Chapter 15 of Shmuel B is the chapter of the rebellion. After we saw in the previous chapters the causes that led to it - David's distancing from Avshalom, and Avshalom's understanding that he is not the intended heir but someone else - Avshalom reaches a conclusion: if I do not take the kingship for myself, no one will give it to me. From here on we see an organized, calculated, and sophisticated plan, in which Avshalom prepares the ground to seize the kingship. We will study the chapter according to the explanation of the Malbim, and we will see how all the propaganda tactics familiar to us today were already known to Avshalom back then.
וַיְהִי מֵאַחֲרֵי כֵן וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ אַבְשָׁלוֹם מֶרְכָּבָה וְסֻסִים וַחֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ רָצִים לְפָנָיו׃ - And it came to pass afterward, that Avshalom prepared for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
Avshalom's first step is to display his greatness and to conduct himself with royal tactics. He makes himself a chariot and horses, and he stations fifty men who run before him. This is the conduct of a king: like someone whose Mercedes is preceded by a convoy of motorcycles, with men running ahead of him. The goal is simple - for the people to begin to understand that there is someone important here, that this is not just an ordinary man.
Chazal say that those fifty men had their spleens removed and the soles of their feet cut. What does it mean that their spleens were removed? The Gemara says that when a person runs hard, pains begin in his side, in the place where the spleen is located. What would they do? They would operate and remove the spleen, and thus a person could run and run without feeling pain. It is like a driver who worries that in the middle of a trip a red light will come on and the engine will overheat and he will have to stop, so he simply turns off the light. In the same way they removed their spleens so they would keep running - even if it might harm them, and even if they would die. "Their feet cut" means that the soles of their feet were made smooth, so they would not hurt when they ran on wood, stones, and thorns; they would remove the skin and leave the bone. I do not know exactly how they did this, but so say Chazal, and all of this was so that they could run without tiring.
וְהִשְׁכִּים אַבְשָׁלוֹם וְעָמַד עַל יַד דֶּרֶךְ הַשָּׁעַר וַיְהִי כׇּל הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לּוֹ רִיב לָבוֹא אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ לַמִּשְׁפָּט וַיִּקְרָא אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמֶר אֵי מִזֶּה עִיר אַתָּה וַיֹּאמֶר מֵאַחַד שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַבְדֶּךָ׃ - And Avshalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate; and it was so, that whenever any man had a dispute to come to the king for judgment, Avshalom called to him, and said: Of what city are you? And he would say: Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.
Avshalom stole the heart of the people through very dirty propaganda. He presented himself as a man who loves justice and righteousness, whose foremost concern is honesty and fairness, and as one who felt the pain of the people who were not receiving just judgment. To this end he would rise early in the morning and stand beside the gate. In the language of Scripture the gate is always the court of law - "Judges and officers you shall appoint for yourself in all your gates" - because the court would sit at the gate of the city. And to this day it is customary to say of one who has been appointed: "he sits at the gate of the city," for on that day they appointed a judge over them.
All the verses here are things that are taught today in schools of communication and in seller-customer relations, in faculties and universities: how to endear yourself to the customer and give him the feeling that he is the king. Avshalom did not need a university, he knew it all on his own. His first question is "Of what city are you" - a first message: you interest me, you are not just another number, I want to know exactly where you are from. But there is also an additional hint here: look, it is very important to the king to know which city you are from, because if you are not from his city he does not care so much about what happens to you. Where are you from? From Sderot? The king is not really interested in what happens in Sderot. And if so, there is not much chance that you will receive a just and fair judgment from there.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַבְשָׁלוֹם רְאֵה דְבָרֶיךָ טוֹבִים וּנְכֹחִים וְשֹׁמֵעַ אֵין לְךָ מֵאֵת הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And Avshalom said to him: See, your claims are good and right; but there is no one appointed by the king to hear you.
An iron rule: one must always give the customer the feeling that he is right. These are his clients, and he needs them - they are supposed to be the people who will stand behind him when he rises to reign. Therefore he says to him: your claims are good and right, well spoken, but "there is no one appointed by the king to hear you" - what a pity that there is no worthy king here to listen to your words and understand how much truth and justice there is in them.
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְשָׁלוֹם מִי יְשִׂמֵנִי שֹׁפֵט בָּאָרֶץ וְעָלַי יָבוֹא כׇּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לּוֹ רִיב וּמִשְׁפָּט וְהִצְדַּקְתִּיו׃ - And Avshalom said: Who would make me a judge in the land, that every man who has a dispute or case might come to me, and I would give him justice.
Notice the wording: not "who would make me king in the land" but "who would make me a judge in the land." In other words, I am not seeking kingship and I am not seeking honor; what interests me is justice and fairness, removing the stumbling block of unfairness and of people who do not receive a fair trial.
In the continuation of the pasuk he says three things. First, "and to me he would come" - I will not judge by means of a third party, but they will come to me personally and I will judge. Second, "who has a dispute or case." What is the difference between a dispute (riv) and a case (mishpat)? The Malbim says: the dispute is the claims, and the case is the verdict. A person who has only a dispute is like one of the two litigants, where this one claims one thing and that one claims another. But "a dispute and a case" is like the dispute of the daughters of Tzelofchad, where the ruling was in their favor - that is, justice is with him and the verdict is due to him, and regarding this "I would give him justice." Third, even if a person I know comes to me, I will judge him justly and will not show favoritism, not like here where if you are not from the king's city you have no chance of receiving justice.
But according to the plain sense of the text his words are ridiculous: "every man who has a dispute and a case, I would give him justice" - I will justify whoever comes to me. Is it possible that everyone is right? This is reminiscent of today's politicians. What do you want, security? I will provide security. Peace? I will provide peace. To return territories? We will do painful things. Not to return territories? We will stand firm on the smallest detail and will not give up parts of the homeland. What do you want to hear? Tell me and I will tell you. And so anyone who wants to be elected prime minister suddenly becomes a centrist, because a centrist can smooth things over for everyone: I am with the right, and with the left, and with these and with those. To each one he broadcasts what they want to hear. And this is exactly what Avshalom does.
This is reminiscent of the story of two people who came to a rabbi. The first stated his claims, the rabbi listened and said: it seems to me that you are right. The second stated his claims, the rabbi listened and said: it seems to me that you are right. His wife, who was standing to the side, said to him: honored Rabbi, how can it be that both this one is right and that one is right? He said to her: my wife, you too are right. So too Avshalom - everyone is right, I will justify them all.
וְהָיָה בִּקְרׇב אִישׁ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת לוֹ וְשָׁלַח אֶת יָדוֹ וְהֶחֱזִיק לוֹ וְנָשַׁק לוֹ׃ - And it would be that when a man drew near to bow down to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.
This is what today is called "speaking with the customer eye to eye." Do not act superior to him, broadcast to him that we are here to serve you, we are for you, you are the boss and whatever we can do to help you we will do - until you sign the deal; and after the signing, good luck finding them. So too Avshalom: a person comes to bow down to him, and he takes hold of him to raise him up, do not bow down to me, and not only that, but he even kisses him. As if to say: you are my brother, why would you bow down to me? The era in which there is a king and everyone humbles themselves before him is over; I offer a different kind of kingship, with me the leadership will be different.
וַיַּעַשׂ אַבְשָׁלוֹם כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לְכׇל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ לַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיְגַנֵּב אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶת לֵב אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And Avshalom did this to all Israel who came for judgment to the king, and Avshalom stole the heart of the men of Israel.
All his methods were designed to steal the heart of the people. With the smoothness of his tongue he drew everyone in with those very same statements, and through these things he stole their heart and drew the whole people to himself.
וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵלְכָה נָּא וַאֲשַׁלֵּם אֶת נִדְרִי אֲשֶׁר נָדַרְתִּי לַה' בְּחֶבְרוֹן׃ - And it was at the end of forty years that Avshalom said to the king: Let me go, please, and fulfill my vow that I vowed to Hashem in Chevron.
Once Avshalom sees that the ground is fertile and ready to receive the seeds of destruction he is about to sow in it, he turns to the king: I made a vow to Hashem to offer a sacrifice in Chevron following my return from Geshur, from the place to which I had fled. I said, if the king returns me from there, I will offer a sacrifice to Hashem. Now that you, my father, have brought me back, I ask to go and fulfill my vow. Chazal ask why specifically in Chevron, and they answer that in Chevron there were fat sheep, and therefore he wished to bring from there.
And what is the meaning of "at the end of forty years"? Forty years from when? One explanation of Chazal: at the end of forty years from when Israel requested a king from Shmuel. That is, forty years after the request for a king a flaw and deficiency arose in the monarchy, and the decline of the monarchy came after forty years. The Malbim brings in the name of the Abarbanel that the intention is the forty years of David's reign. And it cannot be interpreted as literally at the very end of the forty, but rather the intention is close to the end, for "at the end" sometimes means toward the end, as in "at the end of seven years you shall make a release," which does not mean at the end of the seventh year but rather toward the end of the seven years, the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh. So too here: it was in the thirty seventh or thirty eighth year of David's reign. Avshalom saw that David was old and very close to crowning Shlomo in his lifetime, and he could not wait until Shlomo was crowned, for then it would be too late, and therefore he hastened and carried out his rebellion.
The organizing of the rebellion too was done in a very calculated manner. Avshalom was a shrewd man, who left nothing to chance and planned everything down to the smallest detail. The first thing: choosing the city from which the rebellion would spread: Chevron. Why specifically Chevron? Because in Chevron David reigned at first for seven years, and only afterward for thirty three years in Yerushalayim. Chevron is thus considered a royal city parallel to Yerushalayim, David's first royal city, and there he could draw the people more easily. It is not a border town and not an unknown city, but a city that is second to the royal city.
כִּי נֵדֶר נָדַר עַבְדְּךָ בְּשִׁבְתִּי בִגְשׁוּר בַּאֲרָם לֵאמֹר אִם יָשׁוֹב יְשִׁיבֵנִי ה' יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וְעָבַדְתִּי אֶת ה'׃ - For your servant vowed a vow while I was living in Geshur in Aram, saying, if Hashem indeed returns me to Yerushalayim, I will serve Hashem.
He explains to David: I truly vowed while I was in Geshur that if Hashem returns me to Yerushalayim I will serve Hashem by bringing a sacrifice. The written text is "yashiv" and it is read "yashuv": "yashiv" from the language of returning, "yashuv" from the language of settling. That is, Hashem will return me here and settle me here, and if He grants me this I will offer a sacrifice.
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ לֵךְ בְּשָׁלוֹם וַיָּקׇם וַיֵּלֶךְ חֶבְרוֹנָה׃ - And the king said to him, go in peace. And he arose and went to Chevron.
David suspects nothing and says to him "go in peace." And is "go in peace" a good expression? Chazal say it is not a good sign: he said to him "go in peace," and he went and was hanged. Avshalom's end was a bitter end.
וַיִּשְׁלַח אַבְשָׁלוֹם מְרַגְּלִים בְּכׇל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר כְּשׇׁמְעֲכֶם אֶת קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר וַאֲמַרְתֶּם מָלַךְ אַבְשָׁלוֹם בְּחֶבְרוֹן׃ - And Avshalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, when you hear the sound of the shofar, then you shall say, Avshalom reigns in Chevron.
The second thing: from Chevron he sends spies, to gauge the character of the people and check the prevailing mood. From Avshalom we learn how all the propaganda methods of our times were already known back then: the first to conduct polls was Avshalom. He sends men to secretly spy out the people's thoughts, and anyone they see leaning away from David toward Avshalom, they reveal the secret to him and bring him in among the conspirators. What is this if not a poll? They check the opinion of the people, and anyone whose opinion inclines toward him they bring into the plot and prepare him for the appointed day: when he hears the sound of the shofar, he will immediately know the rebellion has begun.
They are commanded to keep the matter secret so that it would not become known, until in one moment, when the coup breaks out, everyone will already be prepared. There is such a concept in the world of terror as well, called a "sleeper cell": a terror organization establishes cells in many countries, and they wait; it may be that in three years you will receive a phone call and then you will begin to act. So too here: be ready, and the moment you hear the sound of the shofar the banner of rebellion will be raised at once from all the places, one from here and one from there, people prepared in advance. And it is astonishing to see that he managed to catch only his own people: there was not a single person there who went and revealed this to David, a sign that all those people who were exposed to the secret were truly people who could be relied upon with complete certainty that they were with Avshalom.
וְאֶת אַבְשָׁלוֹם הָלְכוּ מָאתַיִם אִישׁ מִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם קְרֻאִים וְהֹלְכִים לְתֻמָּם וְלֹא יָדְעוּ כׇּל דָּבָר׃ - And two hundred men went with Avshalom from Yerushalayim; they were invited and went in their innocence, and they knew nothing at all.
Why does it say "and with Avshalom went" (ve'et Avshalom halchu) rather than "together with Avshalom" (im Avshalom)? We have already explained that going "with" (im) means going with the same thought and for the same purpose: "Do not go with them" (lo telech imahem), "Do not curse the people, for they are blessed" (lo ta'or et ha'am ki varuch hu). But going "et" or "ito" is not for the same purpose, and that is why the Holy One said to Bilam "Arise, go with them" (kum lech itam): et them I permit you, im them I do not permit you. And exactly so here: the continuation of the pasuk testifies "invited and going in their innocence and they knew nothing at all." If they knew nothing, they were entirely unaware of the rebellion and had no intention whatsoever of crowning Avshalom, then they went et him and not im him, and that is why it says "and with Avshalom went."
And how did he take two hundred men who knew nothing? The Gemara in the Yerushalmi in Masechet Sotah says that Avshalom asked his father: Father, give me a note stating that I may approach two men to accompany me, for it is not fitting for the king's son to walk alone. His father wrote him a note: The two men who read this note are requested to accompany Avshalom. Avshalom took the note, and instead of approaching two men he approached a hundred men, a hundred pairs, and showed each one the very same note: Father said that two men are to accompany me. Another two and another two, and thus he gathered two hundred men.
"Invited" (keru'im) means summoned: they did not come by chance, they were called. And on the other hand "going in their innocence" (holchim letumam): they went innocently, without knowing they were assisting a rebellion. The Malbim explains that here too there was a clever plan: these men were servants of David and among his beloved ones, and by the very act of taking them Avshalom stole David's heart. For David said to himself: Could it possibly enter one's mind that Avshalom is planning something wicked and specifically takes from among my men, two hundred of my men? On the contrary, one who is going to rebel against David would not take his beloved ones with him. And this itself was meant to reassure David and mislead him into thinking there was no wicked intention here.
וַיִּשְׁלַח אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶת אֲחִיתֹפֶל הַגִּילֹנִי יוֹעֵץ דָּוִד מֵעִירוֹ מִגִּלֹה בְּזׇבְחוֹ אֶת הַזְּבָחִים וַיְהִי הַקֶּשֶׁר אַמִּץ וְהָעָם הוֹלֵךְ וָרָב אֶת אַבְשָׁלוֹם׃ - And Avshalom sent for Achitofel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city, from Gilo, while he was offering the sacrifices; and the conspiracy grew strong, and the people were increasingly going over to Avshalom.
The fourth thing Avshalom does: he takes care to hide away David's "secret weapon." The secret weapon is Achitofel the Gilonite. Achitofel, whom we will come to know in greater detail in the coming chapters, was a very wise man, and every one of his counsels was as if one had inquired of the word of Hashem. Avshalom knew that if David had Achitofel, he had no chance of rebelling against him, and therefore he saw a need to attach Achitofel to himself. And we will see further on that Achitofel had more than enough reasons to join Avshalom and abandon David. What did he do? He took Achitofel, David's counselor, from his city, from Gilo, and told him to sit in a hidden place, and when I need you I will call for you, and above all, that David would not be able to make use of Achitofel.
"And the conspiracy grew strong" (vayehi hakesher amitz): the "kesher" is the rebellion, and the rebellion between them grew stronger. "And the people were increasingly going over to Avshalom": little by little the people were growing in number with him against David.
We saw in this chapter how Avshalom builds his rebellion step by step: adopting the external trappings of kingship with a chariot and horses and fifty men running before him; standing at the gate and stealing the hearts of the people with the propaganda of a "lover of justice": personal interest, flattery, promises that everyone is in the right, and a kiss at eye level; the pretext of a vow that allows him to go out to Chevron, David's first royal city; sending spies to survey the people's opinion and to prepare "sleeper cells" for the sound of the shofar; taking two hundred of David's beloved ones who go in their innocence, in order to remove all suspicion; and finally removing Achitofel, David's wise counselor, in order to deprive David of his secret weapon. Thus "the conspiracy grew strong, and the people were increasingly going over to Avshalom." From all this we have learned how much smooth talk and clever propaganda can steal the heart of the masses, and also that the end of Avshalom, whom David had sent off with "Go in peace," was that he went and was hanged.