Haftarah for Chayyei Sarah: What would be, was; what will be, who among us knows?
1 Kings 1: 1 - 31
The story told in this haftarah concerns the succession to the dying King David. He had promised Bathsheba that her son, Solomon, would succeed him, but Adonijah schemed to replace his father, even having himself proclaimed king while David still lived. Bathsheba, with the help of the prophet Nathan, roused David, who repeated his oath to Bathsheba.
In retrospect, everything seems inevitable. Solomon naturally followed David, the wise and reverent king succeeding the politically and militarily adept king. But as something is happening, it is by no means clear to those involved what the outcome will be. "Minerva's owl spreads its wings only at dusk," Hegel wrote, meaning you can't understand something until it is over.
God certainly knew who would and should replace David. Only Solomon could have built the Temple. Without what the Chinese call "the mandate of Heaven," it was not possible to rule ancient Israel. Adonijah never had a chance to be a legitimate successor (although there's no way he could have known that). Nor was he the last to plot for a throne. The breakdown of David's kingdom later on, as schemers fought each other, was one of the causes of the exile to Babylonia and the destruction of Solomon's Temple.
But it isn't always clear what God's will is, not then and especially not now. We can read the Bible, but, as I said, the past always looks inevitable. People who insist that they know who God wants to rule are at best misguided and at worst knaves. There are no more prophets, unfortunately. We're on our own. Lincoln prayed, not that God was on his side, but that he was on God's side. So may we all pray. But we can never be certain, so we should all be humble.
(Note: all citations from Eitz Chayim ("Tree of Life"), the official Chumash (printed version of the Torah) of the Conservative Movement (copyright 2001 by the Rabbinical Assembly; Hebrew text, based on Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarensia, copyright 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society; English translation copyright 1985, 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society).
(Except as otherwise specifically noted and referenced, all commentaries are mine.)
The story told in this haftarah concerns the succession to the dying King David. He had promised Bathsheba that her son, Solomon, would succeed him, but Adonijah schemed to replace his father, even having himself proclaimed king while David still lived. Bathsheba, with the help of the prophet Nathan, roused David, who repeated his oath to Bathsheba.
In retrospect, everything seems inevitable. Solomon naturally followed David, the wise and reverent king succeeding the politically and militarily adept king. But as something is happening, it is by no means clear to those involved what the outcome will be. "Minerva's owl spreads its wings only at dusk," Hegel wrote, meaning you can't understand something until it is over.
God certainly knew who would and should replace David. Only Solomon could have built the Temple. Without what the Chinese call "the mandate of Heaven," it was not possible to rule ancient Israel. Adonijah never had a chance to be a legitimate successor (although there's no way he could have known that). Nor was he the last to plot for a throne. The breakdown of David's kingdom later on, as schemers fought each other, was one of the causes of the exile to Babylonia and the destruction of Solomon's Temple.
But it isn't always clear what God's will is, not then and especially not now. We can read the Bible, but, as I said, the past always looks inevitable. People who insist that they know who God wants to rule are at best misguided and at worst knaves. There are no more prophets, unfortunately. We're on our own. Lincoln prayed, not that God was on his side, but that he was on God's side. So may we all pray. But we can never be certain, so we should all be humble.
(Note: all citations from Eitz Chayim ("Tree of Life"), the official Chumash (printed version of the Torah) of the Conservative Movement (copyright 2001 by the Rabbinical Assembly; Hebrew text, based on Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarensia, copyright 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society; English translation copyright 1985, 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society).
(Except as otherwise specifically noted and referenced, all commentaries are mine.)
posted by Tom Beck at 11:10 PM
1 Comments:
Tom
This is off topic and I don't know if you visit this blog anymore ( the last post was a while ago) but I can't find an email address for you. I saw a post on the Velveteen Rabbi blog where you referenced a story of Sarah following Isaac and Abraham up the mountain and bringing the ram along. Do you know the origin of this story? I heard it on the radio several years ago and would love to find it again and share it with my book group.
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