It turns out, even ancient texts grapple with these questions, offering surprising insights into universal ethics. to Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 8. This isn't your typical dry, theological treatise. It’s a vibrant conversation about divine justice, the importance of ethical behavior, and the surprising way even non-believers can recognize truth.
The passage opens with a quote from Psalms: "All the kings of the earth will praise You, Lord, as they heard the words of Your mouth" (Psalms 138:4). Rabbi Pinḥas suggests that the kings of the world – the non-Jewish world – actually stood up from their thrones and praised God upon hearing certain commandments. Why? When God said, "I am the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:2), the kings thought, "Well, that's what a king would say." Makes sense. And when God commanded, "You shall have no other gods" (Exodus 20:3), they figured, "No king wants rivals!" Similarly, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7) seemed like a king protecting his reputation, and "Remember the Shabbat (the Sabbath) day" (Exodus 20:8) resonated as a ruler wanting his day of rest honored.
But then came "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12). Suddenly, the kings were stunned. "Wait," they thought, "according to our protocols, when you swear allegiance to the king, you renounce your parents! But this God commands the opposite?" That's when they rose and praised Him. The Bamidbar Rabbah argues that they were even more impressed by prohibitions against murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting. Basic human decency, elevated to divine command.
And it gets even more interesting. When God declared, "For what he misappropriated from the sacred he shall pay" (Leviticus 5:16), the kings were again surprised. According to their customs, stealing from the emperor meant a far harsher punishment than stealing from a commoner. Yet, God’s law treated both offenses with a similar level of seriousness. In some ways, sins against a commoner were even more serious! As we find in Leviticus (5:15, 5:21), the Torah emphasizes the trespass against the commoner, almost suggesting it's intentional, even when it's unwitting.
This section of Bamidbar Rabbah isn't just about ancient history; it’s about the essence of morality. It suggests that true justice isn’t about power or privilege, but about fairness and compassion for all.
The text then shifts to a story about King David and a famine that plagued the land. The famine, David learns through consulting the Urim ve-Tumim (a sort of ancient oracle), was a consequence of Saul's actions against the Gibeonites – descendants of converts to Judaism.
The story unfolds, revealing a complex tapestry of justice, compassion, and the importance of treating even marginalized members of society with respect. David learns a powerful lesson: that mistreating those who are "distant" from the community can ultimately lead to the alienation of those who are "near." It's a stark reminder that inclusivity and fairness are not just ideals, but essential pillars of a just society.
The narrative highlights the actions of Ritzpa, daughter of Aya, who tirelessly protected the bodies of Saul’s descendants from scavengers. Her dedication impressed David so much that he finally gave Saul and his sons a proper burial. This act, in turn, appeased God and brought an end to the famine. This, according to Rabbi Aha bar Zevina in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya the Great, demonstrates that sanctifying God’s name is greater than avoiding its desecration. Even though Jewish law dictates that a body shouldn’t remain unburied overnight (Deuteronomy 21:23), allowing the bodies to hang for an extended period ultimately sanctified God’s name because it led to widespread repentance and conversion.
The Bamidbar Rabbah emphasizes that God "draws the distant near," valuing converts and outsiders. This idea is beautifully summarized at the end: "Peace, peace, for the distant and the near" (Isaiah 57:19). It's a call for radical inclusivity, a reminder that everyone deserves respect and compassion, regardless of their background or origin.
So, what does this all mean for us today? Perhaps it's a reminder to examine our own values, to ask ourselves if we truly treat everyone with fairness and compassion. Are we creating a society where justice prevails, not just for the powerful, but for the marginalized? The ancient rabbis of Bamidbar Rabbah challenge us to do better, to strive for a world where even the "kings of the earth" would stand up and praise the principles of justice and compassion.
“A man or woman...” – this is what is written: “All the kings of the earth will praise You [yodukha], Lord, as they heard the words of Your mouth” (Psalms 138:4). Rabbi Pinḥas said: The kings of the nations of the world heard three matters from the Holy One blessed be He, and they stood from their thrones and praised [vehodu]. When the Holy One blessed be He gave the Torah to Israel and said: “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2), the kings of the nations of the world said: He is saying as we would. What king would want another to reject him? Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He, when He said: “You shall have no [other gods]” (Exodus 20:3), they said: What king would want to have a partner? Likewise, when He said: “You shall not take [the name of the Lord your God in vain]” (Exodus 20:7), they said: What king would want people taking oaths in his name and lying? Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He, when He said: “Remember the Shabbat day” (Exodus 20:8), they said: What king would want people not to honor the day that he rested? But when He said: “Honor [your father and your mother]” (Exodus 20:12), they said: According to our protocols, anyone who registers himself to be subservient to the king, he renounces his parents; but this One declares and says: “Honor your father and your mother”? They arose from their thrones and praised him.11All the more so they praised him regarding the prohibitions against murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false testimony, and coveting. When the Holy One blessed be He said: “For what he misappropriated from the sacred he shall pay” (Leviticus 5:16), they said: According to our protocols, anyone who misappropriates a spinning hook from the emperor must give him the blade of a plow,12He is punished much more severely than a person who stole from a commoner, whereas the punishment for one who steals from the sacred (Leviticus 5:16) and one who steals from a commoner (Leviticus 5:24) is the same. but this One declares and says: “For what he misappropriated from the sacred he shall pay”? Moreover, He was more stringent regarding [sins against] with the commoner than He was regarding [sins against] the Most High, as regarding the Most High it is written: “A person who will commit a trespass, [and sins unwittingly]…” (Leviticus 5:15), and regarding a commoner it is written: “A person who shall sin, [and commit a trespass against the Lord]” (Leviticus 5:21); the Torah renders it as though it were intentional.13Although in both cases, one incurs liability to bring an offering only if the act was unwitting, regarding the trespass against the commoner, the word unwitting is not mentioned. Moreover, regarding this one, it precedes trespass to sin, while regarding that one, it precedes sin to trespass. This is true not only regarding an Israelite, but it is so even regarding one who robs a proselyte. Who is a God like this who loves those who love Him, and draws near the distant like those who come near in His name? They stood from their thrones and praised him. Do not say it is only righteous proselytes who converted for the sake of Heaven that the Holy One blessed be He draws near; but even those who converted not for the sake of Heaven, the Holy One blessed be He demands an accounting for the affront to them. That is what is written: “There was a famine in the days of David [for three years, year after year, and David entreated of the Lord. The Lord said: For Saul, and for the bloody house, in that he put the Givonites to death]” (II Samuel 21:1). What is “year after year”? It teaches that they were three consecutive years. When David saw that the famine began to come in his days, he said: Due to the iniquity of five matters rain does not fall: It is due to the iniquity of idolaters, of engagers in illicit relations, of shedders of blood, of pledgers of charity in public who do not give, and due to the iniquity of those who do not distribute their tithes properly. Due to the iniquity of idolaters, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Beware, lest your heart be seduced [and you stray and serve other gods]” (Deuteronomy 11:16), and it says: “The wrath of the Lord will be enflamed against you, [and He will restrain the heavens and there will be no rain]” (Deuteronomy 11:17). Due to the iniquity of engagers in illicit relations, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “You defiled the land with your licentiousness…” (Jeremiah 3:2), and it says: “Raindrops were withheld and [there was no] late rain” (Jeremiah 3:3). Due to the iniquity of shedders of blood, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “For blood defiles [yaḥanif] the land” (Numbers 35:33); blood will cause wrath to settle [yiḥan af] upon the land.14From the previous derivation, the result of wrath is: ”And He will restrain the heavens and there will be no rain.” Due to the iniquity of pledgers of charity in public who do not give, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Clouds and wind but no rain” (Proverbs 25:14). Why? [Because of] “a man who glories in a false gift” (Proverbs 25:14). Due to the iniquity of those who do not distribute their tithes properly, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Bring all the tithe to the storehouse…[test Me now with this…if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out an endless blessing for you]” (Malachi 3:10). During the first year, David began admonishing his generation during the pilgrimage festival, and he said to them: Are there, perhaps, people among you who are idolaters, as the heavens are restrained from having rain fall only due to that iniquity? They went out and sought, but did not find. The second year, he said to them: Are there, perhaps, illicit sexual relations among you, as the heavens are restrained only due to that? They went out and sought, but did not find. The third year, he said to them: Are there, perhaps, shedders of blood, pledgers of charity in public who do not give, or withholders of tithes among you, as the heavens are restrained only due to them? They went out and sought, but did not find. From then on, David said: The matter is dependent solely upon me. He began consulting the Urim and the Tumim. That is what is written: “David entreated of the Lord” (II Samuel 21:1). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: That [indicates] he consulted the Urim and the Tumim. Rabbi Elazar said that the source of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish is that he derives a verbal analogy: penei, penei. Here it is written: “David entreated of the Lord [penei Hashem],” and there it is written: “Before [velifnei] Elazar the priest he shall stand, and he will inquire for him [regarding the judgment of the Urim before the Lord]” (Numbers 27:21). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: David, you are protected from sin; rather, it is due to Saul and the bloody house. That is what is written: “The Lord said: For Saul, and for the bloody house, [in that he put the Givonites to death]” (II Samuel 21:1). “For Saul” – because you did not perform kindness with him and he was not eulogized properly. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: David, is he not Saul who was anointed with the anointing oil? Is he not Saul, who, during his reign, no idol worship was performed in Israel? Is he not Saul, whose portion is with Samuel the prophet, and you are in the land [of Israel] and he is outside the land?15He is buried in Yavesh Gilad, which is located east of the Jordan River. “And for the bloody house in that he put the Givonites to death” (II Samuel 21:1) – Where do we find that he put the Givonites to death? Rather, due to the fact that he killed [the residents] of Nov, the city of priests, to whom they would supply water and food, the verse ascribes to him as though he put them to death.16The Givonites would earn their livelihood by supplying food and water to Nov. Rabbi Elazar said: It is written: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have performed his judgment” (Zephaniah 2:3). What is “who performed his judgment”? It is that he implements His judgment and His reward for performance simultaneously. You find the Holy One blessed be He demanding justice for the Givonites from Saul, and remembering Saul’s deeds in order to pay him a good reward. At that moment, David said: Is it on behalf of these proselytes that the Holy One blessed be He did so to His people? The Holy One blessed be He said to him: If you distance the distant, ultimately, you will distance those who are near. Come and learn from your master Joshua, who, when the Givonites said: “Come up to us quickly, and save us and help us” (Joshua 10:6), Joshua said: Will we burden the community on behalf of these proselytes? The Holy One blessed be He said to Joshua: If you distance the distant, ultimately, you will distance those who are near. Go out and learn from where are your origins? Are they not from strangers, as it is stated: “To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born…[Manasseh and Ephraim]” (Genesis 46:20), and it is written: “For the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea17Hoshea is Joshua (Numbers 13:16). son of Nun (Numbers 13:8)? Immediately, “the king summoned the Givonites and spoke with them. The Givonites [were not of the children of Israel…and the children of Israel had taken an oath to them]” (II Samuel 21:2). “The Givonites were not of the children of Israel” – how is this matter relevant here? Rather, this is what the verse is saying: Because David summoned the Givonites and spoke with them, but they did not accept it18His offer of compensation. from him, that is why “the Givonites were not of the children of Israel,” as David arose and distanced them that they may not marry with the congregation [of Israel]. That is what we learned: The netinim19This is a reference to the Givonites, based on the verse: “Joshua rendered them [vayitnem] that day hewers of wood and drawers of water” (Joshua 9:27). may not enter the congregation.20See Mishna Yevamot (78:2). At that moment, David said: The Holy One blessed be He gave three gifts to Israel: Being merciful, self-effacing, and performers of acts of kindness. Merciful, as it is stated: “He will give you mercy, and He will be merciful to you, and He will increase you” (Deuteronomy 13:18). Self-effacing, as it is written: “So that His fear will be on your faces, so that you will not sin” (Exodus 20:17) – this is a sign for the self-effacing that they do not sin. Anyone who does not have the quality of self-effacement, it is a certainty that his ancestors did not stand at Mount Sinai. Performers of acts of kindness, as it is stated: “So that he shall command his children and his household [after him…to perform righteousness and justice]” (Genesis 18:19), and it is written: “The Lord your God will maintain for you the covenant and the kindness” (Deuteronomy 7:12). And these have none of these qualities in them. Immediately, he arose and distanced them. That is what is written: “The Givonites were not of the children of Israel” – they are not worthy to become intermingled with them. Even though they are proselytes, their ancestors did not stand at Mount Sinai, because they are considered to be of the Canaanites. That is what is written: “But rather from the remnant of the Emorites” (II Samuel 21:2). What is written in their regard? “You shall not marry them” (Deuteronomy 7:3). These too, like them, are not worthy to cleave to Israel. One verse says: “The men of Israel said to the Hivites…” (Joshua 9:7), but here, it calls them Emorites. Rather, they were from the Emorites. Why, then, does it call them Hivite? It is because they performed the act of the serpent.21Serpent is ḥivya in Aramaic. The serpent said: I know that the Holy One blessed be He said to you: “As on the day that you eat of it you will die” (Genesis 2:17). Rather, I will go and deceive them. They will eat and be punished, and I will inherit the earth for myself. The Givonites did the same. They said: We know that the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: “Rather, you shall destroy them, the Hittites, the Emorites…” (Deuteronomy 20:17), “You shall not make a covenant with them…” (Deuteronomy 7:2). Rather, we will go and deceive them, and they will make a covenant with us. Perforce, either they will put us to death and will violate the oath or they will sustain us and will violate the decree. In any case they will be punished, and we will inherit the land for ourselves. Therefore, when Joshua saw that this was so, he said to them: “Why did you deceive us…?” (Joshua 9:23). Joshua said to them: You performed the act of the serpent; therefore, you will receive the retribution of the serpent. Rabbi Elazar said: He cursed them like the serpent, as it is written: “Now, you are accursed” (Joshua 9:23), just as it is written regarding the serpent: “You are more accursed than all the animals” (Genesis 3:14). What is, “the children of Israel took an oath to them” (II Samuel 21:2)? David said: When the children of Israel took an oath to them, they left the matter dependent upon me, so that if I wish to distance them or to draw them near, I have license to do so. I am distancing them. From where is it derived that they left the matter dependent upon David? It is written: “Joshua rendered them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water [for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord to this day, in the place that He would choose]” (Joshua 9:27). Rabbi Ami said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: After it said: “For the congregation and for the altar of the Lord,” what need was there to say: “In the place that He would choose [yivḥar]”? Rather, Joshua left it dependent upon David. He said: I will neither draw them near nor distance them. Rather, the one who is destined to build the Temple [beit habeḥira], if he arrives at the decision to draw them near, he will draw them near; to distance them, he will distance them. When David came and saw that they were cruel, he distanced them. Ezra, too, distanced them, as it is written: “The netinim lived in the Ofel…” (Nehemiah 11:21).22They were distinct from the rest of Israel. In the future, too, the Holy One blessed be He will distance them, as it is stated: “Those who labor in the city,23The midrash is explaining that “those who labor in the city” refers to the Givonites, who were drawers of water and hewers of wood for the altar in Jerusalem. will till it [yaavduhu], from all the tribes of Israel.” (Ezekiel 48:19) – they will be eradicated [ye’abeduhu] from all the tribes of Israel. “Saul sought to smite them” (II Samuel 21:2) – even though he did not smite them, they acted cruelly toward him. This is to teach you that David did not distance them for naught. “In his zeal on behalf of the children of Israel and Judah” (II Samuel 21:2) – even though Saul became angry at them only due to the zeal that he had on behalf of Israel and Judah, and he did so not due to hatred that he hated them. Nevertheless, they did not have mercy on his offspring. What is that zeal? It is due to the fact that they did not reveal to him where David was hiding. Immediately, David sent and summoned them: What is with you and the house of Saul? They said to him: It is because he put an end to our livelihood, and he put seven of our people to death; two hewers of wood, two drawers of water, an official, a scribe, and an attendant. He said to them: What do you seek now? That is what is written: “David said to the Givonites: “What shall I do for you? With what shall I atone, so that you will bless the inheritance of the Lord” (II Samuel 21:3)? He said to them: What benefit will there be for you if you kill a person from the house of Saul? Rather, tell me with what remedy shall I provide you so you will be placated? How much silver and gold shall I give you as ransom for your lives? “With what shall I atone [akhaper],” just as it says: “When ransom [kofer] is imposed upon him, he shall give redemption of his life” (Exodus 21:30), so that the famine will cease? That is what is written: “So that you will bless the inheritance of the Lord”; just as it says: “Jacob blessed Pharaoh” (Genesis 47:7), he blessed him that the famine would cease. “The Givonites said to him: We have [lanu] no silver or gold with Saul or with his house” (II Samuel 21:4) – li is written, but it is read lanu.24Li means “I have,” whereas lanu means “we have.” Why is it so? David said to them: ‘What benefit would there be for you in their being killed? Take silver and gold for yourselves.’ They said to him: ‘We do not seek silver and gold from Saul and from his house. He did not owe us any money so that we should take money from him, but rather, he owes us lives and we seek lives.’ David said: Perhaps this half of them is intimidated by the other half. He took each one separately and sought to placate him by himself. He said to him: ‘What benefit would there be for you in their being killed? Take money.’ He said to him: ‘I have no silver or gold with Saul or with his house. We have no interest in seeking any others, but only him, as his servants did not wish to extend their hand against the priests, nor against us,’ as it is stated: “But the king's servants were unwilling to extend their hand to harm the priests of the Lord” (I Samuel 22:17). That is, “We would not have any man in Israel put to death” (II Samuel 21:4). When David saw that they did not accept it from him, he said to them: ‘What do you say that I should do for you? If it is lives that you seek, I will do it.’ That is what is written: “What do you say that I shall do for you?” (II Samuel 21:4). When David said that to them, they said to him: ‘We do not seek to exact retribution against him for his full measure. He sought to destroy us all, so we would have no standing within the entire boundary of Israel; we are not demanding all his offspring, but only seven, corresponding to the seven that he killed from us.’ That is what is written: “They said to the king: The man who eradicated us [asher kilanu], and who devised against us, [so that we would be destroyed from standing within the entire border of Israel]” (II Samuel 21:5). Asher kilanu contains seven letters, corresponding to the seven people among them whom he put to death. “Let seven men of his offspring be given to us, and we will impale them before the Lord in Giva of Saul, chosen of the Lord” (II Samuel 21:6) – so that the entire world will see, will be afraid, and will no longer continue to mistreat proselytes. That is why it is written: “Before the Lord,” as He commanded to treat proselytes well, but he mistreated them. Why in Giva of Saul? So that they will know that if the Holy One blessed be He did not show favor to the king, all the more so to commoners. “Chosen of the Lord” (II Samuel 21:6)? They are denouncing him and calling him “chosen of the Lord”? Rather, they said: “In Giva of Saul,” and a Divine Voice emerged and said: “Chosen of the Lord.” When David saw that his problem was a problem, he told them: ‘I will give.’ That is what is written: “The king said: I will give” (II Samuel 21:6). “The king had compassion for Mefivoshet son of Yonatan [son of Saul]” (II Samuel 21:7) – because he was a great Torah personality, David set his sights on rescuing him from their hand. David said: I will pass them before the altar. Anyone whom the altar accepts will be under its auspices. He passed them before the altar and prayed on his behalf, and the altar went and accepted him. That is what is written: “I cry out to God Most High, to the Almighty who accomplishes for me” (Psalms 57:3); the Holy One blessed be He agreed with David. “The king took the two sons of Ritzpa daughter of Aya, whom she bore to Saul…[and the five sons of Mikhal daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzilai the Meḥolatite]” (II Samuel 21:8). But is it not written: “Mikhal daughter of Saul did not have a child until the day of her death” (II Samuel 6:23)? And where is Merav?25Merav was married to Adriel (I Samuel 18:19). Say now that they were the sons of Merav, but Mikhal raised them and they are attributed to her name. “He gave them into the hand of the Givonites, and they impaled them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them [shevatam] fell together” (II Samuel 21:9). Shevatam is written without a yod;26As opposed to shivatayim. this is Mefivoshet, who was spared, who was lacking from the seven. “And they were put to death during the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest” (II Samuel 21:9) – it teaches that they were killed on the sixteenth of Nisan, the day on which the omer is sacrificed. “Ritzpa daughter of Aya took sackcloth, and spread it for herself over the rock [hatzur]” (II Samuel 21:10) – what is “over the rock”? Rabbi Hoshaya said: “As she would say: “The Rock, His deeds are perfect” (Deuteronomy 32:4). “From the beginning of harvest until water dripped upon them from the heavens” (II Samuel 21:10) – Rabbi Aḥa bar Zevina said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya the Great: Sanctifying the Name is greater than profaning the Name. Regarding profaning the Name, it is written: “His corpse shall not remain overnight upon the tree” (Deuteronomy 21:23).27Leaving a corpse hanging on the tree for an extended time is considered to be profaning the Name. See Rashi on Deuteronomy 21:23. Regarding sanctifying the Name, it is written: “From the beginning of harvest until water dripped upon them from the heavens.”28The sanctification of the Name caused by leaving them on the tree for an extended period outweighs the profanation of the Name caused by leaving them. It teaches that they remained hanging from the sixteenth of Nisan until the seventeenth of Marḥeshvan. But is it not written: “Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, [and sons shall not be put to death for the fathers]” (Deuteronomy 24:16)? But sons died for the sin of their father. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: It is preferable for one letter to be uprooted from the Torah than to have the name of Heaven profaned in public. The nations of the world were saying: The Torah of these is fraudulent; it is written in their Torah: “His corpse shall not remain overnight” (Deuteronomy 21:23), and these are hanging for seven months. It is written in their Torah: Two are not sentenced on one day,29Mishna Sanhedrin 45b. and these seven were [sentenced] together. It is written in the Torah: “Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, [and sons shall not be put to death for the fathers],” but these were killed for the sin of their fathers. They were asking: What did these do that the attribute of justice was altered in their regard? Israel would say to them: ‘It is because their ancestors extended their hand to mistreat unsought proselytes.’ They said to them: ‘What is their nature?’ They [Israel] said to them: ‘These are the proselytes who converted in the days of Joshua.’ They said to them: ‘It is on behalf of these accursed unsought proselytes that the Holy One blessed be He did so to His people? If this is so for the sons of kings, all the more so for commoners. If for these who did not convert for the sake of Heaven, see how the Holy One blessed be He exacted punishment for their blood, one who converts for the sake of Heaven, all the more so. Certainly, there is no god like their God, and there is no nation like their nation, and we should cleave only to this nation, whose God is greater than any god.’ Immediately, many proselytes converted from the nations of the world, at that moment, one hundred fifty thousand, as it is stated: “Solomon counted all the proselytes who were in the Land of Israel, after the count that David his father counted them; and they were found to be one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred” (II Chronicles 2:16). Solomon rendered from among them seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand quarriers in the mountains, as it is stated: “Solomon counted seventy thousand porters [and eighty thousand quarriers in the mountains.]” (II Chronicles 2:1). Why to that extent? It is to inform that the Holy One blessed be He draws the distant near and supports the distant like the near. Moreover, he gives precedence to the distant over the near, as it is stated: “Peace, peace, for the distant and the near” (Isaiah 57:19). That is, “until water dripped upon them from the heavens” (II Samuel 21:10). What is “she did not allow the birds of the heavens to rest upon them” (II Samuel 21:10)? Come and see the kindness that Ritzpa daughter of Aya performed on their behalf, as she protected them during the day from the birds of the heavens and at night from the beasts of the field, for seven months. Although the Holy One blessed be He had said to David that it was for Saul, because he was not eulogized properly and he is buried outside the land, David was dilatory regarding the eulogy, as he said: Twelve months of the year have passed already, and it is not customary to mourn for him. When they told him of the actions of Ritzpa daughter of Aya, he reasoned an a fortiori inference himself: If she, who is a woman, acted so in performance of kindness, I, who am king, all the more so. Immediately, he went to perform kindness for them. That is what is written: “It was reported to David what [Ritzpa daughter of Aya] had done.… David went and took the bones of Saul [and the bones of Yonatan his son].… He took up from there the bones of Saul [and the bones of Yonatan his son, and they collected the bones of the impaled]’ (II Samuel 21:11–13). What did David do? He stood and assembled all the elders of Israel and the eminent among them, and they crossed the Jordan and came to Yavesh Gilad. They located the bones of Saul and Yonatan, placed them in a coffin, and crossed the Jordan, as it is stated: “They buried the bones of Saul and Yehonatan his son [in the land of Benjamin in Tzela, in the grave of Kish his father. They did everything that the king commanded]” (II Samuel 21:14). What is “in Tzela, in the grave of Kish his father”? It teaches that they brought him to the border of Jerusalem and buried him there, as Tzela is alongside Jerusalem, as it is stated: “And Tzela, HaElef, and the Yevusite, which is Jerusalem…” (Joshua 18:28). “They did everything that the king commanded” (II Samuel 21:14) – what did the king command? He commanded that they should circulate Saul’s coffin to each and every tribe. The tribe into which Saul’s coffin entered would emerge, they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, and they performed kindness for Saul and his sons, so that all of Israel would fulfill their obligation with the performance of acts of kindness. They did so until they reached his ancestral land, to the border of Jerusalem. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that all of Israel had performed acts of kindness for him and had executed justice for the Givonites, He immediately became filled with mercy and provided rain on the land, as it is stated: “God acceded to the entreaty of the land thereafter” (II Samuel 21:14). We learned the extent to which the Holy One blessed be He draws the distant near, even though they converted not for the sake of Heaven, and it goes without saying regarding righteous proselytes. That is, “all kings of the earth will praise You, Lord…” (Psalms 138:4).
