The Reading
The Summary
Shemuel Bet Chapter 15
This is the first of five chapters that are devoted to the rebellion of Avshalom. Avshalom is the consummate politician, patiently and persistently building a following among the Jewish people over many years. He purchases a chariot and horses and hires fifty attendants to serve as his entourage. Then, using considerable political acumen, he brilliantly capitalizes on any lingering dissatisfaction with the current regime. Avshalom makes sure to get up early in the morning every day so that he is the first person in front of the palace. When people arrive from all over the country with cases to bring before the king, Avshalom greets them and listens to their arguments.
Avshalom tells them that the current administration will not be inclined to help them but that if he were in charge, they would certainly be vindicated in their claims. When citizens would prostrate themselves before Avshalom out of respect and deference, he would lift them up, embracing and kissing them instead. In this way, he effectively establishes a broad base of support across all segments of the population.
After many years, Avshalom informs David that he plans to travel to Hevron to fulfill an oath he had taken. Avshalom recounts that when he was living in Geshur and his future was still uncertain, he swore that, were he to be returned to Jerusalem, he would offer sacrifices to the Almighty. In the meantime, Avshalom has planted emissaries throughout the cities of Israel who are poised to declare that Avshalom is the new king of Israel and now rules in Hevron.
David hears the news and immediately orders his men to flee Jerusalem, as their lives are all in serious danger. Except for ten concubines left behind to tend to the household, all of David’s servants depart with him. We then read about a series of people who each desire to join David in exile and each of whom receives a different response.
Itai HaGitti is a non-Jew who followed David since his time in Gat (when he was on the run from Shaul and living in the land of the Pelishtim) and who has chosen to reside in Jerusalem and serve as one of David’s top generals. David urges him to return either to the city or to his homeland; as a foreigner, Itai has no specific attachment to Israel, nor does he have anything to fear from Avshalom. Itai, echoing the words of Rut to her mother-in-law Naomi, declares his absolute allegiance to David and his willingness to follow him wherever he may go.
Tzadoq the High Priest and all of the Levites then arrive, carrying the Ark of the Covenant with them. David orders them to return to Jerusalem, which he has consecrated as the permanent abode of the Ark. If God wills that David be restored to his kingship, he will return to the Ark, but if he does not return, the Ark should remain in Jerusalem regardless. He also suggests that the younger Kohanim, Ahimaatz and Yonatan, may be helpful spies if they stay back in the city and convey critical information to David while he is in hiding.
David and his men ascend the Mount of Olives, weeping and with heads covered. At this point, David is informed that Ahitophel, the most brilliant adviser and tactician in the entire realm, has allied himself with Avshalom. Ahitophel’s genius in military strategy was so formidable that it would render Avshalom practically unbeatable. This alarms David, and he offers a brief prayer to Hashem, asking that He confound the counsel of Ahitophel.
Immediately after concluding his prayer, David encounters his closest friend and adviser, Hushai, who has come to accompany him into exile. Hushai is advanced in years and David feels that traveling with him would be an unnecessary burden. David instead requests from Hushai that he return to Jerusalem and present himself as a supporter of Avshalom who is loyal not to David in particular but to whomever of his descendants occupies the throne.
This way Hushai can attempt to gain entry into the “situation room” and sabotage whatever guidance Ahitophel tries to provide to Avshalom. This will also enable Hushai to pass along classified information and other secrets to David through the young Kohanim who are loyal to him. Hushai agrees and arrives in Jerusalem before Avshalom, so that nobody knows he has been commiserating with David and his claim to be on the side of the rebellion appears credible.
There are many important ideas to explore in this fairly lengthy chapter; we will highlight just a few. The first noteworthy subject is the political strategy of Avshalom. Notwithstanding his evil intentions, there is much to learn from his methodical approach to gaining power. His first step is to project an image of power and influence by acquiring a chariot and a professional entourage.
His second move is to be exceptionally proactive in exploiting any feelings of resentment, dissatisfaction or disenchantment with the current regime. Everyone wants to believe and to be told that they are right and their cause is just, and Avshalom provides them with that validation and therefore gains in popularity.
This also explains why Avshalom sets up his capital in Hevron, which David “left behind” when he relocated the capital to Yerushalayim. It stands to reason that there were people in Hevron who were upset about David’s abandonment of them and of his “natural allies”, the tribe of Yehuda, and who might be inclined to follow Avshalom.
The third element of Avshalom’s strategy is his portrayal of himself as a populist; you don’t bow down to Avshalom, you hug or kiss him, he may seem superior to you but he is one of the people. Ordinary citizens inevitably feel some resentment or distrust of those who wield power, perceiving them as elitist, aloof, distant and indifferent to the concerns of the man on the street; by contradicting this perception with his show of false humility, Avshalom further endears himself to his constituents.
Notice that the text specifically mentions that, before hearing about their cases, Avshalom asked each visiting litigant where he was from; in other words, he showed a personal interest in them by inquiring about their background as individuals and connected with them on a more intimate level, they were not mere “subjects” but were human beings worthy of his attention.
More than anything else, one must be impressed by Avshalom’s patience and forbearance in plotting his rebellion. Avshalom is calm and calculated and therefore quite dangerous; his ambition and inner discipline are what allow him to succeed in the long term and complex project of overthrowing his father. We have seen this quality of Avshalom previously, when he waited quietly for two years before finally seizing the opportunity to punish Amnon for violating Avshalom’s sister, Tamar.
It is also difficult to ignore the similarities between Avshalom’s political strategy and the style of modern election campaigns. The management of the candidate’s image, efforts to tarnish the reputation of an opponent or to capitalize on pre-existent disappointment in the current administration for political advantage, the emphasis on the humanity and accessibility of the candidate who portrays himself as a man of the people as contrasted with the “out of touch” political insiders who are wedded to the establishment, and the penchant for promising everyone everything that they want and telling constituents whatever they wish to hear in order to win their “votes” all sound familiar to contemporary ears. Apparently political culture has not changed too much in the last 3,000 years.
One question to be asked is what the relevance of Avshalom’s politicking is to the prophetic message of the Book of Shemuel? Sure, it is clever and creative, but why does Hashem want us to know this? I believe the answer is very clear and extremely important. When great leaders withdraw, disconnect and become passive, they leave a vacuum that will inevitably be filled by ambitious people like Avshalom. The success of Avshalom’s tactics demonstrate how far removed David was from being a significant presence in the daily life of the citizens of Israel.
This is why David flees the palace so quickly and enjoys such minimal support from his subjects; he has lost interest in them, and they in him, so Avshalom easily works his way into their hearts by occupying the void that David created. Had David continued to be the inspiring, confident and fearless leader he had been in his earlier years, the rebellion of Avshalom would have had no chance whatsoever. However, David’s adopting this passive attitude toward governance gave the green light to Avshalom to pursue his agenda by alienating the population and even convincing Ahitophel, his long-time adviser, that the future was with Avshalom and not with David.
We will hopefully address David’s reaction to the arrival of the Ark in a future summary when we discuss how David understood this whole ordeal, and his role, from a religious perspective. For now, one last matter to consider is the prayer of David, which reveals to us an important lesson as to the philosophy of prayer in Judaism. David recognizes the threat posed by the involvement of Ahitophel and prays to Hashem for Ahitophel’s influence to be neutralized; moments later, Hushai appears and becomes David’s “agent” for accomplishing that goal. David understood that prayer to Hashem is no substitute for human effort; if anything, the process of prayer clarifies for us what steps we need to take to achieve our desired objectives, so that we rely on Hashem to handle only those aspects of the situation that lay beyond the sphere of our influence.