The Talmud is filled with intricate legal discussions, but nestled within its pages and in other Jewish texts are fascinating stories about human nature. And sometimes, these stories challenge our assumptions about even the most fundamental bonds, like the love between parent and child.

The story I'm about to share comes from Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, a masterful compilation of Midrashic and Talmudic lore. It centers on Joab, a prominent figure in King David's court – a military leader known for his keen observations and, let's say, unconventional methods. Joab was a man who liked to understand how people thought.

One day, Joab overheard King David reciting the verse, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him" (Psalm 103:13). This comparison gave Joab pause. Why, he wondered, did David compare God's compassion to a father's love, when everyone knows that a mother's love is typically considered the stronger, more selfless bond?

Intrigued, Joab decided to put David's assertion to the test. He embarked on a journey, determined to observe firsthand the dynamics of parental love. As we find in Legends of the Jews, Joab wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, so to speak.

He came across a poor, elderly man with twelve children. This man, through sheer hard work, managed to provide for his large family, however meagerly. Joab, ever the pragmatist, saw an opportunity. He proposed to the father that he buy one of his children, thus easing the man's burden and providing funds to better care for the remaining eleven.

The father, understandably, rejected the offer outright.

But Joab wasn't one to give up easily. He then approached the mother, offering her a hundred gold denarii (ancient Roman coins) for one of her children. At first, she resisted. The temptation of wealth, however, eventually overcame her maternal instincts, and she agreed to the deal.

Can you imagine the scene?

When the father returned home that evening, he began his usual routine of dividing the bread into fourteen portions – one for each member of his family. It was then that he noticed a child was missing. He demanded to know what had happened. The mother confessed her actions.

The father, heartbroken and enraged, refused to eat or drink. The next morning, he set out to find Joab, determined to return the money and reclaim his child. He was even prepared to kill Joab if necessary. After much arguing and the father's relentless threats, Joab relented and returned the child.

This is the pivotal moment.

As he handed the child back, Joab exclaimed, "Yes, David was right when he compared God's love for men to a father's love for his child! This poor fellow, who has twelve children to support, was prepared to fight me to the death for one of them, which the mother, who calmly stayed at home, had sold to me for a price."

What are we to make of this rather unsettling tale? It's not an endorsement of selling children, that’s for sure!

Perhaps the story is not about devaluing maternal love, but rather about highlighting a particular kind of paternal protectiveness. The father's willingness to sacrifice everything, even his own life, for his child embodies a fierce devotion. Joab's "experiment," while ethically questionable, served to illustrate this point. It seems to be saying that both paternal and maternal love have different expressions, and King David was highlighting a specific aspect of a father's love that mirrored divine compassion.

The story reminds us that love, in all its forms, is complex and multifaceted. And even in ancient texts, we see a willingness to question assumptions and explore the nuances of human relationships.