Chapter 16 seals the story of Shimshon: the ascent to Aza and the carrying of the city gates, his love for Delilah, the revelation of the secret of his nazirite status, his fall into the hands of the Pelishtim, the gouging out of his eyes, and finally his great act of vengeance in the temple of Dagon - "תָּמוֹת נַפְשִׁי עִם פְּלִשְׁתִּים". Now that we have completed the narrative itself, I want to touch upon an additional topic in the margins of the story: the matter of Shimshon's reincarnation. This is discussed at length in the sefer "Mishnat HaGilgulim," page 277, chapter 11, titled "Shimshon, Nadav and Avihu." We will not bring everything, only the main points, and nearly all of it originates in the holy sefarim (whoever wishes to know exactly who says each thing should study it there).
Shimshon - the reincarnation of Nadav and Avihu, and within them the soul of Adam HaRishon
The holy Arizal says: Shimshon is a reincarnation of Nadav and Avihu. And Nadav and Avihu themselves received the soul of Adam HaRishon. If we add one and one together, it turns out that within Shimshon is also found the soul of Adam HaRishon. That Nadav and Avihu are the soul of Adam HaRishon is hinted at in the pasuk "וַיְהִי אֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ טְמֵאִים לְנֶפֶשׁ אָדָם". Chazal ask: who were those men? Mishael and Eltzafan, who dealt with Nadav and Avihu and carried their bones. And how does the Torah refer to them? "Impure through the soul of a man" - so within Nadav and Avihu is found the soul of a man. And Nadav and Avihu return and are reincarnated in Shimshon.
Let us briefly recall the lines of Shimshon's character: a nazir from his mother's womb, he judged Israel for twenty years and saved Israel from the hand of the Pelishtim through his immense strength. In the end Delilah drained his strength and drew out his secret from him, the Pelishtim shaved the locks of his head, he fell into their hands, and at the end of his days he was called to perform before them after they had gouged out his eyes - and then he grasped the pillars of the building and brought it down upon them, and the dead whom he killed in his death were more numerous than those he killed in his life.
The hints in the names: Bedan and Avihu
The first connection is plain to see: Shimshon's additional name is "Bedan." It is stated in Shmuel Aleph chapter 12: "וַיִּשְׁלַח ה' אֶת יְרֻבַּעַל וְאֶת בְּדָן וְאֶת יִפְתָּח וְאֶת שְׁמוּאֵל וַיַּצֵּל אֶתְכֶם מִיַּד אֹיְבֵיכֶם", and Chazal say that Bedan is Shimshon, called so because he came from the tribe of Dan. And take note: "Bedan" is the same letters as "Nadav." And why is Nadav in particular mentioned? One explanation: Nadav is the firstborn, and the matter was attributed to him. And primarily, Nadav and Avihu are considered as one soul, as a single unit, and therefore it suffices to mention Nadav, and he includes Avihu within himself.
But there is also a hint to Avihu. Shimshon's father is mentioned in our chapters several times, always in a conjugated form: "and his father went down," "and his father came," and at the end of our chapter "אֶחָיו וְכָל בֵּית אָבִיהוּ". Why specifically in the form "avihu"? In the sefer Karsia D'Eliyahu, Siton brings that there is a connection here: the "avihu" comes to hint not only to the father, but to show that Shimshon is connected to Avihu and not only to Nadav. Admittedly the name Avihu is spelled with an aleph and here "avihu" is without an aleph, but the hint exists.
The first flaw: they did not marry women
Now let us examine the flaws of Nadav and Avihu, and we will see how, in the teaching of reincarnation, these things repeat themselves - either they are brought to rectification, or they return and become corrupted again in the same manner. Regarding Nadav and Avihu it is written that they died because they offered a strange fire before Hashem, and Chazal count additional sins in them. One of them: Nadav and Avihu did not marry women. There was in this a trace of pride, and they said: among all the daughters of Israel there is none worthy of us. And one must know that we are speaking of tremendous people - Moshe Rabbeinu tells Aharon that they are greater than me and than you, and Moshe does not speak in flowery phrases; this is not a eulogy in which the speaker gets carried away, but words of truth. Such great people believed that among all the daughters of Israel there was none worthy of them.
And corresponding to this: Shimshon too does not marry a woman from Israel, but specifically from the daughters of the Pelishtim. His father says to him: "הַאֵין בִּבְנוֹת אַחֶיךָ וּבְכָל עַמִּי אִשָּׁה כִּי אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ לָקַחַת אִשָּׁה מִפְּלִשְׁתִּים הָעֲרֵלִים", and Shimshon answers: "אוֹתָהּ קַח לִי כִּי הִיא יָשְׁרָה בְעֵינָי". There is here a direct continuation of what happened back then.
An interesting thing is written in the sefer Bnei Chanin (I brought this in a note in my sefer) in the name of the holy Arizal: a person who died without a wife, meaning that no wife was proclaimed for him in Heaven, when he comes in reincarnation will have difficulty marrying a woman. Why? Because it is impossible to fulfill in him "וְיָצְאָה אִשְׁתּוֹ עִמּוֹ" - that the wife returns with him in reincarnation; and since in the previous reincarnation he had no wife, it is difficult for him to find his match. And if he marries a woman from the daughters of Israel, since she was not written for him, the Zohar states that he will need to die before his time, and another - the one for whom she was written - will take her. Therefore Shimshon does not marry a daughter of Israel: he knows that he has no wife from the previous reincarnation, and if he marries a daughter of Israel her true husband will come and push him aside. And this exact same matter occurred also with Machlon and Kilyon, who were also a spark of Nadav and Avihu, and therefore they did not want to marry a daughter of Israel - lest her true husband come and push them aside and they die before their time - and therefore they married Ruth and Orpah. And so Shimshon takes wives from the daughters of the uncircumcised Pelishtim.
"וַיְהִי טוֹחֵן בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים"
וַיֹּאחֲזוּהוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיְנַקְּרוּ אֶת עֵינָיו וַיּוֹרִידוּ אוֹתוֹ עַזָּתָה וַיַּאַסְרוּהוּ בַּנְחֻשְׁתַּיִם וַיְהִי טוֹחֵן בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים׃ - And the Philistines seized him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bronze, and he ground in the prison house.
As we have already seen, Chazal say that "grinding" is a term for immorality, as in "and let my wife grind for another." And this is hinted at: "he ground in the prison house (asurim)" - do not read it as asurim (prisoners) but as issurim (prohibitions). The holy Arizal says: this punishment came to him because in his previous incarnation, as Nadav and Avihu, he despised the daughters of Israel and did not want to marry a woman, and therefore now they fed him with the daughters of the uncircumcised. This is what you desired? This is what you shall take.
And why in truth did Nadav and Avihu not marry women? Because they were from the spirit of Kayin. I have an entire chapter in the book explaining that Kayin and Hevel struggled over a woman - over the extra twin who was born with Hevel, and this is a whole process of how that twin is reincarnated through the generations and Kayin and Hevel are reincarnated after her. Kayin argued: I am the firstborn, and the firstborn deserves a double portion; Hevel argued: she belongs to me, for she was born with me. It turns out that Kayin sinned regarding a woman, for he went to murder Hevel in order to take the woman. And therefore the punishment of Nadav and Avihu is that they do not marry women, and this is reincarnated into Shimshon, who likewise does not marry a woman from the daughters of Israel.
"His stature was like that of human beings"
Based on this we can understand the words of the Gemara about Shimshon: "his amaso was like that of human beings" - and amaso means his covenant. Chazal are hinting here at his previous incarnation: he came to rectify Nadav and Avihu, who were the soul of Adam HaRishon, except that they corrupted their covenant. And this is "like human beings (adam)," like that "tam" (in the language of the Ben Ish Chai) - that he too corrupted like them, for they should have married from a daughter of Israel and did not. Thus his corruption regarding his covenant is like the way they corrupted theirs.
Before the wine drinker they bring wine
The Gemara there continues: Rav Papa said, this is what people say - before the wine drinker they bring wine, and before one who works the land and digs in gardens and is accustomed to eat vegetables, they bring a basket full of greens. In the plain sense of things: since Shimshon was accustomed to the daughters of the uncircumcised, in the prison house they provided him with the daughters of the uncircumcised; to one accustomed to wine they bring wine, and to one accustomed to vegetables they bring vegetables.
But there is an additional depth in this. Shimshon had the soul of Adam HaRishon, and Adam HaRishon sinned by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. According to one opinion in Chazal, the Tree of Knowledge was grapes - "she pressed grapes for him." It turns out that Adam HaRishon sinned with wine, and therefore this is what "they bring before him." And what is the connection between forbidden relations and wine? A woman is compared to a vine: "your wife shall be like a fruitful vine," and here it is the vine about which it says "the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine" - a vine of immorality caused by that very vine that Chava pressed for Adam HaRishon. Then there was the wine of the Tree of Knowledge, and now the wine of "the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine," the very same type of sin.
The Tree of Knowledge was a fig - "for he seeks a fig"
Another opinion in Chazal: the Tree of Knowledge was a fig. And Shimshon came to rectify this sin, and this is hinted at in the verse "but his father and his mother did not know that it was from Hashem, for he sought a pretext against the Philistines." The holy Arizal says: notice, "toanah" (pretext) is written without a vav - he "seeks a fig (toanah)" from the Philistines. He came to rectify the sin of the Tree of Knowledge that was in the fig, by extracting the sparks of holiness that fell within the Philistines - for the sin of the Tree of Knowledge brought the holiness down into the kelipah.
And by the way, an interesting hint that I found for the opinion that the Tree of Knowledge was a fig, in the initial letters. Many times in acronyms the connecting letters are dropped: vav, hei, and the letters bet, kaf, lamed, mem. For example "hakisei" (the chair) - one may disregard the hei, which is not the letter itself. And now: "the woman said, the serpent enticed me and I ate." "Vatomer" (and she said) - drop the vav, a tav remains. "Ha'ishah" (the woman) - drop the hei, an alef. "Hanachash" (the serpent) - drop the hei, a nun. "Hishiani" (enticed me) - here this is not the hei of the definite article or connection, but a hei. We have received: toanah (fig). "The serpent enticed me" - with what? With a fig.
The Tree of Knowledge was wheat - in the days of the wheat harvest
There is an opinion that the Tree of Knowledge was wheat. It is very possible that for this reason Shimshon sets out on his campaign of vengeance specifically during the wheat harvest, for this is the fitting time to exact retribution for that sin which came about through wheat.
The first woman who was taken away
Regarding Adam HaRishon it is written in the Kabbalists and also in the Midrashim that he had another woman before Chava, and this is why he said "זֹאת הַפַּעַם עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי וּבָשָׂר מִבְּשָׂרִי". That woman is called in the holy books "the first Chava," and he did not want her - and some say that she despised him - and in the end she became the mother of demons, Lilit, and from this a match was made with the Samech Mem. With Adam HaRishon she did not endure, and therefore about Chava he said "this time" - this one was taken from me, and this one will remain. (Whoever wishes may study "Mishnat HaGilgulim" elsewhere, where I elaborate on who exactly she was, what her rectification was, and how the matter connects to the descent to Mitzrayim; this is a subject in itself.) And behold, the very same thing happens in this incarnation: Shimshon's first wife was taken from him and given to his companion - to the Pelishti. There too that first Chava was taken from him, and given to the Samech Mem.
The sin of seeing - "and they saw the God of Yisrael"
There was another sin that belonged to Nadav and Avihu. When Moshe ascends Har Sinai, HaKadosh Baruch Hu warns "רֵד הָעֵד בָּעָם פֶּן יֶהֶרְסוּ אֶל ה' לִרְאוֹת וְנָפַל מִמֶּנּוּ רָב", and afterward it is written "וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וְשִׁבְעִים מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּרְאוּ אֶת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל", and afterward "וְאֶל אֲצִילֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ". Rashi says: they gazed and stared and became liable to death. And why were they not punished immediately? HaKadosh Baruch Hu did not want to mar the joy of the giving of the Torah, so He waited for them until the dedication of the Mishkan, and then He exacted from them the price of "and they saw God."
So it emerges that there was a sin here connected to seeing. And Shimshon repeats that very sin - Chazal say that he went after his eyes, "for she is right in my eyes," and in the end he is stricken in his eyes. And this is a rectification for what happened then, when they gazed and looked and saw God and were like people eating and drinking in great joy without the proper awe. And this too is connected to Adam HaRishon, who stumbled through his eyes: "נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה", "וְתַאֲוָה הוּא לָעֵינַיִם" - the flaw of the eyes was in fact part of the sin of eating. That same flaw continues with Nadav and Avihu, and continues with Shimshon, until it comes to rectification through his eyes being gouged out and pierced.
Those who had drunk wine - and therefore a Nazir
Another sin: Chazal say that Nadav and Avihu entered the Mishkan having drunk wine. And this is a continuation of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge according to the opinion that "she pressed grapes for him": Adam HaRishon stumbled through wine, Nadav and Avihu stumble through wine. And in order to rectify this, Shimshon is warned to be a Nazir from wine, and his mother too is warned: "אַל תִּשְׁתִּי יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר וְאַל תֹּאכְלִי כָּל טֻמְאָה כִּי נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים יִהְיֶה הַנַּעַר מִן הַבָּטֶן עַד יוֹם מוֹתוֹ".
וַיַּגֶּד לָהּ אֶת כָּל לִבּוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מוֹרָה לֹא עָלָה עַל רֹאשִׁי כִּי נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים אֲנִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי אִם גֻּלַּחְתִּי וְסָר מִמֶּנִּי כֹחִי וְחָלִיתִי וְהָיִיתִי כְּכָל הָאָדָם׃ - And he told her all his heart and said to her: A razor has never come upon my head, for I am a Nazir of God from my mother's womb; if I were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become weak and be like every man.
Shimshon reveals to Delilah that his strength stems from the nezirut, and says "וְהָיִיתִי כְּכָל הָאָדָם". And who is "the man" with the definite article? Adam HaRishon. That is to say: if I desecrate my nezirut I will be like Adam HaRishon, who stumbled and drank of the wine. For I was warned to guard myself from wine and to keep the nezirut in order to rectify that sin, and if I stumble in this I will be exactly like Adam HaRishon, who spoiled and flawed precisely at this very point.
And in the sefer Michtav LaChizkiyahu he writes a beautiful thing: in the word "nazir" all their sins are hinted at. Nun - they did not marry women. Zayin - they offered a strange fire (esh zara). Yod - they entered having drunk wine (yayin). Reish - they gazed and saw (ra'u) the Shechinah. All their sins are hinted at in the fact that Shimshon is meant to rectify them by being a Nazir.
Lacking garments, without counsel and without washing of hands
According to another view, Nadav and Avihu entered the Sanctuary lacking the proper garments. Corresponding to this, the holy Arizal says that Shimshon was punished and had to pay thirty changes of clothes, corresponding to that sin of entering while lacking garments.
Another sin: Nadav and Avihu did not take counsel from one another. So too Shimshon does not take counsel from his parents, telling his father, "Take her for me, for she is right in my eyes," and his father does not accept this, yet he insists. Here too there is a continuation of the sin of Adam HaRishon, for the Holy One advised him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and he did not heed the counsel of his "parents," the counsel of the Holy One blessed be He.
Another sin: Nadav and Avihu entered the Sanctuary without washing their hands. This too is hinted at with us, for Shimshon needed water and a miracle was performed for him: "וַיִּבְקַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת הַמַּכְתֵּשׁ אֲשֶׁר בַּלֶּחִי וַיֵּצְאוּ מִמֶּנּוּ מַיִם וַיֵּשְׁתְּ וַתָּשָׁב רוּחוֹ - And God split open the hollow that was in Lechi, and water came out of it, and he drank, and his spirit returned," corresponding to that time when he was without water. There are further hints connected to his name, and whoever wishes may see this in "Mishnat HaGilgulim," so that we not go on at length.
Another Reincarnation: Shem, Yefet and Esav
I would like to touch on another reincarnation connected to Shimshon, which appears in the book Galei Razia (a Kabbalistic work), and is cited in Yalkut Reuveni in Parshat Toldot. He writes that Shem and Yefet were reincarnated in Yaakov and Esav: Shem, the more righteous son of Noach, from whom we are descended, and Yefet, who alludes to the matter of Greece, "May God enlarge Yefet." Both were reincarnated in Rivka's pregnancy, and when Yaakov separated to the side of holiness and Esav to the side of the Sitra Achra, the soul of Shem clung to Yaakov on the side of holiness, and the soul of Yefet clung to Esav. From here we understand why Yaakov, when he was sent away from his parents' home, went and hid himself for fourteen years in the study hall of Shem and Ever, for he is connected to Shem through the soul of Shem that was impregnated within him. Shem himself was no longer among the living, but Ever was, and Shem was within him as a reincarnated soul.
And about this Noach prayed: "יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים לְיֶפֶת וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאָהֳלֵי שֵׁם - May God enlarge Yefet, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem," that Yefet would be reincarnated in the seed of Shem. For Esav is of the seed of Shem: he is the son of Avraham and Yitzchak, and they are of the sons of Shem. "And may he dwell in the tents of Shem," that Yefet would be reincarnated in the tents of Shem, that is, in Esav. And the Rama of Fano writes: Shimshon son of Manoach had a spark of Esav. It turns out that he had a spark of both Shem and Yefet, and there was fulfilled in him "May God enlarge Yefet, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem," for it was reincarnated and dwelt in the body of Yisrael, who is of the sons of Shem. It follows, then, that Shem, Yefet and Esav are reincarnated in Shimshon.
"And They Walked Backward" - Those Who Destroy and Ruin You Shall Come Forth From You
First we must know that Shem and Yefet are considered a single soul, and this is hinted at in the verse "וַיִּקַּח שֵׁם וָיֶפֶת אֶת הַשִּׂמְלָה - And Shem and Yefet took the garment," and it does not say "they took" (in the plural form), for in a certain sense they are called as one. Therefore they were reincarnated in Yaakov and Esav, who are also in the aspect of one: Rivka was certain that they were one, and they are twins, and it is written "וְהִנֵּה תוֹמִים בְּבִטְנָהּ - And behold, there were twins in her womb." And a spark of their soul was in Shimshon. Therefore it is written concerning Shem and Yefet when they covered Noach "וַיֵּלְכוּ אֲחֹרַנִּית - And they walked backward," a hint that they return backward in reincarnation, that they were reincarnated once again.
The Sitra Achra wished to harm the sons of Yaakov by having the sons of Yefet wage war against them, and what did the Holy One do? He set the remedy before the affliction: He arranged that Yefet and the Sitra Achra, which is Esav, would be reincarnated in Shimshon, and thus Shimshon would strike them, and the downfall of the sons of Esav and Yefet would come from their own strength. This is in the aspect of "Those who destroy and ruin you shall come forth from you." A blow that comes from that very same thing is stronger, as it is written, "This blow is from my father's house." The Holy One wished that their blow be strong, and therefore that it come from Shimshon, in whom Yefet and Esav are reincarnated.
The Lion, and the Son of Manoach
By this we understand why Shimshon strikes the lion and tears it apart as one tears a kid: for in the previous reincarnation the lion struck his father, Noach. Regarding the ark it is said "וַיֵּצֵא אַךְ נֹחַ - And Noach went out," and Chazal say that he was groaning and dimmed, for one day he was late in bringing the lion its portion and the lion struck him. And now Shimshon takes revenge on the lion and tears it apart for having struck his father in the previous reincarnation. Therefore let us note that he is called "Shimshon son of Manoach," son of Manoach, son of Noach. And Shem himself is hinted at in his name: shin, mem, the first letters of his name are the letters of "Shem," to tell you that Shimshon is the reincarnation of Shem. There is also a hint of Yefet, but we will not dwell on the hints, and whoever wishes may look into the book.
The Spark of Esav: Nechushirchan, Leg Upon Thigh
Shimshon contains a spark of Esav, and from here we can understand why he struck the Pelishtim "hip and thigh." Esav is called "a man of the field," and Onkelos translates this as "nachshirkan." We have an entire discourse on this: nachshirkan means nachash-yerechan, one who had a serpent engraved on his thigh. We once elaborated at length on how this relates to Mordechai, who would show Haman the deed that he was his slave on his thigh, and why specifically on the thigh, and how Haman is a reincarnation of Esav - and this is a topic in its own right. In any case, in nachshirkan there is a thigh and there is a serpent. A thigh - and therefore Shimshon strikes them hip and thigh, for he is in the aspect of the thigh like Esav. And a serpent - except that he is a serpent on the side of holiness, as it says "יְהִי דָן נָחָשׁ עֲלֵי דֶרֶךְ שְׁפִיפֹן עֲלֵי אֹרַח הַנֹּשֵׁךְ עִקְּבֵי סוּס וַיִּפֹּל רֹכְבוֹ אָחוֹר" - Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward - which was said about Shimshon.
And I found a fine allusion in Tehillim: "חֲמַת נָחָשׁ כְּמוֹ פֶתֶן חֵרֵשׁ יַאְטֵם אָזְנוֹ" - the final letters spell it out: chamat ends in tav, nachash in shin, kemo in vav, peten in nun, cheresh in shin, yatem in mem - Shimshon. Thus he is compared to a serpent. So too in our pasuk "וַיּוֹרִידוּ אוֹתוֹ עַזָּתָה וַיַּאַסְרוּהוּ בַּנְחֻשְׁתַּיִם" - nechushtayim means nachash shtayim, two serpents: Shimshon is a serpent of holiness, and within him is Esav who is a serpent of the side of impurity, making a doubled serpent. "Vayaasruhu," and they bound him - bound means tied, for he is tied to the two serpents. This is also hinted in the pasuk "דֶּרֶךְ הַנֶּשֶׁר בַּשָּׁמַיִם דֶּרֶךְ נָחָשׁ עֲלֵי צוּר" - the initial letters of "bashamayim derech nachash" spell "bDan," in Dan, that is Shimshon. Again you see that Shimshon is connected specifically to the matter of the serpent.
Rabbeinu Bachya: In What Way Shimshon Resembles a Serpent
On the pasuk "Dan shall be a serpent by the way," Rabbeinu Bachya explains that Shimshon was not compared to a serpent without reason; rather, there is a connection between his actions and the nature of the serpent. First, the serpent is independent: it is not like elephants and lions that travel in groups, but like a lone wolf - it goes out, strikes, and returns to its hole. This is exactly like Shimshon: he goes out, emerges, strikes them, and returns to his starting point, and he did not wage an organized war against them.
Just as a serpent responds to a whispered charm, so too Shimshon responds to a whispered charm. They knew how to whisper charms to a serpent, and the serpent would lower its head and go along. And Shimshon - by what did he lower his head? Delilah whispered to him "Tell me, please, in what does your great strength lie," and he received a charm through words, and they succeeded in subduing him.
Just as a serpent is called a saraf - because it injects venom into you and the venom burns - so too Shimshon burned the standing grain of the Pelishtim. Just as a serpent has no legs, for its legs were cut off, so too it is written of Shimshon that he was lame, and presumably this was after he was captured. "Vayelech shefi" - lame in one leg, and "shefifon" - Chazal say he was lame in both legs.
Just as a serpent strikes only in a low place, for it was told "עַל גְּחֹנְךָ תֵלֵךְ," upon your belly you shall go, and it says "וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב," and you shall bruise his heel - so too Shimshon "who bites the horse's heels." And where did he bring down the house of the Pelishtim? Not above, but at the pillars below, that is, he seized the heel, bit the horse's heels - and all those who were above fell backward, "and its rider falls backward." Just as a serpent strikes without a sword, so too those slain by Shimshon were slain without a sword, and as we saw he went with the jawbone of a donkey.
And the Midrash further says: just as a serpent avenges and bears a grudge, so too Shimshon avenges and bears a grudge like a serpent.
וַיִּקְרָא שִׁמְשׁוֹן אֶל ה' וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי ה' זָכְרֵנִי נָא וְחַזְּקֵנִי נָא אַךְ הַפַּעַם הַזֶּה הָאֱלֹהִים וְאִנָּקְמָה נְקַם אַחַת מִשְּׁתֵי עֵינַי מִפְּלִשְׁתִּים׃ - And Shimshon called to Hashem and said: My Lord Hashem, remember me, please, and strengthen me, please, only this once, O God, that I may take vengeance upon the Pelishtim for one of my two eyes.
This is his request in his final moments - avenging and bearing a grudge just like a serpent. As Chazal say: any Torah scholar who does not avenge and bear a grudge like a serpent. We once explained that the condition is "like a serpent" - without deriving pleasure. The serpent strikes and gains no pleasure from it, what does it gain? So too Shimshon: when he took vengeance upon them, did he derive pleasure from it? At that very moment he died. "Let my soul die with the Pelishtim" - he took vengeance upon them and died together with them.
And further in the Midrash: just as a serpent's entire strength is only in its head, so too Shimshon. And Esav too had his strength in his head - there is an entire discourse on this, that Esav's sparks of holiness were in his head, while his whole body was impure. Where was his body buried? On Har Se'ir. And where was his head? In Me'arat HaMachpelah. His problem was that the body was distant from the head, living in disconnection: the head and the knowledge did not enter into the body within, and therefore his body was buried on Har Se'ir as impure and abominable, and his head in Me'arat HaMachpelah. So too Shimshon, his strength is in his head - and this is what he received from Esav, like the serpent whose strength is in its head.
More of Esav's Ways in Shimshon
Regarding Esav it is written that he caused his mother pain: while he was in her womb she said "אִם כֵּן לָמָּה זֶה אָנֹכִי" (If so, why am I like this), for he sought to come out near a house of idolatry. Shimshon too caused his mother pain: when she conceived him she was restricted from drinking wine and from eating anything impure - painful for a good purpose, but painful nonetheless. He caused her further pain when he said "Take her for me," and his father and mother asked him "Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people," and they felt pain - corresponding to that pain.
Regarding Esav it is written that he did not bring wine to his father: of Yaakov it is stated that he brought wine to his father, but of Esav it is not stated. Therefore Shimshon, a nazir of God from wine - Esav is present in him, and he had no wine. And there is an added explanation: since within Shimshon there was also a spark of Shem and Yefes, and they saw what happened to Noach as a result of drinking wine - "and he uncovered himself within his tent" - and whoever sees a sotah in her disgrace should abstain from wine, therefore in this incarnation the Shem and Yefes within Shimshon do not touch wine, for they saw what wine can cause.
Esav caused his father to become blind: "וַתִּכְהֶיןָ עֵינָיו מֵרְאֹת" (and his eyes were too dim to see) - from the smoke of his wives who burned incense to idolatry, and from this Yitzchak's eyes grew dim. Therefore now, when Esav is reincarnated in Shimshon, the Pelishtim gouge out his eyes. And an interesting matter: who is the ministering angel of Esav? One should not mention his full name, but it is Sa"m and E"l. The Keli Yakar explains why he is called this - because he blinds a person's eyes from seeing God, and therefore it is a combination of "blind" (sama) and "God" (El). Therefore Shimshon was punished precisely in this point, in the matter of the eyes.
וַתֹּאמֶר פְּלִשְׁתִּים עָלֶיךָ שִׁמְשׁוֹן וַיִּקַץ מִשְּׁנָתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵצֵא כְּפַעַם בְּפַעַם וְאִנָּעֵר וְהוּא לֹא יָדַע כִּי ה' סָר מֵעָלָיו׃ - And she said, The Pelishtim are upon you, Shimshon. And he awoke from his sleep and said, I will go out as at other times and shake myself free. But he did not know that Hashem had departed from him.
And when the Holy One left him, what is written? "For Hashem had departed from him" - "sar me'alav" is an acronym for Sa"m. That is to say, in the end he was left only with the power of impurity, with Esav.
Regarding Esav it is written that he married foreign women, and this caused his parents great pain, as Rivka says to Yitzchak "קַצְתִּי בְחַיַּי מִפְּנֵי בְּנוֹת חֵת" (I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Ches). Shimshon too takes foreign women and thereby causes his parents pain. And now the women are the ones who caused him pain: you caused your parents pain through foreign women - these women will cause you pain. And in the end the wives of Esav caused the Shechina to depart from Yitzchak, for we see that the Shechina was not there, and so it is brought in the Midrash Tanchuma that this was because of the wives of Esav. And with Shimshon too "Hashem had departed from him" - measure for measure: your wives caused Hashem to depart from your father Yitzchak, so Shimshon's wives will cause Hashem to depart from him. And further: Esav was a hairy man, "כֻּלּוֹ כְּאַדֶּרֶת שֵׂעָר" (all of him like a hairy garment) - and Shimshon's strength too was in his hair.
Honoring Father and Mother
We find honoring of father and mother with Shem and Yefes, who saw their father Noach's situation, and honored him and went and covered his nakedness. And Esav too honored his father greatly, for he would prepare food for him, and all his deeds throughout his life; it is written that the merit which Yaakov feared in Esav was the honoring of father and mother within him. And Shimshon too, although he did something his parents did not understand, did not go to marry a woman against their consent, but rather asked his father "Take her for me" - meaning: I could take her on my own, I am a grown lad, but I honor my parents and want you to take her for me. I have no choice, I must, for such is God's will, but I ask that it pass through you, because I still have honor for my parents. And this is hinted in the verse "בֵּן יְכַבֵּד אָב" (a son honors a father) - the final letters spell Badan, who is Shimshon, to tell you that although he did something against his parents' will, he honored them nonetheless.
Why the Spark of Shem and Yefes Departed While the Spark of Esav Remained
Shem and Yefes cover their father's nakedness, and "עֶרְוַת אֲבִיהֶם לֹא רָאוּ" (they did not see their father's nakedness), and therefore they are reincarnated in Shimshon to guide him in the straight path. But Shimshon did not follow their way: he seeks to marry a woman who is "right in my eyes," and Chazal say that he followed his eyes - they were careful and did not sin with their eyes, and he did. Therefore, as brought in Galei Raziya, when he began to stray from the path, at the age of twenty, the holy spark of Shem and Yefes departed from him, and what remained in him was only the spark of the Sa"m. And this is what we said is hinted in "for Hashem had departed from him" - you are left only with samech and mem, the initials of "sar me'alav."
And why specifically did the spark of Esav remain in him? Because in this very matter Esav himself sinned: it is written of him that he had an evil eye. The Midrash says that Yosef went first at the meeting of Yaakov and Esav, because he feared and wanted to hide Rachel from the wicked Esav so that he would not set his eyes upon her. And a very interesting matter: "וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת עֵינָיו וַיִּרְאֶה אֶת הַנָּשִׁים" (and he lifted his eyes and saw the women) - Esav lifts his eyes, and what is the first thing he takes in? "And he saw the women." Not the children and not the rest. This shows that Esav sinned with his eyes, and therefore this is the spark that remained in Shimshon: when Shimshon followed his eyes, Shem and Yefes leave him, and the one who remains is the one who was flawed in his eyes - Esav.
"And the spirit of Hashem began to stir him" - Two Opposites
We already discussed the expression "וַתָּחֶל רוּחַ ה' לְפַעֲמוֹ בְּמַחֲנֵה דָן בֵּין צָרְעָה וּבֵין אֶשְׁתָּאֹל." What does "lefaamo" mean? The Ralbag explains: at times he thought to wage war against the Philistines and at times he thought to hold back, "like a bell that strikes here and there, I will go this way and that way" - at odds with himself, at times striking them and at times stopping. According to what we have explained the matter is remarkably clear: within him were two opposites - Shem and Yefet, which are the side of holiness, and also Samael, the wicked Esav, who is the side of impurity. When a person contains two opposites, at times he follows holiness and at times he follows impurity, and therefore at times he wanted to fight them and at times he decided not to.
His Future Reward: Song
וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁמְשׁוֹן תָּמוֹת נַפְשִׁי עִם פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיֵּט בְּכֹחַ וַיִּפֹּל הַבַּיִת עַל הַסְּרָנִים וְעַל כָּל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ וַיִּהְיוּ הַמֵּתִים אֲשֶׁר הֵמִית בְּמוֹתוֹ רַבִּים מֵאֲשֶׁר הֵמִית בְּחַיָּיו׃ - And Shimshon said, "Let me die with the Philistines," and he bent with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.
Let us conclude as the Sefer Galei Razia concludes: Shimshon took vengeance upon the enemies of Hashem, and the Holy One will grant him his reward - he will be reincarnated in the days of Mashiach ben Yosef and will be the commander of his armies, and his name will be "Shira." And the verse "וְהָיָה יְרֵשָׁה שֵׂעִיר אֹיְבָיו" will be fulfilled through him - the letters of "yerasha" spell "Shira," for he will inherit Seir, his enemies, and about him it is said "and its rider falls backward."
וַיֵּרְדוּ אֶחָיו וְכָל בֵּית אָבִיהוּ וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֹתוֹ וַיַּעֲלוּ וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אוֹתוֹ בֵּין צָרְעָה וּבֵין אֶשְׁתָּאֹל בְּקֶבֶר מָנוֹחַ אָבִיו וְהוּא שָׁפַט אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה׃ - And his brothers and all his father's household came down and carried him up, and they buried him between Tzorah and Eshtaol in the grave of Manoach his father. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
In summary: Shimshon is the reincarnation of Nadav and Avihu, who contained the soul of Adam HaRishon, and within him were also sparks of Shem, Yefet, and Esav. The whole course of his life is a journey of rectification: the nezirut corresponding to wine and to sins, the eyes corresponding to gazing at the Shechinah, the foreign women corresponding to their disdain of the daughters of Israel, the grinding in the prison, the gouging of his eyes, and his final vengeance - all measure for measure. The two opposites within him were what moved him "lefaamo," and when he strayed after his eyes the spark of holiness flew from him and the power of impurity remained within him, "for Hashem had departed from him." In the future he will merit his reward and be called "Shira," commander of the army of Mashiach ben Yosef. And although Shimshon's redemption was not complete, as Yaakov said, "not for the redemption of Shimshon son of Manoach" but rather "for Your salvation I hope, Hashem," "for Your redemption I wait, Hashem" - it is for the complete salvation from the Master of the world that we wait, that He grant us to see the complete redemption speedily in our days, amen.