Introduction: The Desire to Build a House for Hashem
Chapter 7 of Shmuel B is one of the foundational chapters of the sefer: David HaMelech, who has already brought up the Aron to the City of David, settles into his home and feels that the time has come to build a permanent house for the Shechinah. Natan the Navi approves it, and that very night a contradictory prophecy arrives: it will not be you who builds. From this dialogue we will learn the conditions for building the Beit HaMikdash, the difference between a king and a judge, why the inclination of a tzaddik's heart is a reliable compass, and why in the end the building was deferred to Shlomo.
The Two Conditions for Building the House
וַיְהִי כִּי־יָשַׁב הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּבֵיתוֹ וַיהוָה הֵנִיחַ־לוֹ מִסָּבִיב מִכָּל־אֹיְבָיו׃ - And it came to pass, when the king dwelt in his house, and Hashem had given him rest round about from all his enemies.
Chazal say that in order to build the Beit HaMikdash two conditions are required: the first, that there be a king in Israel, and the second, that there be rest from all the enemies round about, as it says "and it shall be when Hashem gives you rest from all your enemies round about... then it shall be the place that Hashem chooses." David reasoned that both conditions had already been met: "And it came to pass, when the king dwelt in his house" - there is a king; "and Hashem had given him rest round about from all his enemies" - there is rest. If so, this is the time to build.
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל־נָתָן הַנָּבִיא רְאֵה נָא אָנֹכִי יוֹשֵׁב בְּבֵית אֲרָזִים וַאֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים יֹשֵׁב בְּתוֹךְ הַיְרִיעָה׃ - And the king said to Natan the Navi: See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Aron of God dwells within the curtain.
Here David's greatness is revealed: he does nothing without inquiring of Hashem. "Shall I go up to Chevron?" "Shall I go up into the cities of Yehudah?" - at every step he asked the word of the Shechinah, and in this matter too he turns to the Navi. His argument is simple: it is not fitting for the honor of the Aron of Hashem that I dwell in a magnificent house of cedar while the Aron of God abides in a tent, within a curtain. Is this proper? He wishes to know whether the Holy One, blessed be He, agrees to it.
"All That Is in Your Heart, Go and Do" - Why the Heart of a Tzaddik Is a Compass
וַיֹּאמֶר נָתָן אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר בִּלְבָבְךָ לֵךְ עֲשֵׂה כִּי יְהוָה עִמָּךְ׃ - And Natan said to the king: All that is in your heart, go and do, for Hashem is with you.
Natan gives full approval, yet that very same night he is sent to tell David that it will not be he who builds the house. How can this be? The explanation is that the first answer was an answer from reasoning, and only afterward came the answer through prophecy. And what is the reasoning? The Malbim explains it based on the words of Chazal: the righteous are judged by the good inclination, the wicked are judged by the evil inclination. "Judge" means leader. The tzaddik is led by the good inclination, his heart is entirely good, and therefore even his ordinary decisions are correct decisions, since they stem from the good within him. The wicked person, by contrast, is led by the evil inclination, and even his ordinary decisions - which are not a sin at all - stem from an evil source.
From this we can understand what is written concerning Avraham Avinu: the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to him while he was ill, and he says "please do not pass away from Your servant" - and goes to bring in guests. From here Chazal learned: greater is hachnasat orchim than receiving the presence of the Shechinah. And the commentators ask a tremendous question: we learned this from Avraham, but Avraham himself, from where did he know? You are standing and speaking with the Creator of the world, and you tell Him to wait? The answer is that concerning Avraham one does not ask questions: since he was entirely holy of holies, the very fact that he was drawn to go and bring in guests is a sign that this was the will of Hashem. The tzaddik is led by the good inclination, and if he is drawn toward something, that is where the correct path lies.
For ordinary people the situation is reversed. A person who has a dilemma between two options, both of which have a mitzvah aspect, and who does not know how to decide - the first advice is to ask a great person. And when no great person is available, the masters of mussar give a simple piece of advice: check which side you crave more, and do the other side. For if this is precisely what I feel drawn to, apparently the evil inclination is pushing there; and when you do the opposite, you have certainly not done it out of personal bias. We are on the level of the wicked, or at least the intermediate, of whom Chazal said "both of these judge them" - sometimes the evil inclination pulls and sometimes the good inclination, and therefore in our case there is no proof from the inclination. But regarding the tzaddik, "I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies" - he goes to the bank and finds himself in the beit midrash, his very body already draws him there. Therefore Natan said: "All that is in your heart, go and do, for Hashem is with you" - what is in your heart is the most correct compass, and any decision you make is a correct decision.
"ויהי בלילה ההוא" - why the urgency
וַיְהִי בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא וַיְהִי דְּבַר־יְהוָה אֶל־נָתָן לֵאמֹר׃ - And it came to pass that night, that the word of Hashem came to Natan, saying:
The Gemara says: Rabbi Chanina bar Papa said, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Natan - that very night! This man to whom I am sending you is a quick one, and perhaps he will hire workers, and I will end up causing him a loss. Hurry and tell him that he will not build the House. Among us everything is handled through tenders, and by the time someone wins the bid, two years of procedure have passed; but with David - on the spot he hires workers, on the spot he closes deals. And then it will turn out that he is not building, and he will have to pay damages and penalties for breach of contract. And Rabbi Simon says: This man to whom I am sending you is one who makes vows, as it says "who swore to Hashem, vowed to the Mighty One of Yaakov, if I enter the tent of my house... if I go up onto my bed... until I find a place for Hashem." Such a man is liable to make a vow and swear an oath and end up at a loss. Therefore: hurry, before he begins the preparations.
לֵךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל־עַבְדִּי אֶל־דָּוִד כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה הַאַתָּה תִּבְנֶה־לִּי בַיִת לְשִׁבְתִּי׃ - Go and say to My servant, to David: Thus says Hashem, shall you build Me a house for Me to dwell in?
A king is not a judge, and rest is not a respite
כִּי לֹא יָשַׁבְתִּי בְּבַיִת לְמִיּוֹם הַעֲלֹתִי אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם וְעַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וָאֶהְיֶה מִתְהַלֵּךְ בְּאֹהֶל וּבְמִשְׁכָּן׃ - For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt to this day, but I have moved about in a tent and in a Mishkan.
Here the Holy One, Blessed be He, explains to David that although a king is indeed needed and rest is indeed needed, it is not just any king and not just any rest: what is needed is a king whose kingship endures and is unbroken, and what is needed is absolute rest. The Malbim explains the difference between a king and a judge: the judge rules only for the time being and does not pass his rule to his sons after him, whereas the king - his kingship is an inheritance for him and his sons, "so that he may prolong his days over his kingdom, he and his sons." Hashem says to him: True, you were chosen and anointed by a prophet, but the kingship has not yet been promised to your sons as an inheritance, and if so, your kingship is like the kingship of the judges, like the kingship of Shaul - a temporary kingship.
And so too regarding the condition of rest: you claim that you have rest from all your enemies, but in the days of the judges too there were years of rest - "and the land was quiet forty years." And why did I not ask then? Because that rest too does not deserve to be called rest. Rest that is merely a respite is at most a truce. True rest means absolute quiet, that the nations are not preparing to come and attack again. And the nations around you have only submitted before you, and wars are still destined for you, as we will see further on. Who will truly be a man of rest? Shlomo. A situation in which the enemies have absorbed a blow, submitted, and are beginning to arm themselves for the next round - is not called rest.
And from where do we know that the situation has not changed? "For I have not dwelt in a house" - the Shechinah never dwelt in a fixed place, for the Mishkan is a thing that wanders, "but I have moved about in a tent and in a Mishkan."
בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּכָל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֲדָבָר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֶת־אַחַד שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי לִרְעוֹת אֶת־עַמִּי אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר לָמָּה לֹא־בְנִיתֶם לִי בֵּית אֲרָזִים׃ - In all my moving about among all the children of Israel, did I ever speak a word to any of the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying: Why have you not built Me a house of cedars?
"To any of the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd My people" - this refers to one of the leaders, and there were many leaders and judges. Did I even once ask one of them "why have you not built Me a house of cedars"? Never. And why? Because those leaders were not in the category of king but only in the category of shepherd - and every shepherd is something temporary and impermanent. And if you think the time has come, well, even then there was rest and even then there was a ruler. Only that the rest was not absolute and the ruler was not a king. And so too today: the rest is not absolute, and you are still in the category of a ruler, for a king means that his kingship is promised to his sons after him.
"To be a nagid" - an appointee and not a king
וְעַתָּה כֹּה־תֹאמַר לְעַבְדִּי לְדָוִד כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֲנִי לְקַחְתִּיךָ מִן־הַנָּוֶה מֵאַחַר הַצֹּאן לִהְיוֹת נָגִיד עַל־עַמִּי עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And now, so shall you say to My servant David: So said Hashem of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be a leader over My people, over Israel.
He tells him two things here. First, an established kingship is a king who is the son of a king, but you: "I took you from the pasture, from following the flock," you were a shepherd, not the son of a king. Your father Yishai was indeed one of the great men of the generation, one of those who died only through the counsel of the serpent, a tremendous tzaddik, but he was not a king. Second, even now you are still a "leader," that is, one appointed, and not yet a king, for the kingship has not yet been promised to you for the generations. Just as at first the kingship was not promised to Shaul forever either. Only later will David receive the promise regarding his son.
וָאֶהְיֶה עִמְּךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר הָלַכְתָּ וָאַכְרִתָה אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבֶיךָ מִפָּנֶיךָ וְעָשִׂתִי לְךָ שֵׁם גָּדוֹל כְּשֵׁם הַגְּדֹלִים אֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ׃ - And I was with you wherever you went, and I cut off all your enemies from before you, and I made for you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.
The same is true regarding rest: I am with you and I cut off your enemies, and the very fact that I still need to cut off your enemies teaches that this is not yet a time of rest. The enemies have not been finished off and they are still planning battles, as it was in the days of the Shoftim. But alongside the rebuke there is also a caress: "and I made for you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are in the earth," like the great ones whose name endures forever, I will establish for you an everlasting kingship. There seems to be a contradiction here: on the one hand you are not yet a complete king, and on the other hand I will make you like a king.
And what is "like the name of the great ones who are in the earth"? Our Sages say: this is what we say, "Magen David." King David wished that in prayer people would say "God of Avraham, God of Yitzchak, God of Yaakov, and God of David." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: they underwent tests before Me, and you have not been tested. And from here began the matter of Bat Sheva, which was a test with which Hashem tested him, as we will discuss later. He did not merit that people say "God of David," but we do say "Blessed are You, Hashem, Shield of David," and this is a name like one of the great ones, a great distinction.
"And I will set a place for My people" - the promise of permanence
וְשַׂמְתִּי מָקוֹם לְעַמִּי לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וּנְטַעְתִּיו וְשָׁכַן תַּחְתָּיו וְלֹא יִרְגַּז עוֹד וְלֹא־יֹסִיפוּ בְנֵי־עַוְלָה לְעַנּוֹתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה׃ - And I will set a place for My people, for Israel, and I will plant them, and they will dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more, and the children of wickedness will no longer afflict them, as at the first.
From the time of Moshe until the conquest and the division of the land in the days of Yehoshua, forty years of wilderness passed and another fourteen years, seven of conquest and seven of division, and all that time Israel was wandering and unsettled. And even afterward, until the days of Shlomo, there were still battles and wars against the surrounding enemies. Now the Holy One, blessed be He, promises: everything is about to change for the good. "And I will set a place for My people," that they will be settled in their place and no one will move them; "and I will plant them, and they will dwell in their own place," like a tree planted by streams of water, they will not need to go out from their borders to fight enemies, but will be planted in their place without dread or fear.
וּלְמִן־הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי שֹׁפְטִים עַל־עַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַהֲנִיחֹתִי לְךָ מִכָּל־אֹיְבֶיךָ וְהִגִּיד לְךָ יְהוָה כִּי־בַיִת יַעֲשֶׂה־לְּךָ יְהוָה׃ - And from the day that I commanded judges over My people Israel, and I have given you rest from all your enemies, and Hashem tells you that Hashem will make you a house.
From the day that I appointed judges onward, the people of Israel was in a state of being pursued and in constant wars. Now it is promised: this matter is about to end, and at the end of your days you will have rest from the enemies, "and I have given you rest from all your enemies." But this is in the future, not now. A decisive rest, without fear and without battle with a surrounding enemy.
And "Hashem tells you that Hashem will make you a house": there is a wonderful reversal here. You seek to build a house for Hashem, and Hashem informs you that He will build your house. And this does not mean blocks and bricks, but a family and a dynasty: you will merit that your son will build the house, and that his kingship will stand in rest without wars. This I promise you regarding the generation that comes after you, but you will not do it.
The seven promises
כִּי יִמְלְאוּ יָמֶיךָ וְשָׁכַבְתָּ אֶת־אֲבֹתֶיךָ וַהֲקִימֹתִי אֶת־זַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִמֵּעֶיךָ וַהֲכִינֹתִי אֶת־מַמְלַכְתּוֹ׃ - When your days are fulfilled and you lie with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
After telling him of the rest, Hashem also tells him of the kingship, and here seven good promises are included: (1) "When your days are fulfilled" - that he will live seventy years. (2) "And you lie with your fathers" - one who lies with his fathers is one who dies a natural death; one who falls in battle is killed and does not lie with his fathers. So you will die in your bed and not in war. (3) "I will raise up your offspring after you" - your son will not reign in your lifetime, as Avshalom sought to do, but after you. (4) That he will not take the kingship from you by force. (5) "Who will come from your own body" - this son has not yet been born, he does not yet exist. (6) "And I will establish his kingdom" - from the very start of his reign his kingdom will be firmly established and set, a king son of a king, without wars and without struggles against enemies, a fitting kingship from its very beginning.
הוּא יִבְנֶה־בַּיִת לִשְׁמִי וְכֹנַנְתִּי אֶת־כִּסֵּא מַמְלַכְתּוֹ עַד־עוֹלָם׃ - He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
(7) "He shall build a house for My name" - he will have wealth and he will have servants, and he is the one who will be able to build the house for the name of Hashem. And "I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" - a promise that his throne will endure forever.
Why David Did Not in Fact Build the House
Here the Malbim dwells on an interesting point. The reason "you have shed much blood" is not written here at all, but only in Divrei HaYamim, and there it is said to David explicitly - not through a prophet but through a revelation to him - "you have shed much blood and made great wars, you shall not build a house for My name," and only his son would be a man of rest and he would build the house. And the Malbim notes precisely: here, in our pasuk, that particular prophecy is hinted at - "and Hashem tells you," meaning prepare yourself, Hashem will yet convey to you a personal message and will Himself tell you why you will not be the one to build the house. Through ruach hakodesh He will reveal Himself to you and tell you the reason (and not through full prophecy, for David was not a prophet).
And what is the reason? "For you have shed much blood" - and this reason requires explanation. After all, David fought the wars of Hashem! Imagine a person coming to build a house for Hashem, and being told: you have killed many of Hizbollah, you cannot. Surely for every one he killed he deserves a citation of honor. If so, whose blood was shed here? There is one explanation: when David gathered silver and gold for the purpose of building the Beit HaMikdash, there was a famine for three years. Israel came to David and said to him: sustain us, there is a great famine. He said to them: from what shall I sustain you? They said to him: after all, you have saved up money. He said to them: this money is designated for the building of the Beit HaMikdash, it is consecrated money, how can I give you from it? And David erred in this. Chazal say that in a situation of pikuach nefesh one sells the Beit HaMikdash and keeps people alive. There is no situation in which a Jew would die and this would be considered less important than the building of the house. In Judaism there is no concept of "the end justifies the means": however holy the goal may be, if the means are illegitimate the thing is worth nothing. And a good many people died as a result of this, and their death in that famine was reckoned, as it were, against David - and this is "you have shed much blood."
Therefore that money which David prepared for the building of the Beit HaMikdash - in the end nothing was done with it. His son made of it golden shields, those shields that men carried in his honor when he would pass from the palace to the Beit HaMikdash; but the house itself was not built with this money. And what did David HaMelech in fact build? The Western Wall. It is written that David began to build and built the Western Wall - and what became of the Wall? It was not destroyed.
And it was intended from the outset that David would not build the entire Beit HaMikdash. Chazal say: had David built the entire Beit HaMikdash, the Beit HaMikdash would never have been destroyed. And then, in a situation where Israel rebels against the word of Hashem, God forbid, it would not have been possible for the Holy One, blessed be He, to spend His wrath on wood and stones and leave Israel as a remnant; rather, if the house cannot be destroyed, He would, God forbid, spend His wrath on the people of Israel and no survivor or remnant would be left. Therefore Hashem said to him: better that you not build the Beit HaMikdash, so that if there be a great fury, Hashem will spend His wrath on wood and stones and the people of Israel will be saved. And this is also the reason that Moshe Rabbeinu did not enter the Land: had he entered, he would have built the Beit HaMikdash, and the Beit HaMikdash would never have been destroyed - and again the very same reckoning, that it would not have been possible to spend the wrath on wood and stones.
In summary:
David sought to build a house for Hashem out of a genuine sensitivity for the honor of Heaven, and Natan authorized him based on reasoning - for the righteous person is judged by his good inclination, and what is in his heart is the true compass. But through prophecy the two conditions were clarified precisely: king means an enduring and inherited kingship, and rest means complete quiet and not a respite between battles, and both had not yet been fulfilled in David's days. Instead David received a promise greater than the one he requested: not that he would build a house for Hashem, but that Hashem would build a house for him - a dynasty and a kingship established forever, and his son Shlomo, the man of rest, would be the one to build the Mikdash. And behind the refusal there also stands a hidden compassion: a house built by David or by Moshe would never have been destroyed, and there would have been no place to spend the wrath on wood and stones and leave Israel as a remnant.