Daily Tanach Tuesday Shmuel 2 Chapter 18: The battle of Dovid and Avshalom [cont.]

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Chapter 18: The battle of Dovid and Avshalom [cont.]

1.     Dovid prepares his men for battle against the men of Avshalom:

  • Generals are appointed: Dovid counted the men that were with him, the generals that were in charge of thousands and the generals that were in charge of hundreds.
  • The Army is split in three: Dovid split his army into three. One third he sent to be under Yoav, the other third he sent to be under Avishaiy the son of Tzeruyah who was the brother of Yoav, and the last third he sent to be under Itai the Giti.

  1. Dovid offers to lead the battle but is refused by the nation:
  • The king told the people that he too will go out with them in battle. However, the people responded to the king saying, “It is better for you not to go out with us to battle, as if we lose the battle and need to flee, the moral loss will not be that great and they will not pride themselves so much over it. Even if half of us die in battle they will still not have much reason for pride. You however are worth 10,000 soldiers, and it is better that you remain in the city to pray for us and help us from there.”
  • The king responded to them that he will do whatever is good in their eyes. So the king stood by the gate of the city while the entire nation of hundreds and thousands went out to battle.

3.     Dovid gives instructions to capture his son Avshalom and not kill him:

  • The king instructed Yoav and Avishaiy and Itai [who were his generals, the heads of his army] that they are to make sure to act patiently with Avshalom [i.e. capture Avshalom alive and not kill him nor harm him]. The entire nation heard this command from the king towards his generals regarding Avshalom.

4.     The battle between the soldiers of Dovid and Avshalom:

  • The soldiers of Dovid went into the field to battle the people of Israel and the war took place [across the Jordon] in the forest of Efraim [where the animals of Efraim grazed[1]]. The soldiers of Israel fled from before the servants of Dovid and it was a great atrocity, as 20,000 soldiers were killed in the battle. There was battle everywhere throughout the land and there were so many deaths to the point that there were not enough animals in the forest to eat the corpses of the dead.

[1] Rashi 18:6

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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