When Michal, David’s wife, rescued him from Saul, David fled, leaving her behind (1 Sam 19:12). Saul gave her as wife to Paltiel (1 Sam 25:44). After the death of Saul, David demanded his wife back. When they took Michal from Paltiel, “her husband went with her, weeping as he went.” (2 Sam 3:13-16). Such a poignant story. We wonder if David ever loved anyone.
I teach classes at Congregation Eitz Chayim (1st and 3rd Weds, 7:30-9:00 pm). All are welcome: prior text study or knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary. Study is interfaith and gender sensitive. We often share snacks and a bottle of wine.
I also lead occasional workshops for Keshet and Nehirim.
Classes and workshops I have delivered are here.
Stay tuned as we pick up our study of King David and all the assorted siblings, soldiers, children, wives and mothers. On October 3rd join us for II Samuel, Chapter 1 & 2. Read David’s poignant lament over the deaths of Jonathan and Saul, and learn about his first days as King over Judah.
“David’s story has a way of shifting out from under us. It is a story that refuses to be tamed, secured, or neatly ordered.”
-Gunn and Fewell: Narrative in the Hebrew Bible.
We will study Ruth in detail. We will read through the text and consider issues of identity (both loss and change), redemption, affliction by YHWH, the role of women in transforming society, love between women, Naomi as a Jobian figure, the significance of the book of Ruth in the biblical narrative, the place of both Ruth and Boaz in the genealogy of King David.
We did a short study at Shavuot; this will be more intensive.
——-Marc Chagall The Death of Saul
Join us as we finish the first book of Samuel (it really finishes with 2 Samuel Ch 1).
Cry with us as we say goodbye to Saul whom we have come to know.
As we study David’s famous elegy over the slain Saul and Jonathan, question with us, “Who is David?”
“Thy beauty, O Israel,
Upon thy high places is slain.
How the mighty are fallen.”
— 2 Samuel 1:19
“David’s story has a way of shifting out from under us.
It is a story that refuses to be tamed, secured, or neatly ordered.”
—David M. Gunn and Danna Nolan Fewell. Narrative in the Hebrew Bible.
Chapter 28 is the story of the ghost-wife, or necromancer, also called the Witch of Endor, who conjures Samuel up from the grave in response to Saul’s plea. Some commentators feel this story is the basis for the witches in Macbeth.
“This woman has defied the decree against calling the dead [Lev 20-27; Deut 18:10-11] and is still adept at her trade. This story sets the stage for centuries of Jewish women’s spiritual arts that were banished underground but somehow managed to survive…Talking directly to God, the spirit world, the dead and angels bypasses the traditional authority structure. It is a rebellious act. It circumvents the authority of the king, the priests, and the institutional prophets.”
“How ironic that an unnamed woman, practicing an illegal craft, becomes advisor to the king!”
—–Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael in The Women’s Haftarah Commentary