Haftarah of KorachShmuelShaulAsking for a KingRebuke of ShmuelHashem is a witnessRav AnanRav NachmanRabbi Aibu and Rav Shmuel bar NachmaniYerubbaal is Gideon+11
The Connection Between the Haftarah and the Parshah In the Haftarah, it is told about Shmuel who said: "Witness is Hashem that I have not taken anything from Israel, neither an ox nor a donkey," and this is similar to the Parshah in which it is told that Moshe says to Hashem: "I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any man."
The Connection Between the Haftarah and the Parshah
In the Haftarah, it is told about Shmuel who said: "Witness is Hashem that I have not taken anything from Israel, neither an ox nor a donkey," and this is similar to the Parshah in which it is told that Moshe says to Hashem: "I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any man."
The Content of the Haftarah
After Hashem brought salvation to Israel through Shaul, everyone agreed to Shaul’s kingship. Therefore, Shmuel said to the people: "Come, let us go to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingship there so that there will be no more dissenters." And so they did; all the people went to Gilgal and crowned Shaul as king once again, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and rejoiced before Hashem very much.
Afterward, Shmuel turned to the people and said to them:
"Behold, from my youth I have walked from city to city to judge you, and now please tell me, if I have ever taken anything from you, or extorted, or taken a ransom, and if so, I will return to you whatever you say." They answered him that Heaven forbid, he did not take anything from them. He said to them: "Know that Hashem is a witness and also King Shaul is a witness to this matter." At that moment, a Heavenly Voice (Bat Kol) went forth and said: "Witness."
Afterward, Shmuel rebuked Israel for asking for a king while Hashem is their King. He also told them of His kindnesses toward them. In order to prove his words, he said to them: "Behold, today is the wheat harvest, in which rain is a sign of a curse. And this thing is evil in the eyes of Hashem to do, but I will pray to Hashem, and if rain falls, then you will know that you have done a great evil by requesting a king like all the nations."
When Shmuel finished his prayer, immediately torrential rains and lightning fell. The people feared Hashem and Shmuel for requesting a king during his lifetime, regretted what they did, and asked Shmuel to forgive them and pray for them so that they would not die. Shmuel calmed them and said to them: "Now that the king is already among you, be careful to listen to the voice of Hashem, and do not turn after the idols which will not profit nor save, for they are emptiness. Instead, walk after Hashem, who swore to you that He will never abandon you forever."
14 Since there were dissenters initially regarding the kingship of Shaul, now that salvation was made by his hand, as he defeated the children of Ammon, everyone agreed to his kingship (Rashi). Therefore, AND SHMUEL SAID TO THE PEOPLE: COME AND LET US GO — Come and let us go (Targum Yonatan) — TO GILGAL — [which is a holy place, for the Ark and the Tent of Meeting were there when they came into the Land (Radak)] — AND LET US RENEW THE KINGSHIP THERE:
15 AND ALL THE PEOPLE WENT TO GILGAL, AND THEY CROWNED — a second time — THERE SHAUL — with the agreement of everyone and with good will — BEFORE HASHEM — for the Divine Presence (Shechinah) was there, and 'In the multitude of people is the king's glory' (Metzudat David) — IN GILGAL; AND THEY SACRIFICED THERE SACRIFICES — PEACE OFFERINGS — BEFORE HASHEM, AND SHAUL AND ALL THE MEN OF ISRAEL REJOICED THERE EXCEEDINGLY:
1 After Shmuel crowned Shaul as king, he came to argue with them (Malbim) and to rebuke them, AND SHMUEL SAID TO ALL ISRAEL: BEHOLD, I HAVE HEAKENED TO YOUR VOICE IN ALL THAT YOU SAID TO ME, AND I HAVE MADE A KING — I have established a king — OVER YOU;and until now I could not rebuke you, so that you would not think that I wish to prevent the crowning of a king:
2 AND NOW, BEHOLD, THE KING WALKS BEFORE YOU, AND I HAVE AGED — from the abundance of work and the burden of the public — AND I AM GREY-HAIRED — [A] and old age has been cast upon me (Malbim) — AND BEHOLD, MY SONS ARE WITH YOU — [B] prepared for the service of the king and desiring him like you, and they do not follow my ways — AND I HAVE WALKED BEFORE YOU — from city to city to judge you, not for a day or two days, but — FROM MY YOUTH UNTIL THIS DAY — (Metzudat David):
3 HERE I AM, — while I am still here — TESTIFY — bear witness — AGAINST ME BEFORE HASHEM AND BEFORE HIS ANNOINTED — the king anointed by Hashem (Metzudat David) — WHOSE OX HAVE I TAKEN — for my work, — AND WHOSE DONKEY HAVE I TAKEN — when I would go from city to city to judge (Rashi) — AND WHOM HAVE I DEFRAUDED — robbed monetarily (Radak) — WHOM HAVE I OPPRESSED — [D] extorted with coercion and force (Targum Yonatan) — AND FROM WHOSE HAND HAVE I TAKEN A RANSOM — [E] to pervert judgment (Radak) — THAT I SHOULD HIDE MY EYES IN IT — without punishing him with the punishment fitting for him — AND I WILL RESTORE IT TO YOU — upon your words (Metzudat David):
4 AND THEY SAID: YOU HAVE NOT DEFRAUDED US — robbed us — AND YOU HAVE NOT OPPRESSED US — and you have not extorted us by force — AND YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN ANYTHING FROM ANY MAN’S HAND — any thing, even by way of a gift, for he did not benefit from any person (Malbim):
5 AND HE SAID TO THEM, — Shmuel — HASHEM IS A WITNESS AGAINST YOU, AND HIS ANNOINTED — Shaul who was anointed as king — IS A WITNESS THIS DAY, THAT YOU HAVE NOT FOUND ANYTHING IN MY HAND; AND HE SAID: — [F] All of Israel said as one (Radak) [G], and some explain: A Heavenly Voice went forth and said, "I am a witness to this matter" (Rashi) [H] — WITNESS:
6 Once they said, "We have found nothing in your hand" (Metzudat David), then, AND SHMUEL SAID TO THE PEOPLE: — Behold, you all know — IT IS HASHEM WHO ACTED — signs and wonders and marvels — WITH — by the hand of — MOSHE — [I] — AND WITH — and by the hand of — AHARON — (Targum Yonatan) — AND WHO BROUGHT YOUR FATHERS UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT:
7 AND NOW, — since you know that Hashem, Blessed be He, is the One who performed righteousness with you and with your fathers (Radak) — STAND STILL — stand [J] — THAT I MAY JUDGE — and argue (Targum Yonatan) — WITH YOU BEFORE HASHEM CONCERNING — regarding — ALL THE RIGHTEOUS ACTS — the kindnesses — OF HASHEM WHICH HE DID WITH YOU AND WITH YOUR FATHERS — and if so, how did you do evil deeds? (Radak):
8 And he details what the righteous acts are that He performed with our fathers, and that is: WHEN YAAKOV CAME TO EGYPT, AND YOUR FATHERS CRIED OUT TO HASHEM — from the hardship of the servitude (Metzudat David) — THEN HASHEM SENT MOSHE AND AHARON, AND THEY BROUGHT YOUR FATHERS OUT OF EGYPT, AND SETTLED THEM IN THIS PLACE:
9 And upon their coming to the Land, AND THEY FORGOT HASHEM THEIR L-RD, AND HE SOLD — and delivered — THEM — into the hand of the nations (Metzudat David) — INTO THE HAND OF SISERA, CAPTAIN OF THE ARMY OF HAZOR, AND INTO THE HAND OF THE PHILISTINES, AND INTO THE HAND OF THE KING OF MOAB, AND THEY FOUGHT AGAINST THEM:
10 AND THEY CRIED OUT — prayed — TO HASHEM AND SAID: WE HAVE SINNED, BECAUSE WE HAVE FORSAKEN HASHEM AND HAVE SERVED THE BAALIM AND THE ASHTAROTH; BUT NOW DELIVER US OUT OF THE HAND OF OUR ENEMIES, AND WE WILL SERVE YOU — and they did not ask for a king for themselves (Metzudat David):
11 AND HASHEM SENT YERUBBAAL — this is Gideon — AND BEDAN — this is Shimshon (Targum Yonatan) — who came from the tribe of Dan (Rashi), and he was also a reincarnation of "Nadav", [whose name shares the] letters of Bedan (Sha'ar HaGilgulim, Introduction 36) [XI] — AND YIFTACH, AND SHMUEL — [XII] — and even though they did not reign [as kings] over Israel — AND HASHEM DELIVERED YOU — by their hands — FROM THE HAND OF YOUR ENEMIES — who dwell — ROUND ABOUT, — (Metzudat David) — AND YOU DWELT IN SAFETY:
12 But you, when YOU SAW THAT NAHASH, THE KING OF THE CHILDREN OF AMMON, CAME AGAINST YOU — to war — YOU SAID — to me: We will not be like our fathers, for whom the judge would go out before them in war, rather — NO, BUT A KING SHALL REIGN OVER US — and he will fight our battles, even though it is known to you that — WHEN HASHEM YOUR L-RD IS YOUR KING — (Metzudat David):
13 AND NOW, — but now, what is past is gone, because — BEHOLD THE KING WHOM YOU HAVE CHOSEN — because of the salvation he performed, he is — THE KING WHOM YOU HAVE REQUESTED — from Hashem — AND BEHOLD, HASHEM HAS SET A KING OVER YOU; — and since the Holy One, Blessed be He, crowned him and you turned back and chose him of your own accord, after all this, it cannot be retracted, and reign he shall reign (Metzudat David).
14 IF YOU WILL FEAR HASHEM, AND SERVE — Him and keep His commandments — AND HEARKEN TO HIS VOICE — in positive commandments — AND NOT REBEL — [refuse (Targum Yonatan) and rebel (Metzudat Zion)] — AGAINST THE MOUTH OF HASHEM — in negative commandments — THEN BOTH YOU AND ALSO THE KING THAT REIGNS OVER YOU SHALL CONTINUE AFTER HASHEM YOUR L-RD: — then the Blessed One will go before you to war to save you (Malbim):
15 BUT IF YOU WILL NOT HEARKEN TO THE VOICE OF HASHEM — in positive commandments — AND REBEL AGAINST THE MOUTH OF HASHEM — in negative commandments, even though He will seemingly abandon them, nevertheless He will not remove His providence from you entirely, but — THEN THE HAND OF HASHEM SHALL BE AGAINST YOU, — just as it was [XIII] — AND AGAINST YOUR FATHERS — whom He struck every time they rebelled against Him (Malbim):
16 ALSO NOW, — after He agreed to appoint a king over you — STAND STILL AND SEE THIS GREAT THING, WHICH HASHEM — [XIV] — WILL DO BEFORE YOUR EYES — that He will fulfill the requests of the asker even if it is bad in the eyes of Hashem and will not be considered for good (Metzudat David):
17 IS IT NOT WHEAT HARVEST TODAY? — and not a time for rain, and the rain is considered a curse; and despite all this — I WILL CALL UNTO HASHEM — for the rain — AND HE WILL SEND THUNDER AND RAIN; — [XV] — thunders and rains — THAT YOU MAY KNOW AND SEE — that even though Hashem filled your requests, know — THAT YOUR WICKEDNESS IS GREAT, WHICH YOU HAVE DONE — to yourselves, and also — IN THE SIGHT OF HASHEM, — (Metzudat David) — IN ASKING FOR YOU A KING — [XVI]:
18 SO SHMUEL CALLED UNTO HASHEM — for the rain — AND HASHEM SENT THUNDER AND RAIN THAT DAY; AND ALL THE PEOPLE FEARED EXCEEDINGLY — because they sinned by asking for a king for themselves — HASHEM AND SHMUEL — for crowning a king in his lifetime, and as if they loathed him (Metzudat David):
19 AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAID TO SHMUEL: PRAY FOR YOUR SERVANTS TO HASHEM YOUR L-RD, THAT WE DIE NOT; FOR WE HAVE ADDED UNTO ALL OUR SINS — evil, we added onto our iniquities yet another sin (Targum Yonatan) — TO ASK FOR US A KING:
20 AND SHMUEL SAID TO THE PEOPLE: FEAR NOT; — Indeed, — YOU HAVE INDEED DONE ALL THIS EVIL, — and it cannot be retracted, — YET TURN NOT ASIDE FROM FOLLOWING HASHEM — to go after the idols — BUT SERVE HASHEM WITH ALL YOUR HEART — and the sin will be atoned (Metzudat David):
21 AND TURN NOT ASIDE — from following Hashem to go after the idols — FOR [THEN WOULD YOU GO] AFTER EMPTINESS, — these are the idols — WHICH CANNOT PROFIT NOR DELIVER, FOR THEY ARE EMPTINESS — they are vanity and there is no substance in them (Radak):
22 FOR — even though you sin (Rashi) — HASHEM WILL NOT FORSAKE — will not abandon (Metzudat Zion) [XVII] — HIS PEOPLE — and He watches over them in a wondrous manner — FOR HIS GREAT NAME’S SAKE — so that His Name will not be diminished among the nations, that Hashem saves you — BECAUSE IT HAS PLEASED HASHEM — Hashem swore (Rashi) — TO MAKE YOU — always — A PEOPLE — of treasure (Radak) — UNTO HIMSELF:
A witty insight (Melitzah), 'Whom have I defrauded etc. and I will hide my eyes': That I hid my eyes from the light of my eyes, which are dimmed by the sin of bribery—tell me if I have done so (Nachal Sorek, letter B).
It is told about Rav Anan that a certain man brought him a basket of small fish. Rav Anan said to him: "For what purpose?" He said to him: "I have a lawsuit and I want you to judge us." He did not accept it from him on the grounds that he was disqualified from judging him, because bringing the basket of fish constitutes bribery. That man said to him: "Let the master accept [it] from me, and let him not judge us, so that he does not prevent me from offering first-fruits (Bikkurim), for we learned (2 Kings 4:42): 'And a man came from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of the L-rd bread of the first-fruits...'." And they ask: Was Elisha a priest that he should eat first-fruits? Rather, it is to tell you: "Anyone who brings a gift to a Torah scholar—it is as if he offered first-fruits." He said to him: "Now that you have said a reasonable thing to me, I will accept [it] from you." Rav Anan referred him to Rav Nachman, and Rav Anan requested from Rav Nachman to judge him, saying, "I, Anan, am disqualified from judging him." Rav Nachman said: "From this, it is understood that he is his relative, and therefore he did not judge him himself." At that moment, a case of orphans stood before him. Rav Nachman said: "This judging of the case is a positive commandment of 'And you shall judge righteously,' and this is honoring Torah scholars, and the positive commandment of honoring the Torah is great." He set aside the lawsuit of the orphans and brought in the lawsuit of that man. And since his opponent saw that they were showing this man so much honor, his arguments were silenced. Behold, in this that Rav Anan accepted a favor from him—he disqualified himself, and hid himself from him (did not judge him) and sent him to Rav Nachman, and also from this an evil outcome emerged. And this is what Shmuel said: "Even in this manner, I did not take a ransom from anyone to hide my eyes from him by not judging him, and I will restore it to you."
F. Rabbi Elazar said: In three places the Holy Spirit appeared: in the courthouse of Shem, and in the courthouse of Shmuel, and in the courthouse of Shlomo... In the courthouse of Shmuel, as it is written: "Here I am, testify against me before Hashem and before His anointed etc. And he said: Witness." It should have said "And they said [Witness]"; rather, a Heavenly Voice went forth and said, "I am a witness to this matter" (Makkot 23).
G. And the Metzudat David explained that each and every one said, "So is the matter, Hashem shall be a witness," and likewise His anointed shall be a witness.
H. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: "You testify about him regarding what is in the open, and I testify about him regarding what is in secret" (Radak from the Sages).
I. And Rashi explained: "Who made Moshe and Aharon" to be prepared for His mission to bring your fathers out of Egypt. And similarly wrote the Radak: "Who magnified them and taught them."
J. "Stand still"—stand (Metzudat David on 2 Chronicles 20:17).
XI. Yerubbaal is Gideon, Bedan is Shimshon (and Gideon is called Yerubbaal because he made a quarrel with Baal (idolatry), and Bedan is called Shimshon because he came from the tribe of Dan; and it is said (Psalms 99:6) "Moshe and Aharon among His priests, and Shmuel among those who call upon His Name"—the Scripture equates three minor figures of the world with three giants (great ones) of the world, to tell you: Yerubbaal in his generation is like Moshe in his generation, Bedan in his generation is like Aharon in his generation, Yiftach in his generation is like Shmuel in his generation. And to teach you that even the most minor of the minor who is appointed as a leader over the community, behold he is like the mightiest of the mighty (the greatest of the great), as it is said (Deuteronomy 17:9): "And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who will be in those days"—now would it enter your mind that a person goes to a judge who was not in his days? Rather, you have no one to go to except to the judge who is in your days" (Yalkut Shimoni).
It is brought down in the book Me'am Lo'ez in the name of the holy Alshich, may his merit protect us, that Shmuel wanted to tell them by this that salvation is not dependent on a king, but rather on the merit of the righteous of the generation. And let it not enter your mind that through a king one acquires courage, for when Hashem wanted to save Israel, He brought two righteous men into the world to save them through their merit, namely Moshe and Aharon. And after this premise—"Stand still, that I may judge you before Hashem," as if I have been appointed by Hashem to conduct judgment with you, since you saw that it was not through a king that you were saved from your enemies, but through the merit of the righteous, and this was at the time when they went out of Egypt, and the ministering angel of Egypt prosecuted against you and the merit of Yaakov saved them. And so it was in the time of Sisera, and Yerubbaal who smashed the altar of Baal and served Hashem. And Bedan is Shimshon—in the holiness of his Nazirite state, and Yiftach of whom it is said (Judges 11:29): "And the spirit of Hashem was upon Yiftach." And likewise Shmuel. Three great ones came in an acronym (Psalms 84:11): "For a sun (Shemesh) and a shield is Hashem"—Shemesh is the acronym of: Shmuel, Moshe, Shimshon [Note: in Hebrew letters: Shin=Shmuel, Mem=Moshe, Shin=Shimshon], for all three of them put their trust in Hashem and did not benefit from any creature. And every judge and rabbi who rules without any personal bias, no pitfall comes by his hand (see at length in Me'am Lo'ez).
XII. See Chesed L'Avraham (Ma'ayan 5, Nahar 25) who wrote that Shimshon was a reincarnation of Nadav the son of Aharon, who did not want to take a wife, therefore he was punished by having to grind in the house of the women of the Philistines.
XIII. And our Sages of blessed memory explained "the digging up of the dead"—as the Master said: "For the sins of the living, the dead are dug up," meaning, if you rebel against the mouth of Hashem, the hand of Hashem will be against you and also against your rebelling fathers who died, that He will bring them out from their graves to disgrace (Radak verse 15).
XIV. "And just as through my prayer I can change the seasons, so too if war had struck you, there was power in my prayer to stand against the enemy, and you would not have needed to ask for a king in my lifetime, even though I am old" (Rashi).
XV. And Rashi and Malbim explained in another way, and these are the words of Rashi: "And the rains are a sign of a curse, and it is difficult in the eyes of the Holy One, Blessed be He, to bring punishment for nothing; even so, I have the power, and I will call to Hashem and He will send thunder and rain."
XVI. One needs to understand why Shmuel chose specifically this sign of rainfall at the time of the wheat harvest? Rather, this matter is explained well in the commentary of the Malbim: Rain is certainly an explicit sign of blessing, as it is written (Yishayahu 55:10): "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater." However, all this is when the rain arrives in its season and its time, but when the rain comes at the time of the wheat harvest, behold it is a sign of a curse that ruins and destroys the entire crop. So too is your request for the appointment of a king; when Hashem is your King, and you have merited a righteous judge in whom the Divine Presence rests, then the request for a king is like rain at the time of the wheat harvest. And only when they request a king at the appropriate time and at the proper hour for it, then it is considered a good and beneficial thing, and the blessing of heaven rests upon it (Ma'adanei Shmuel).
And even though it is written "You shall surely set a king over you," that means a king whose main concern and business is to publicize His Blessed Name in the world; but they asked for a king to fight for them against all the nations, and therefore they did not do well.
XVII. "For Hashem will not forsake His people"—Rabbi Aibu and Rav Shmuel bar Nachmani said: "At the time when Israel does the will of the Omnipresent, He acts for the sake of His people and His inheritance. And at a time when they do not have good deeds, He acts for the sake of His great Name." And the Rabbis say: "For the people of the Diaspora, for His own sake; for the people of the Land [of Israel], for the sake of His inheritance." Thus, "For Hashem will not forsake His people" (Midrash Tehillim - Psalm 94).
"For Hashem will not forsake His people for His great Name's sake"—whether guilty or innocent, it is impossible to leave them, because the world cannot exist without Israel (Midrash Rabbah Esther - Parashah 7, Paragraph 12).
For He will not forsake"—it is certain that Hashem will not forsake His people, and the reason is for His great Name's sake, for they too are associated with the Name, how could He forsake them? And lest you say that this was only said regarding the righteous but not regarding the entirety of the masses, to this it says "Because Hashem has pleased to make"—the entirety of Israel to be a people unto Himself, that they should all be righteous, fitting to be a people unto Him, for He devises means so that he that is banished be not an outcast from Him, for He will rectify all the souls until they are all righteous, forever they shall inherit the land (Alshich).
