמֶק הָאֵלָה הִנֵּה־הִיא לוּטָה בַשִּׂמְלָה אַחֲרֵי הָאֵפוֹד אִם־אֹתָהּ תִּקַּח־לְךָ קָח כִּי אֵין אַחֶרֶת זוּלָתָהּ בָּזֶה וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֵין כָּמוֹהָ תְּנֶנָּה לִּי׃ - And the Kohen said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck in the Valley of Elah, behold it is wrapped in a cloth behind the Ephod. If you will take that for yourself, take it, for there is no other but it here." And David said, "There is none like it, give it to me."
"לוּטָה" - from the expression "and he wrapped (vayalet) his face in his mantle," meaning a covering; to remove the lot is to remove the covering. And the masters of mussar say: why was Lot called by the name Lot? Because his deeds were covered over. As long as he was with Avraham he was a mighty tzaddik; but when he left Avraham, the covering was removed and it was revealed who he truly was, and his true face was exposed.
And what is "אַחֲרֵי הָאֵפוֹד"? The Radak explains simply that the sword was hung behind the place where the Ephod and the Choshen were kept, with which one inquires by the Urim VeTumim. But Onkelos explains: after Achimelech had inquired for him by the Ephod. That is, Achimelech inquired on David's behalf by the Urim VeTumim. Here the matter is written only by hint, for this is not the plain meaning of the text, but further on we see it explicitly: Doeg tells Shaul "and he inquired for him of God," and Shaul too says to Achimelech "and inquiring of God for him." There is no doubt, then, that the event actually took place, and the text hinted at it: "wrapped in a cloth behind the Ephod" - after he had inquired for him by the Ephod, David knew his way forward. And in this there was in fact rebellion, for one may inquire by the Urim VeTumim only for a king, and Shaul said to him: you treated him like a king. And what was Achimelech's defense? We will see it further on in explicit words, but its essence is: I understood that he was the king's emissary, and if I inquire on his behalf then I am, as it were, inquiring for the king.
From the phrasing "אִם־אֹתָהּ תִּקַּח־לְךָ קָח, כִּי אֵין אַחֶרֶת זוּלָתָהּ בָּזֶה" it seems that Achimelech was not so eager to give it to him: if you want it, take it, there is nothing else here, and I understand that you would have preferred a different one, but there is none. The Radak explains: Achimelech did not want to remove this sword from its place. And here a question arises: what is a sword doing in a holy place, in the Mishkan? A sword symbolizes the shortening of days, and iron was never brought up onto the altar. Someone once said: in the Jewish pantheon you will find neither a sword nor a knife nor a weapon of war. In a museum of Judaism you will find a Sefer Torah, tefillin, a menorah, tribes likened to animals, but a sword, war, and a cannon can be "holy" only for Ben Gurion, who called the cannon that murdered seventeen of the young men of Israel on the Altalena "the holy cannon." For us there is no holiness in this but the opposite: the sword is called the ultimate source of impurity (avi avot hatumah). There is only one thing that when a corpse touches it does not drop a level but remains like the corpse itself: the corpse is the ultimate source of impurity, and when it touches a vessel it makes it a primary source of impurity (av hatumah), but if it touched a sword, the sword becomes literally like the ultimate source of impurity, "either by one slain by the sword or by a corpse." For us the sword symbolizes impurity. Yet here there was great value specifically in placing it there, in order to remember the miracle: a small lad finishes off a giant, and as a result the Pelishtim flee and run away, and Israel escape from under their hand, a great salvation, an enormous miracle. Such a thing is indeed worth placing there as a memorial. Therefore Achimelech did not want to release the sword, for who knows if you will ever return here again.
The Malbim brings a wonderful interpretation in the name of the Abarbanel: Achimelech did not want to give the sword because men of war refrain from taking a sword with which its owner was slain. They have signs and rules: a sword with which its owner, who held it, was killed, is a bad omen, a mortal danger, take yourself another; a sword that was taken from its owners and used to stab them symbolizes that you too will die by it. If so, why did David say "אֵין כָּמוֹהָ תְּנֶנָּה לִּי"? Rather David said: on the contrary, I am the one who performed the deed with it, I killed Goliath with it, and therefore for me the sword symbolizes good and victory. And this is the difference between the two: Achimelech saw in the sword an unfortunate sign, while David saw in it the most fortunate thing, for a sword with which I achieved the victory is a sign that I will conquer with it and succeed with it.
וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַיִּבְרַח בַּיּוֹם־הַהוּא מִפְּנֵי שָׁאוּל וַיָּבֹא אֶל־אָכִישׁ מֶלֶךְ גַּת׃ - And David arose and fled that day from before Shaul, and came to Achish king of Gat.
David was forced to flee and was looking for someone who would take him in, and the nearest place was with Achish king of Gat. This seems difficult: he had already fled from Shaul since yesterday, so what is "בַּיּוֹם־הַהוּא" (that day)? Rather, from Shaul he indeed fled yesterday, but the departure from the Land of Israel took place only today. Regarding this David said: "they have driven me out this day from cleaving to the inheritance of Hashem, saying, Go serve other gods." And they ask: where did they tell David to go serve idolatry? The Chazal say: anyone who dwells outside the Land is like one who has no God; therefore when they forced me to leave the Land, and I did not want to but they forced me, it is as if they said to me, go serve other gods.
And who is Achish king of Gat? He had another name: Avimelech. Why is this name not mentioned here? Because Avimelech was a general title, as we saw among the Pelishtim in the time of Avraham and even in the time of Yitzchak, "Avimelech king of the Pelishtim in Gerar." Just as with Pharaoh, where all the kings of Egypt are called Pharaohs, so all the kings of the Pelishtim are called Avimelech; but his personal name was Achish.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ עַבְדֵי אָכִישׁ אֵלָיו הֲלוֹא־זֶה דָוִד מֶלֶךְ הָאָרֶץ הֲלוֹא לָזֶה יַעֲנוּ בַמְּחֹלוֹת לֵאמֹר הִכָּה שָׁאוּל בַּאֲלָפָו וְדָוִד בְּרִבְבֹתָו׃ - And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him in the dances, saying, Shaul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
Why did they say "מֶלֶךְ הָאָרֶץ" (king of the land) and not "king of Israel"? The Chazal say: there was a condition between us, "if he is able to fight with me and defeat me, then we will be your servants." If so, after David won, the law is that we are all his servants, and it is therefore fitting that you step down from your throne and let him reign. Therefore they called him "king of the land": this is not David king of Israel, but the king of this land; if he has arrived here, my master must vacate and give him the throne, for that was the agreement between us.
The Malbim adds that they suspected he had come as a spy. They said to Achish: it cannot be that David is fleeing from Shaul, for among the people he was considered greater than Shaul. And how do we know? From the fact that they sang for him "הִכָּה שָׁאוּל בַּאֲלָפָו וְדָוִד בְּרִבְבֹתָו" (Shaul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands), that among the people he was greater than Shaul. If so, he has now come to seize the land. And why does it say "יַעֲנוּ" (will sing) in the future tense and not "ענו" (sang) in the past? The Malbim says: do you really want them to sing again about this "Shaul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands"? The moment you let him enter here, you bring it about that they will compose a new song for him, for after he comes and strikes us a second time, they will answer him in the dances with this song once again. For he has come to strike us down as slain.
וַיָּשֶׂם דָּוִד אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה בִּלְבָבוֹ וַיִּרָא מְאֹד מִפְּנֵי אָכִישׁ מֶלֶךְ־גַּת׃ - And David laid these words in his heart, and was very afraid of Achish king of Gat.
David was very afraid, for he was the one who had killed their champion, and he understood that he had fallen into a situation of danger.
וַיְשַׁנּוֹ אֶת־טַעְמוֹ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם וַיִּתְהֹלֵל בְּיָדָם וַיְתָו עַל־דַּלְתוֹת הַשַּׁעַר וַיּוֹרֶד רִירוֹ אֶל־זְקָנוֹ׃ - And he changed his behavior in their eyes, and feigned madness in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down upon his beard.
"וַיְשַׁנּוֹ אֶת־טַעְמוֹ" - he changed his appearance, changed his words and his manner so that they would not recognize him, and made himself out to be a madman. "טַעְמוֹ" is like "בָּרוּךְ טַעְמֵךְ" (blessed be your discretion), and Onkelos renders it "וְשַׁנִּי יָת מַדְּעֵיהּ" - his understanding and his reason, like a person whose mind has become deranged. "וַיִּתְהֹלֵל" - he acted foolishly. "וַיְתָו עַל־דַּלְתוֹת הַשַּׁעַר" - he began to write; and what did he write? Our Sages say: King Achish owes me a hundred myriads and his wife fifty - so that they would say he was completely insane. Now, did King Achish really owe him money, and did his wife owe him? David is now fleeing from Shaul, long before he became king. Therefore he put on this whole act, and even "וַיּוֹרֶד רִירוֹ אֶל־זְקָנוֹ", in the manner of a madman whose spittle runs down onto his beard. And our Sages say: David asked before Hashem, Master of the world, why did You create the madman? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: By your life, you will yet have need of this. And indeed he did what he did so that he could escape from Achish king of Gat.
וַיֹּאמֶר אָכִישׁ אֶל־עֲבָדָיו הִנֵּה תִרְאוּ אִישׁ מִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ לָמָּה תָּבִיאוּ אֹתוֹ אֵלָי׃ - And Achish said to his servants: Behold, you see the man is behaving like a madman, why did you bring him to me?
Achish argues against his servants: everyone knows that David is a wise man, and here you see a man behaving madly, and you bring him to me? And if you were to say "we did not know he was insane," to this he says "הִנֵּה תִרְאוּ אִישׁ מִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ" - is this something that cannot be known? The matter is evident to all; do you not see?
חֲסַר מְשֻׁגָּעִים אָנִי כִּי־הֲבֵאתֶם אֶת־זֶה לְהִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ עָלָי הֲזֶה יָבוֹא אֶל־בֵּיתִי׃ - Am I lacking in madmen, that you have brought this one to rave before me? Shall this one come into my house?
They might still have said: sometimes people bring a crazed person in order to make sport of him and enjoy him. Surely this is not the way of Israel, and it is not becoming between one person and another, but among the gentiles, when they see such a one, they bring him to make merriment. To this he says: "חֲסַר מְשֻׁגָּעִים אָנִי?" - I have enough madmen of my own. And our Sages say that both his wife and his daughter were mad, and therefore he said: do I need another madman? My own are enough for me. And if you were to say "perhaps he came on his own," to this he says "הֲזֶה יָבוֹא אֶל־בֵּיתִי?" - a person whom one sees and perceives to be not right, one does not let him enter; the gates are closed before him; why did you let him in?
About this matter David the king composed Psalm 34: "לְדָוִד בְּשַׁנּוֹתוֹ אֶת־טַעְמוֹ לִפְנֵי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ וַיְגָרֲשֵׁהוּ וַיֵּלַךְ" - this is the "וַיְשַׁנּוֹ אֶת־טַעְמוֹ" that appears here. "אֲבָרֲכָה אֶת־ה' בְּכָל־עֵת, תָּמִיד תְּהִלָּתוֹ בְּפִי" (I will bless Hashem at all times, His praise will continually be in my mouth). "דָּרַשְׁתִּי אֶת־ה' וְעָנָנִי וּמִכָּל־מְגוּרוֹתַי הִצִּילָנִי" (I sought Hashem and He answered me, and from all my terrors He delivered me) - here we saw "וַיִּרָא מְאֹד", and "מְגוּרוֹתַי" is from the language of fear, terror. "זֶה עָנִי קָרָא וַה' שָׁמֵעַ וּמִכָּל־צָרוֹתָיו הוֹשִׁיעוֹ" (This poor man cried out and Hashem heard, and from all his troubles He saved him). "חֹנֶה מַלְאַךְ־ה' סָבִיב לִירֵאָיו וַיְחַלְּצֵם" (The angel of Hashem encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them) - Hashem rescued him from the place of Avimelech, from Achish king of Gat.
And in that same psalm, from verse 13, David directs his words against Doeg the Edomite: "מִי־הָאִישׁ הֶחָפֵץ חַיִּים אֹהֵב יָמִים לִרְאוֹת טוֹב? נְצֹר לְשׁוֹנְךָ מֵרָע וּשְׂפָתֶיךָ מִדַּבֵּר מִרְמָה. סוּר מֵרָע וַעֲשֵׂה־טוֹב, בַּקֵּשׁ שָׁלוֹם וְרָדְפֵהוּ" (Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it), "פְּנֵי ה' בְּעֹשֵׂי רָע לְהַכְרִית מֵאֶרֶץ זִכְרָם" (The face of Hashem is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth) - this is said about him. "תְּמוֹתֵת רָשָׁע רָעָה וְשֹׂנְאֵי צַדִּיק יֶאְשָׁמוּ. פּוֹדֶה ה' נֶפֶשׁ עֲבָדָיו וְלֹא יֶאְשְׁמוּ כָּל־הַחֹסִים בּוֹ" (Evil will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. Hashem redeems the soul of His servants, and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned) - "תְּמוֹתֵת רָשָׁע רָעָה", that the wicked Doeg the Edomite, his own evil will slay him. And there is yet another psalm that David composed specifically about Doeg the Edomite, and we will see it, with the help of Hashem, in the next chapter; it is a psalm that characterizes his traits and all the corruption that was in him.
It is brought in the Sefer HaGilgulim of the Rema of Fano: when Shaul asked about David, Doeg the Edomite wished to arouse Shaul's jealousy of David, and enumerated praises before him - "skilled in playing," "a man of war," and several more praises. And regarding each one Shaul said: my son Yonatan is also so. Until at the end he said to him "וַה' עִמּוֹ" (and Hashem is with him) - and about this he did not say "my son Yonatan is also so." And what is "וַה' עִמּוֹ"? Our Sages say: that the halacha follows him in every case. And about this he could not say "my son too," for it is impossible that the halacha follow two people in every case when they are in dispute. At this he fell silent, his spirit was weakened, and he became jealous of him. Therefore about Shaul it is written "וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִפְנֶה יַרְשִׁיעַ" (and wherever he turned he did evil), and about David it is written "וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִפְנֶה יַצְלִיחַ" (and wherever he turned he prospered).
And the Rema of Fano adds: who is David? David was reincarnated in Hillel, and Yonatan was reincarnated in Shammai. Therefore of David it is said that the halacha follows him in every case, corresponding to "וַה' עִמּוֹ", and so too Hillel and Shammai - the halacha follows Beit Hillel. Therefore Shaul's spirit was weakened, for he knew that Yonatan's root was Shammai, and Shammai, as is known, the halacha does not follow him - in the future to come it will, but in the reality of our generation the halacha does not follow him, since Shammai is judgment and Hillel is kindness, and "עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה" (the world is built on kindness).
This is why it is written that Beit Hillel were humble, and would place the words of others before their own. When people would come and ask how one dances before the bride, Beit Hillel would say "a lovely and gracious bride," and Beit Shammai would ask: how is this possible? If she is blind, missing a limb, deaf, would you say "a lovely and gracious bride"? Say rather "the bride as she is." The approach of Beit Shammai is "let the law pierce the mountain," meaning do not smooth things over and do not cover up; whatever the truth is, that is what must be said. Hillel, on the other hand, mingled his mind with people. Did Hillel recommend lying? Heaven forbid. Rather Hillel said: mention the praiseworthy things she has. After all, beauty is an individual matter, a matter of taste: one person tells you she is beautiful and another tells you she is not. And if he went to marry her, that is a sign that she is lovely in his eyes and gracious in his eyes. So are you simply searching for flaws? Tell him: you have won the most special bride. Every person has praises and has shortcomings; do not focus on the shortcomings.
In the same way our Sages teach us to praise the purchase. A person buys a car, and along come those "good souls" who say: why did you buy such a car? Why didn't you ask me first? How much did he sell it to you for? A car of that year at that price? Maybe you can still return it? And they begin to let the air out of the person. Do you know how much fuel it takes? Did you inspect it? They surely sold it to you with a bad chassis. In short, they kill the person, who came excited, having bought a car. And a person may say to you: but this is the truth, I know the car, I know it is not a good purchase, it has eight cylinders and needs a fuel tanker behind it; there are cars where, if the engine is running while you fill up, you could keep fueling forever because it burns at the same rate you fill it. Still let us ask: why did he buy the car? He liked the color. So tell him: what a car, it looks just like new. It has downsides, of course, but does he not know it has downsides? He knows. And even if he does not know, what good will it do now? He has already bought it. What good will letting the air out of him do? It is only meanness of heart. Tell him: what upholstery, it looks well kept, something extraordinary. And if it is all downsides and only its radio-cassette player is new, and that is what excited him and made him buy it, tell him: what a special radio this car has. Find something in which to praise the purchase.
This is an extreme example, but many times it is a woman who bought a garment, brought it home, and is waiting to hear a kind word from her husband, and then it begins: why did you buy that color again? Why one like this? Why this type of fabric? No. First of all he should praise the purchase: very nice, something truly special. And afterward, later on, if you wish to tell her that perhaps it should be a little wider, perhaps more modest, perhaps a different color, say it later. But the first thing, when a person has bought something, give him a good feeling. This is a matter that is very, very important to know, and this is what Beit Hillel taught us.
In chapter 21 David sets out on his flight: in Nov he receives from Achimelech the priest holy bread on grounds of saving a life, along with the sword of Goliath, and from this passage we learned the laws of "the lighter prohibition first," the miracle of the warm showbread "on the day it was taken away," through which they would show the pilgrims "see how beloved you are before the Omnipresent," and the beauty of the sign David saw in the sword with which he had triumphed. There, in the shadows, Doeg the Edomite lay in wait, of whom Achimelech had no suspicion at all, proof that he believed in complete innocence that David was the king's messenger, and whose corrupt traits and wickedness our Sages described from every angle. From there David flees to Achish king of Gat, and there, out of great fear, he changes his behavior and feigns madness, thereby fulfilling what the Holy One, blessed be He, had told him: by your life, you will yet need this. From all of these emerged psalms of Tehillim, and in their wake we learned the root of Shaul's jealousy, "and Hashem is with him," the law being ruled according to him in every place, and the way of Beit Hillel: to praise, to seek the good, and to give another person a good feeling.