Chapter 23 of Shmuel Bet is a chapter of conclusion and sealing: it opens with "the last words of David" - a kind of seal for Sefer Tehillim, in which David makes known who composed the songs, why they were composed, and what their source is. From the prophecy about the kingship of the house of David and about the days of the Mashiach, the chapter moves on to a list of David's warriors, their acts of valor and their ranks, and concludes with a count of thirty seven warriors.
וְאֵלֶּה דִּבְרֵי דָוִד הָאַחֲרֹנִים נְאֻם דָּוִד בֶּן־יִשַׁי וּנְאֻם הַגֶּבֶר הֻקַם עָל מְשִׁיחַ אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב וּנְעִים זְמִרוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And these are the last words of David: the utterance of David son of Yishai, and the utterance of the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Yaakov, and the sweet singer of Israel.
The Malbim says: after David arranged Sefer Tehillim, he sealed it in order to make known who composed it, on what the words were composed and for what matter they were written, and even what their source is. For a person can compose words from his own heart, and on the other hand he can compose words that are from Hashem, may He be blessed, through ruach hakodesh.
David's songs are divided into three. There are songs that he said about himself, including those he said while he was still shepherding the flock, before he was anointed and before he reigned. At that time he was not famous at all, and he was not known by any accompanying title, but only as "David son of Yishai" - and this is "the utterance of David son of Yishai." And there are songs that he said after he was anointed and after he reigned, whether when he was being pursued or when he actually reigned, and about these it says "and the utterance of the man raised up on high" - that they lifted him upward, "the anointed of the God of Yaakov" - that he had already been appointed king and anointed. And there are songs that were said for the sake of the community, in which they would laud and praise the Creator of the world, and this is "the sweet singer of Israel."
Most of our prayer is composed of these songs. Apart from the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, most of the prayer is built from David's songs: the Pesukei Dezimra before the blessing of Yotzer Or, the blessing of Yotzer Or itself, many of whose parts are pesukim, the additional Shabbat songs, "Ashrei yoshvei veitecha" that comes after the prayer, and Shir shel Yom. A very significant part of the prayer is the songs of David the king, and this is "the sweet singer of Israel" - songs that he said on behalf of all of Israel, and Israel grew fond of them and continued to say them all their days.
The Radak explains why they are called here "the last words of David": because they were the last of all the songs and psalms, after which ruach hakodesh no longer rested upon David. This was the last place in which ruach hakodesh appeared upon him in the composing of his songs. And according to the Radak, "the sweet singer of Israel" means the songs that Israel say: just as the Kohanim and Leviim would stand in the Beit HaMikdash upon fifteen steps and say the fifteen "Shir HaMaalot," besides Shir shel Yom. These are songs with which Israel offer praise in the Beit HaMikdash.
רוּחַ יְהֹוָה דִּבֶּר־בִּי וּמִלָּתוֹ עַל־לְשׁוֹנִי׃ - The spirit of Hashem spoke through me, and His word was upon my tongue.
Here the Malbim reveals to us a principle: the Divine spirit rests upon the poet in two levels. There is a level in which he is aroused by a Divine power regarding the matter of the song - that is, the person receives a Divine spirit that rests upon him and he breaks into song, but the words themselves are his own. In our language it is customary to say of a person that "he had a muse," and the intention is that some particular spirituality rested upon him, and the intention is not literal ruach hakodesh; but there is a person who composes words according to the ruach hakodesh that rests upon him, and the ruach hakodesh elevates him to song, while the words are his own.
And in contrast, says the Malbim, there is a situation in which even the words themselves are from Hashem, may He be blessed, and the person is nothing but an instrument that brings them out into actuality. Just as a person does not take a page out of the printer and say "this printer writes beautiful things and tells lovely stories" - the printer only printed, it did not write anything. And this is what David says: "The spirit of Hashem spoke through me, and His word was upon my tongue" - with me, even the words, each and every word, and also the order of the words, were from a Divine appearance.
Chazal say that no two prophets prophesy in a single style, because the idea is given to the prophet, and the form of expression and the words are according to the character of each and every prophet. But regarding David it is written explicitly that even the words and their arrangement were from Hashem, may He be blessed. From here you will understand why Sefer Tehillim is so accepted by us and why it is the remedy against everything: in this respect it is like a Sefer Torah, in which even the words arranged in it are from Hashem. Just as in a Sefer Torah the Holy One, blessed be He, would dictate and Moshe would write from the mouth of Hashem, and Moshe could not say "here another word is more fitting" - so too here.
אָמַר אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִי דִבֶּר צוּר יִשְׂרָאֵל מוֹשֵׁל בָּאָדָם צַדִּיק מוֹשֵׁל יִרְאַת אֱלֹהִים׃ - The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: one who rules over man righteously, one who rules in the fear of God.
Anyone who pays attention will notice that this pasuk is very difficult to understand in its plain sense. Rashi explains: David says, the Rock of Israel, who is the Creator, spoke to me and commanded me, and told me that I should be "one who rules over man," and "man" means Israel, as it says "You are called man" - you are called man. "A righteous one ruling in the fear of God" - He commanded me to be righteous, ruling over Israel and fearing God.
But Chazal expounded this in a different and wondrous way: David said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me and told me, I rule over man, and who rules over Me? The righteous one! For I decree a decree and he annuls it. "Ruling over man" - that is Me; "the righteous one rules" - the righteous one rules, as it were, over Me. This teaches us how great is the power of Israel, that a person who has reached the level of righteousness here can annul even the decrees that the Holy One, blessed be He, in His own glory and being, has decreed.
The Malbim explains that here David opens with the prophecy that God told him about continuity, about the kingdom of his descendants after him, which would endure until the days of Mashiach. "The God of Israel" - who watches over them. And the phrase "לִי דִבֶּר צוּר יִשְׂרָאֵל": there is a difference between "speaking" (dibbur) and "saying" (amirah) - dibbur is lengthy and amirah is brief. Even in everyday speech the distinction is noticeable: when a person says to his friend, "I have a talk to have with you," he does not mean one sentence and then leave, but rather a conversation of at least fifteen minutes; whereas "I told you" is something brief. If so, "the Rock of Israel spoke to me" means that He spoke with him at length, and "to me" means about me and for me, about my family and my continuity.
And what did He say about us? That one will arise in the future who will be "ruling over man" - this is the Mashiach, who will rule over all human beings and all will heed him. And further, that he will be "righteous." And how does the righteous one become a ruler over man? "Ruling in the fear of God" - first of all he rules over himself. A person who does not rule over himself has no chance of ruling over human beings; he is like a slave to his desires, and he has no strength to be a king. Only one who rules over his desires is capable of being a king and ruling over others.
This is also the power of the great ones of Israel. On the wall of Rav Shach there hung no diploma, no teaching certificate and no certificate at all, and yet the entire world heeded him as the leader of the generation. When people see a person who rules over himself, they say: this is a person whom I want to rule over me. But if you see a person who in small matters does not rule over himself - suddenly he gets angry, suddenly something does not suit him - you say: this man is ruled by his desires, and shall he rule over me? A person is willing to accept a ruler over himself only when he sees in him the signs of a king, and that is one who rules over himself.
It is written about Shlomo that at first he reigned over the whole world, over all of it; afterward he reigned from Tifsach to Azza; afterward over the Land of Israel alone; afterward over Jerusalem - "I, Kohelet, was king in Jerusalem"; afterward he ruled over his household; and finally it is written that he ruled over his staff. And on the face of it this is astonishing: what does it mean to rule over one's staff? Do you give the staff instructions and it carries them out? Rather, Chazal come to teach us that there is a reality of a person ruling over his staff. There is a person who has a position, he sits as head of state, and yet he is like a slave - "slaves ruled over us" - because he is a slave to his desires. And on the other hand, the Gemara says, "Who are kings? The rabbis." But do they not have a crown? You see upon this great man, who rules over his desires and cravings, that he wears the crown of a king. A king is one who rules over all the powers of his soul; he has no "suddenly I feel like it," but rather absolute mastery. Therefore they tell you that the title of king never departed from Shlomo: even when only a staff remained to him, whoever saw him saw a king, a person with royal bearing.
And in contrast to him, Herod. Even though he was king, he arranged two rows of doves - these are the ones called "Herodian doves" after his name - so that when he passed each morning from the royal palace they would cry out "kiri kiri," which in Aramaic means "king." How lowly was that man, and how full of feelings of inferiority and sensations of slavery, that he needed birds to shout to him "you are a king, you are a king"? Because in himself he had none of it. Who needs to be shouted at "you are a king"? One who is certainly not a king. But one who is truly a king does not need to be shouted at, he knows it, and the kingship is built into his personality.
This is what it says here: the Holy One, blessed be He, said that he will be a righteous one ruling in the fear of God - that first he will rule over himself, and afterward he will be able to rule over human beings. When a person is like a slave he needs a lot of noise, show and publicity; but when he is a great man, his Torah proclaims about him. There is a person who was hidden away in his home, and until the age of sixty no one had heard of him, in the yeshiva they knew that he came and studied, a rosh yeshiva, and there are many roshei yeshiva - and suddenly he became famous and became the leader of the generation. And so with many great ones: from a young age he was known in his surroundings, and suddenly you see that this man became famous. One who rules over himself will in the end be like a king and rule over all human beings.
וּכְאוֹר בֹּקֶר יִזְרַח־שָׁמֶשׁ בֹּקֶר לֹא עָבוֹת מִנֹּגַהּ מִמָּטָר דֶּשֶׁא מֵאָרֶץ׃ - And like the light of morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, from the brightness after rain, grass sprouts from the earth.
This pasuk too is not understood on its own. The Malbim continues and says that there is a difference between the kingship of the Mashiach, the future kingship, and the kingship of this world. Kingship is compared to the sun, and the rising of the sun represents kingship. In this world kingship is like the rising of the sun: not all at once but slowly. And by the way, this is Hashem's kindness. Imagine it was night and in one second the sun appeared, a person would be blinded. "Who gives light to the earth and to those who dwell upon it" with kindness and great mercy; kindness and mercy meaning little by little, until you can receive the sun at its full strength. Were it to happen in one moment, there would be cruelty toward us in it.
This was how the kingship of David was in this world. At first he was anointed as king, but did he reign immediately? He was still pursued, they still sought to kill him, and many times there was but a step between him and death. Afterward Shaul died, and still he ruled only over Yehudah from Chevron. And finally his kingship was accepted by all of Israel. Like the rising of the sun, little by little.
But the king Mashiach will not be so. With him the sun will suddenly shine and give great light, not gradually but in that very moment. And this is "and as the light of morning the sun rises": the kaf is the kaf of time, meaning at the hour the morning shines the sun will already rise at its full strength, and not like today when the sun reaches its full strength only at noon. The anticipation of the coming of Mashiach should be such that we do not say to ourselves "until now nothing has happened, so how will it suddenly happen now?" One of the great ones of Israel once said, I believe it was the Netziv of Volozhin: the Gemara says that one of the things that comes when the mind is distracted is the coming of Mashiach, like finding a lost object. And how will the coming of Mashiach be? You will be in the kitchen and ask me what I want to eat today for lunch, and I will tell you to prepare such and such, and I will say yes, fine, do it that way, and suddenly he will come, the Mashiach has arrived. In one moment, when the mind is distracted. Not like with David the king, where it took years until his kingship was accepted.
And there is another difference: "a morning without clouds." In this world the sun is sometimes covered by clouds. Last night we could not recite Birkat Levanah because the moon was covered by clouds. But in the rising of the future there will be no state of clouds, no state in which the kingship does not shine at its full strength, but already in the morning there will be a full rising, and from the outset it will shine in all its force.
And there is also a state of "nogah": light seen through the clouds, not direct light, like a halo of light around. And this is "from the shining after rain grass springs from the earth": at times there is sun here and rain falling there to grow grasses, and you do not see the light itself but only its glow, and the sun does not shine properly. But in the future there will be a morning without clouds: no clouds, no rains that hide the light of the sun, and not only a glow, but everything will be immediate light in which everything will be revealed, and all will be publicly known, and then "you shall return and see the difference between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him," and the kingship will be a complete kingship.
כִּי־לֹא־כֵן בֵּיתִי עִם־אֵל כִּי בְרִית עוֹלָם שָׂם לִי עֲרוּכָה בַכֹּל וּשְׁמֻרָה כִּי־כׇל־יִשְׁעִי וְכׇל־חֵפֶץ כִּי־לֹא יַצְמִיחַ׃ - For is not my house so with God? For He has made with me an eternal covenant, ordered in all things and secure; for it is all my salvation and all my desire, will He not make it flourish?
Now David explains "a morning without clouds": the house that Hashem will yet make for me, no cloud will cover it. The kingship will never cease, and there will be no state in which clouds cover it, meaning that someone else suddenly arises to reign. Rather "ordered in all things and secure": Hashem will make me king in such a way that the kingship will be ordered with great might and glory, and secure so that it will never be annulled.
"For it is all my salvation and all my desire, will He not make it flourish?": in the previous pasuk we learned that at times there are clouds that bring down rain to grow grass, and by this they somewhat hide the sun. Here David says that there will be no state of clouds and rain that come to make things grow, through which the darkening is created. No rain will fall to cover the sun. And the meaning: there will be no state in which the ministers of the nations by way of nature come to annul the kingship, but the kingship will be an absolute and complete kingship, the kingship of David.
וּבְלִיַּעַל כְּקוֹץ מֻנָד כֻּלָּהַם כִּי־לֹא בְיָד יִקָּחוּ׃ - But the wicked, all of them, are like a thorn cast away, for they cannot be taken by hand.
"And the wicked" refers to the house of the wicked, like Yeravam and those like him, and like the house of Achav, who are called the house of belial. The Holy One, Blessed be He, will see to it that in the future there will not be such thorns, but they will be "like a thorn cast away": like a thorn that is pushed from place to place. "For they cannot be taken by hand": there is no way to grasp a thorn by hand and hold it, rather it is pushed by people's feet and kicked from place to place. This is the nature of the wicked one. But my house will endure forever, not like a thorn that is kicked from place to place, but something that has permanence and standing for eternity.
וְאִישׁ יִגַּע בָּהֶם יִמָּלֵא בַרְזֶל וְעֵץ חֲנִית וּבָאֵשׁ שָׂרוֹף יִשָּׂרְפוּ בַּשָּׁבֶת׃ - And the man that shall touch them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear, and they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.
When a person wishes to touch those thorns, he must clothe himself in iron and a spear, meaning he needs the strength to contend against them. But in the future it is said, "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares," and there will be no place for weapons of war. Therefore "and they shall be utterly burned with fire" - in the end all those evil forces, all those thorns, will be finished and burned away. And which kingdom will remain? Only the kingdom of the house of David, the complete and absolute kingdom.
אֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת הַגִּבֹּרִים אֲשֶׁר לְדָוִד יֹשֵׁב בַּשֶּׁבֶת תַּחְכְּמֹנִי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁלִשִׁי הוּא עֲדִינוֹ הָעֶצְנִי עַל־שְׁמֹנֶה מֵאוֹת חָלָל בְּפַעַם אֶחָת׃ - These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: the Tachkemonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Etznite; he lifted up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
From here the text goes on to detail David's mighty men and the mighty deeds they performed. It divides them into divisions, each division numbering three warriors: first three foremost ones, after them a second three who did not reach the level of the first, and after them a third group, all according to their strength and might and according to their deeds in David's wars.
The Sages first expound this verse as referring to David himself. "That sat in the seat, the Tachkemonite" - who sat in the Sanhedrin. "Chief among the captains" - that he was built upon three things, upon physique, upon wisdom and upon might, that he had three virtues. "Adino the Etznite" - this too is expounded as referring to David: when he sat and engaged in Torah, he made himself as tender as a worm, and when he went out to battle he was hard as wood. "Against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time" - that he would slay eight hundred men in a single battle. And it is written that at first he would slay a thousand men, and in the end only eight hundred, as it is said "only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite" - had it not been for the sin of Uriah the Hittite, the sin of Bat Sheva, he would have slain a thousand at once, but after the sin he would slay only eight hundred in a single battle.
But the plain meaning of the text speaks of David's mighty men and not of David himself: there was a man named Adino the Etznite, and he was the chief of the three, the choicest of the three foremost warriors.
וְאַחֲרָו אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־דֹּדוֹ בֶּן־אֲחֹחִי בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה הַגִּבֹּרִים עִם־דָּוִד בְּחָרְפָם בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים נֶאֶסְפוּ־שָׁם לַמִּלְחָמָה וַיַּעֲלוּ אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And after him was Elazar the son of Dodo the son of Achochi, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone up.
The commentators say that "ben Dodo" is not a description of family relation but is actually his name - so says Rashi: "ben Dodo" was his name. "Ben Achochi" - this is his father's name. And he was the second of the three mighty men who were with David: the first was Adino the Etznite, the third was Shamma whom we shall see shortly, and the middle one was Elazar ben Dodo ben Achochi. "When they defied the Philistines" - that they risked their lives in that battle.
הוּא קָם וַיַּךְ בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים עַד כִּי־יָגְעָה יָדוֹ וַתִּדְבַּק יָדוֹ אֶל־הַחֶרֶב וַיַּעַשׂ יְהֹוָה תְּשׁוּעָה גְדוֹלָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְהָעָם יָשֻׁבוּ אַחֲרָיו אַךְ־לְפַשֵּׁט׃ - He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand cleaved to the sword; and the Lord wrought a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.
The text describes that they fought against the Philistines, and he struck so many of them that his hand grew weary: his fingers and muscles seemed to dry up upon the sword, and he could not remove it from his hand, as if the sword had cleaved to his hand. And some say that from the great amount of blood that was spilled, the blood congealed and his hand stuck to the sword. "And the Lord wrought a great victory that day" - all this a single man did. And the people came only "to strip": when they were victorious in battle they would strip everything from the slain - the garments, which were very valuable in those days, as well as the swords and weapons. They came only to take the spoil, since he alone had already finished the battle.
וְאַחֲרָיו שַׁמָּה בֶן־אָגֵא הָרָרִי וַיֵּאָסְפוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים לַחַיָּה וַתְּהִי־שָׁם חֶלְקַת הַשָּׂדֶה מְלֵאָה עֲדָשִׁים וְהָעָם נָס מִפְּנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים׃ - And after him was Shammah son of Age the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together into a troop, and there was a plot of field full of lentils, and the people fled from before the Philistines.
Next in rank, the third of the first trio, was Shammah son of Age, Age being his father's name. "The Philistines gathered together into a troop" - the Philistine garrison, who gathered there as one group for battle. "And there was a plot of field full of lentils," while in Divrei HaYamim it is written "full of barley." The Metzudat David reconciles this by saying it was a different battle. But the Malbim says it may have been that very same battle, only that there was a plot of barley where Elazar stood, and a plot of lentils where Shammah stood. The rescue was accomplished by all of them, and therefore it is written "and he delivered it" - that the deliverance came through David, through Shammah, and through Elazar as well.
The Radak explains that "full of barley" means full of sheaves: the field had already been harvested, but they had gathered sheaves into it from other fields, some from lentil fields and some from barley fields, and so the field was full both of lentils and of barley. For one cannot say that they sowed the field with both lentils and barley.
וַיִּתְיַצֵּב בְּתוֹךְ־הַחֶלְקָה וַיַּצִּילֶהָ וַיַּךְ אֶת־פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּעַשׂ יְהֹוָה תְּשׁוּעָה גְדוֹלָה׃ - But he stationed himself in the midst of the plot and delivered it, and struck the Philistines, and Hashem wrought a great salvation.
He stationed himself in the midst of the plot and delivered it - so that they would not burn it - and struck the Philistines, and Hashem wrought a great salvation. And immediately we will see in greater detail exactly what happened there in that battle.
וַיֵּרְדוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה מֵהַשְּׁלֹשִׁים רֹאשׁ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־קָצִיר אֶל־דָּוִד אֶל־מְעָרַת עֲדֻלָּם וְחַיַּת פְּלִשְׁתִּים חֹנָה בְּעֵמֶק רְפָאִים׃ - And three of the thirty chiefs went down and came at harvest time to David, to the cave of Adullam, while a troop of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Refaim.
These are three mighty men of the second rank, who went down to David to help him at the cave of Adullam, at the time when the Philistine camp was encamped in the Valley of Refaim. The Malbim says that this battle was at the beginning of David's reign, and we already saw above in chapter 5 that David was in the stronghold and the Philistines were encamped in the Valley of Refaim; here the verse describes for us the mighty deeds that were done in that battle.
וְדָוִד אָז בַּמְּצוּדָה וּמַצַּב פְּלִשְׁתִּים אָז בֵּית לָחֶם׃ - And David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Beit Lechem.
"The garrison of the Philistines" means the Philistine officer. Yonatan renders it "astrateg" - the commander of the battle, the one who sets the rules of strategy. The officer was then in Beit Lechem.
וַיִּתְאַוֶּה דָוִד וַיֹּאמַר מִי יַשְׁקֵנִי מַיִם מִבֹּאר בֵּית־לֶחֶם אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׁעַר׃ - And David longed, and said: Who will give me water to drink from the well of Beit Lechem that is by the gate?
Let us first explain it according to the plain meaning, and afterward we will see what our Sages expounded. David craved to drink water from the well of Beit Lechem that was by the gate, and in Beit Lechem, as we explained, the Philistine garrison was stationed and the army commanders were there. It was therefore a most heavily guarded place that could not be reached, and yet David craved water from there. The Metzudot say that there was cold and pleasant water there.
וַיִּבְקְעוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת הַגִּבֹּרִים בְּמַחֲנֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיִּשְׁאֲבוּ־מַיִם מִבֹּאר בֵּית־לֶחֶם אֲשֶׁר בַּשַּׁעַר וַיִּשְׂאוּ וַיָּבִאוּ אֶל־דָּוִד וְלֹא אָבָה לִשְׁתּוֹתָם וַיַּסֵּךְ אֹתָם לַיהֹוָה׃ - And the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Beit Lechem that was by the gate, and they carried it and brought it to David, but he would not drink of it, and he poured it out to Hashem.
They break through the Philistine camp, reach the well, fight the Philistines around them, draw water and bring it to David, and David refuses to accept it and pours it out to Hashem. "Vayasech" means that he poured it out before Hashem, as a kind of offering. And when do we offer water? On Sukkot, in the water libation. And since there was no altar there, they explain that the meaning is that he poured it onto the ground, but for the honor of Hashem may He be blessed.
And what is the meaning of this? The Malbim brings the Abarbanel, that the purpose of a thing is measured by the intensity of the effort exerted for it: the greater the effort, the sign that the thing is more important. A person does not travel to America, work for long months and cut himself off from his home in order to obtain twenty dollars; if he exerted himself so much, surely he has a great goal there and he plans to bring back something tremendous. A person does not build a mighty machine so that it should in the end produce a simple needle; if he built a mighty machine, presumably it is meant to produce at least diamonds.
By the way, this is one of the foundations for understanding what the World to Come is. People say: it is very hard to be a Jew, it demands of you morning, noon and evening, you are examined from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep, all the time in full concentration, seeing that you do not stumble, doing the will of Hashem, thinking about every single matter. But if the purpose of a thing is measured by the effort exerted for it, then "the Land of Israel is acquired through suffering," and from this you learn how tremendous the Land of Israel is; and likewise the World to Come is acquired through suffering, and from this you learn how tremendous the World to Come is, if a person needs to exert himself for seventy years to merit it.
And this is what David said: these men gave up their lives and went to fight, for what? For a cup of water that I should drink? Is it fitting that a person should give up his life and make such a great effort for a cup of water that was here and is now gone? It is not fitting. And if such a great war and such an effort were made for the cup of water, it is fitting that this cup be for the Creator of the world. Therefore he took it and poured it out to Hashem, for such a great effort and such self-sacrifice are not fitting to be made for a human being, but only for the Creator may He be blessed.
Our Sages explain that everything stated here is a parable, for the Torah is compared to water. And when David said "who will give me water to drink," his intent was that he needed to ask a question of the Sanhedrin - "Ho, everyone who is thirsty, go to the water" - and the Sanhedrin were in Beit Lechem.
And what was the question about? Two opinions among our Sages. One opinion: the question concerned that field which was full of lentils and barley, where the stacks belonged to Israel and the Philistines hid inside them. And David asked: am I permitted to set fire to the field of Israel full of lentils and barley in order to burn the Philistines who are there, or am I forbidden to harm the property of Israel in order to win the battle? They answered him: a person may not save himself with his fellow's property, but you are a king, and a king may break through a fence to make himself a path and none may protest against him.
And another opinion: the barley stacks belonged to Israel and the lentil stacks to the Philistines, and David asked whether he was permitted to place the barley of Israel before his animals with which he was conducting the battle, which were hungry and do not eat lentils, and afterward to compensate Israel with the lentils of the Philistines. The fundamental question: is it permitted to steal in order to repay? And the Sages answered him that a person may not steal in order to repay, as it says "if the wicked man returns the pledge, repays what he robbed" - even though he repays, he is wicked. But you are a king, and a king may break through a fence and none may protest against him; that is to say, by the very state of war the matter is permitted, but not in such a state, to say "I will steal from you and repay you" - it is forbidden. And in the end "and he stationed himself in the midst of the plot and saved it": David did not allow the stacks to be burned nor to feed them to his animals, and he would not agree to do so.
And more than this they said: David did not state the halachah in the name of the three, even though they brought it from the Sanhedrin. Rather David said: thus I have received from the court of Shmuel of Ramah - anyone who gives himself over to death for words of Torah, one does not report a teaching in his name. And they gave themselves over to death for words of Torah. That is to say, according to David's understanding, the moment they saw that there was a situation of danger to life they should have turned back and not insisted on going to ask the Sanhedrin. Therefore David did not want to state the matter in their name, but stated the halachah anonymously: the halachah itself he stated, but not in their name. They did not merit that it be stated in their name, because they did an act that was not necessary - to give up their lives to be killed over a matter of halachah.
וַיֹּאמֶר חָלִילָה לִּי יְהֹוָה מֵעֲשֹׂתִי זֹאת הֲדַם הָאֲנָשִׁים הַהֹלְכִים בְּנַפְשׁוֹתָם וְלֹא אָבָה לִשְׁתּוֹתָם אֵלֶּה עָשׂוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת הַגִּבֹּרִים׃ - And he said: Far be it from me, Hashem, that I should do this; shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? And he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men do.
"Far be it from me" - it would be a profanity for me to drink them. According to the plain meaning, he did not want to drink the water because he said: it would be as though I were drinking the blood of the men who went and risked their lives, who gave their blood for this water. That same explanation applies also according to the Midrash that they went to ask a matter of halacha: these men risked their lives for that matter of halacha, and it would not be fitting for the halachic ruling to be recorded in their names.
וַאֲבִישַׁי אֲחִי יוֹאָב בֶּן־צְרוּיָה הוּא רֹאשׁ הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה וְהוּא עוֹרֵר אֶת־חֲנִיתוֹ עַל־שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת חָלָל וְלוֹ־שֵׁם בַּשְּׁלֹשָׁה׃ - And Avishai, the brother of Yoav, son of Tzeruyah, he was head of the three, and he wielded his spear against three hundred slain, and he had a name among the three.
Now the verse reveals to us who those three mighty men were who risked their lives. The chief among them was Avishai. The first three we have already mentioned - Adino the Etznite, Elazar and Shammah - and Avishai is the head of the second three. "And he had a name among the three": relative to the first three, his name was esteemed, as though he were fit to be counted even among them, and he approached their level; even in the first three they held him in esteem.
מִן־הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה הֲכִי נִכְבָּד וַיְהִי לָהֶם לְשָׂר וְעַד־הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה לֹא־בָא׃ - Of the three he was the most honored, and he became their commander, but he did not reach the three.
Of the second three he was the most honored, for he was their head. But "he did not reach the three" - he did not attain to actually being among the first three; he had a name among them and they held him in esteem, but he did not reach their level.
וּבְנָיָהוּ בֶן־יְהוֹיָדָע בֶּן־אִישׁ־חַיִל רַב־פְּעָלִים מִקַּבְצְאֵל הוּא הִכָּה אֵת שְׁנֵי אֲרִאֵל מוֹאָב וְהוּא יָרַד וְהִכָּה אֶת־הָאֲרִי בְּתוֹךְ הַבֹּאר בְּיוֹם הַשָּׁלֶג׃ - And Benayahu son of Yehoyada, son of a valiant man, great in deeds, from Kavtze'el; he struck down the two ariels of Moav, and he went down and struck the lion inside the pit on a snowy day.
Benayahu son of Yehoyada is the second of the second three mighty men. "Son of a valiant man" - that his father was a mighty man; the written form is "chai" and the read form is "chayil," its meaning being one who is swift, a man who acts with valor and works with alacrity. "He struck down the two ariels of Moav" - according to the plain meaning, the two nobles of Moav, the two great ones of Moav.
And Chazal expound "ariel" as referring to the Beit HaMikdash. And why is the Beit HaMikdash called Ariel? Some say because the fire crouched within it like a lion; and there is a simpler explanation: one who looks at the Beit HaMikdash from above sees it as a lion - narrow at the back and wide at the front, like a crouching lion. And Chazal expounded "he struck down the two ariels of Moav" - that he left none like him, neither in the First Temple nor in the Second Temple, for there was none like him in his righteousness. And why is it called "ariel of Moav"? Because Shlomo built the Beit HaMikdash, and Shlomo descended from Ruth the Moabite.
According to the plain meaning of the verse, it describes for us several tremendous acts of valor. First, he struck down the two mighty men of Moav. Second, he struck the lion inside the pit on a snowy day: striking a lion is in itself a tremendous act of valor; and moreover, on a snowy day - when you are in the snow you flounder and sink, you have no mobility, and your strength is also diminished; and moreover, you are chilled by the very cold and your movement is far slower. And despite all this he performed this tremendous feat.
And Chazal also expound these descriptions as referring to his spiritual stature. "Son of a valiant man" - referring to Yehoyada his father, who was a mighty man of valor and a completely righteous man; and the Targum renders "son of a man who feared sins" - the son of a man who feared sin. "Great in deeds" - that he was great in good deeds, many acts for the sake of Hashem. "From Kavtze'el" is a place name, and some expounded that he gathered and increased laborers for Torah. And "on a snowy day" is expounded regarding his righteousness and piety: Chazal said that he broke the ice and entered and immersed in the water on a snowy day in order to purify himself, and some say that he studied the Sifra of the school of Rav on a wintry day - that even on the coldest days he did not neglect his learning and study.
The Radak, however, says that all of these are derashot, and the plain meaning of the verse is as we explained: a description of physical might, whereas Chazal expounded it as referring to spiritual might. In truth the one depends upon the other. Look at Yaakov Avinu, who was no ruffian, and yet he rolled the stone off the mouth of the well as one removes a stopper from the mouth of a bottle, and the stone that all the shepherds together were needed to move, he rolled off by himself. Yaakov spent fourteen years in the house of Shem and Ever, and not only did he not train with weights or sports and did not visit a gym, but Chazal say that during all that time he did not even sleep: for fourteen years he did not sleep on a bed. Where did this strength come from? "He focused his heart and rolled the stone," says the paytan: one can roll the stone by focusing the heart, by concentrating all of one's powers.
If so, the derashah of Chazal is connected to the plain meaning of the verse: there was mighty strength here, and such strength cannot come from a heart that is afraid and hesitant. Much of might depends on a person's inner strength and on the importance of the goal for which he fights, and then he finds within himself the courage and power to act with might. This is why Chazal expounded everything as referring to an additional spiritual might that they possessed.
Incidentally, the works of the Ben Ish Chai are all based on this very verse: "Ben Yehoyada," "Ben Ish Chai," "Ben Ish Chayil," "Rav Pealim," "Mikavtze'el." And why did he title his works with these names? It is said that he was at the grave of Benayahu ben Yehoyada, and there he felt a lofty spiritual illumination, and he understood that he was a spark of the soul of Benayahu ben Yehoyada. From then on he decided to title all his works after his name, after this verse.
וְהוּא־הִכָּה אֶת־אִישׁ מִצְרִי אִישׁ מַרְאֶה וּבְיַד הַמִּצְרִי חֲנִית וַיֵּרֶד אֵלָיו בַּשָּׁבֶט וַיִּגְזֹל אֶת־הַחֲנִית מִיַּד הַמִּצְרִי וַיַּהַרְגֵהוּ בַּחֲנִיתוֹ׃ - And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of imposing appearance; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down against him with a staff, and he snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.
Another feat of might that he performed. "A man of imposing appearance" - a man whose appearance was frightening, looking like a giant and terrifying. "And the Egyptian had a spear in his hand," whereas Benayahu was empty-handed and had only a stick - "he went down against him with a staff," and a staff is a stick - and he succeeded in snatching the spear from his hand, and with it he stabbed and killed him.
From this verse the masters of mussar learned an approach in the service of Hashem: the Egyptian is the yetzer hara, the evil force that comes to wage war against us, and we must snatch this Egyptian's spear from him and use his own spear to kill him. That is, we must learn what the methods of the yetzer hara are. The methods of the yetzer hara today are the various media, through which it draws a person inward, deep, deep into the pit. And how do we act today? "He snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand": we snatch those very means from them, we take the channels and spread holiness through them. We take the television channels, and today there is Hidabroot, which spreads Torah to hundreds of thousands of people who did not know the concepts of Judaism and are beginning to listen and to learn. We use all the technology that until now served for all sorts of songs and nonsense and vanities, and through it we distribute discs and words of Torah. Today there is "Kol HaLashon," a very advanced technology, where a person can come and load hundreds of shiurim of words of Torah onto his player, and then he walks along the way and listens to words of Torah. The very thing that the yetzer hara uses, we snatch from its hand, and with that same technology we do the will of Hashem.
אֵלֶּה עָשָׂה בְּנָיָהוּ בֶּן־יְהוֹיָדָע וְלוֹ־שֵׁם בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה הַגִּבֹּרִים׃ - These things Benayahu ben Yehoyada did, and he had a name among the three mighty men.
He was esteemed and renowned as a mighty man among the three mighty men, those three seconds whom we mentioned.
מִן־הַשְּׁלֹשִׁים נִכְבָּד וְאֶל־הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה לֹא־בָא וַיְשִׂמֵהוּ דָוִד אֶל־מִשְׁמַעְתּוֹ׃ - He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three; and David set him over his guard.
"He was honored among the thirty" - of all those mighty men he was the most honored among them, "but he did not attain to the three" - he did not reach the first three. And he is not like Avishai, for Avishai had a name even among the first three, even though he was the head of the second threesome, whereas Benayahu did not reach the first threesome at all. "And David set him over his guard" - that he was David's counselor, that he set him over his counsel and appointed him over the men closest to him, as we saw that Benayahu ben Yehoyada was over the Kereti and the Peleti. And what are the Kereti and the Peleti? Chazal expound that it refers to the Urim and Tumim, and there is a simpler explanation that they are the archers and the slingers, and so the Targum explains.
עֲשָׂהאֵל אֲחִי־יוֹאָב בַּשְּׁלֹשִׁים אֶלְחָנָן בֶּן־דֹּדוֹ בֵּית לָחֶם׃ - Asahel the brother of Yoav was among the thirty; Elchanan the son of Dodo of Beit Lechem.
Asahel was slightly more distinguished than the thirty, yet his rank did not rise above theirs, and he is therefore counted together with them. I will add another explanation for "honored among the thirty": we explained above that this refers to the first group of officers, but some interpret it plainly as referring to the thirty warriors who will be listed here below.
שַׁמָּה הַחֲרֹדִי אֱלִיקָא הַחֲרֹדִי׃ חֶלֶץ הַפַּלְטִי עִירָא בֶן־עִקֵּשׁ הַתְּקוֹעִי׃ אֲבִיעֶזֶר הָעַנְּתֹתִי מְבֻנַּי הַחֻשָׁתִי׃ צַלְמוֹן הָאֲחֹחִי מַהְרַי הַנְּטֹפָתִי׃ חֵלֶב בֶּן־בַּעֲנָה הַנְּטֹפָתִי אִתַּי בֶּן־רִיבַי מִגִּבְעַת בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן׃ בְּנָיָהוּ פִּרְעָתֹנִי הִדַּי מִנַּחֲלֵי גָעַשׁ׃ אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן הָעַרְבָתִי עַזְמָוֶת הַבַּרְחֻמִי׃ אֶלְיַחְבָּא הַשַּׁעַלְבֹנִי בְּנֵי יָשֵׁן יְהוֹנָתָן׃ - Shammah the Charodite, Elika the Charodite; Cheletz the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; Aviezer the Anetotite, Mebunnai the Chushatite; Tzalmon the Achochite, Maharai the Netophatite; Cheleb the son of Baanah the Netophatite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Givah of the children of Binyamin; Benayahu the Piratonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash; Avi-Albon the Arvatite, Azmavet the Barchumite; Elyachba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Yashen, Yehonatan.
שַׁמָּה הַהֲרָרִי אֲחִיאָם בֶּן־שָׁרָר הָארָרִי׃ - Shammah the Hararite, Achiam the son of Sharar the Ararite.
"Hararite" means from the mountains, and so the Targum renders it, "of the mountains." In the second name the aleph is not pronounced: "ha-Ararite."
אֱלִיפֶלֶט בֶּן־אֲחַסְבַּי בֶּן־הַמַּעֲכָתִי אֱלִיעָם בֶּן־אֲחִיתֹפֶל הַגִּלֹנִי׃ חֶצְרַי הַכַּרְמְלִי פַּעֲרַי הָאַרְבִּי׃ יִגְאָל בֶּן־נָתָן מִצֹּבָה בָּנִי הַגָּדִי׃ צֶלֶק הָעַמֹּנִי נַחְרַי הַבְּאֵרֹתִי נֹשֵׂא כְּלֵי יוֹאָב בֶּן־צְרֻיָה׃ - Eliphelet the son of Achasbai the son of the Maachatite, Eliam the son of Achitophel the Gilonite; Chetzrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite; Yigal the son of Natan of Tzovah, Bani the Gadite; Tzelek the Ammonite, Nachrai the Beerotite, armor bearer of Yoav the son of Tzeruyah.
"Armor bearer of Yoav" refers to Nachrai the Beerotite, who bore the weapons of Yoav in battle.
עִירָא הַיִּתְרִי גָּרֵב הַיִּתְרִי׃ אוּרִיָּה הַחִתִּי כֹּל שְׁלֹשִׁים וְשִׁבְעָה׃ - Ira the Yitrite, Gareb the Yitrite; Uriah the Hittite, thirty-seven in all.
How do we arrive at the count of thirty-seven? The first three, the second three, Asahel who was counted on his own, and another thirty warriors: thirty-seven in all.
The chapter opens with the sealing of David's songs, teaching us that David was not only awakened by a divine spirit, but that the very words were from Hashem, and from here comes the holiness and unique quality of Sefer Tehillim. From the prophecy given to him about the kingship of the house of David we learned that the true ruler is one who first rules over himself, and that the righteous person, as it were, rules even over the decrees that the Holy One, blessed be He, has decreed. The kingship of this world rises like a slow sunrise clouded over, whereas the kingship of the Mashiach will shine at once in its full strength, "a morning without clouds," while the wicked will be like uprooted thorns that will ultimately be burned. In its second part the chapter lists David's warriors according to their ranks, and reveals that their physical might stemmed from their spiritual strength: Elazar, whose hand clung to the sword; Shammah, who stood firm in the middle of the field; the three warriors who broke through for water, or for a matter of halachah, and David, who poured out the water to Hashem because such effort and self-sacrifice are fitting only for the sake of Heaven; and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada, who struck a lion on a snowy day and seized the spear from the hand of the Egyptian, and from here comes our path: to take the weapons of the evil inclination and use them to fulfill the will of Hashem.