How far do we go to survive? What mad methods must we sometimes resort to in order to escape hostilities? And how’s chaos sometimes the only way to tap into the creative?
On our pursuit of peace and life - so many paths, so many options, and sometimes only fools fall in love and forge the path to to holiness and wholeness.
Today’s PSLAM unpacks a strange story about the man who, according to the mythic tradition, wrote these poems in the first place.
David, not yet king of Israel, was on the run from King Saul and in order to escape the wrath of yet another king pretended to be a fool - not in his right mind — and thus avoid death.
The curious incident appears in Samuel 1, chapter 21. David finds refuge in Gath, the Philistine city, also the hometown of Goliath - the famous slain giant that got him his fame. When the king finds out that David’s in town he wants to kill him, but then David comes up with this survival trick:
“The king’s words worried David and he became very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. So he concealed his good sense from them; he feigned madness for their benefit. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.”
It works. The king does not think that this madman is the same hero on the run, and David manages to flee.
What does he do next? Well, according to today’s psalm, he then sits down to compose a perfectly profound psalm, in alphabetical order of verses:
לְדָוִ֗ד בְּשַׁנּוֹת֣וֹ אֶת־טַ֭עְמוֹ לִפְנֵ֣י אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ וַ֝יְגָרְשֵׁ֗הוּ וַיֵּלַֽךְ׃
“Psalm Of David, when he feigned madness in the presence of Abimelech, who turned him out, and he fled.”
Ps. 34:1
What’s the background story of this psalm that’s written in the aftermath of this ordeal - or meant to echo it? What is it about the pretense of insanity that then enables David to compose a poem with memorable lines that will later enter the hall of fame?
Robert Alter tries to unpack about of this curious story:
“The superscription refers directly to 1 Samuel 21:14, where David saves himself by playing the madman. The same unusual idiom for feigning madness, “altered his good sense” (shanot ‘et ta’amo), is used in Samuel.
Why did the editor detect a link between our psalm and this incident in the David story?
In all likelihood, the connection he saw was the psalm’s emphasis on God’s rescuing power, even when the just man is threatened with imminent death by his enemies.
Particularly pertinent are these lines near the end of the poem: “Many the evils of the righteous man, / yet from all of them the LORD will save him. / He guards all his bones, / not a single one is broken.”
And perhaps the image in 1 Samuel 21 of the future king of Israel scrabbling on the doors and drooling over his beard may have been called to the editor’s mind by “Near is the LORD to the broken- hearted, / and the crushed in spirit He rescues.”
Whatever the reason for including the backstory, the character of David does not emerge as a fantastic role model. Although he manages to escape the wrath of the king, he does so by deceit, and by pretending to be mad. This will not be the first time the runaway will trick his pursuers. Dishonesty will be a trait he will demonstrate again as king, most famously as he sends a general to die on the front so that the generals’ wife can become David’s wife and the mother of his future heir.
How ironic that this psalm also includes the beautiful reminder that long life and safety will be rewarded to those who cherish truth above all else?
מִֽי־הָ֭אִישׁ הֶחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים אֹהֵ֥ב יָ֝מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב׃ נְצֹ֣ר לְשׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֝שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה׃ ס֣וּר מֵ֭רָע וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב בַּקֵּ֖שׁ שָׁל֣וֹם וְרׇדְפֵֽהוּ׃
Which of you are eager for life and desire years of good fortune? Guard your tongue from evil, your lips from deceitful speech. Shun evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.
Ps. 34:13-15
Maybe these powerful words are there to remind the runaway king, the poet who tried to find peace within his soul, and each of us - to work harder at finding solutions and options for struggles and conflicts that favor truth over lies, the pursuit of peace over the passions of combat?
One of the most beautiful and moving modern adaptations of these words was created a few years ago to celebrate LGBTQ pride month in Israel. Queer Israeli icon Dana International performed this psalm in this incredible video clip created by the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance.
Later this week the Queer community will mark pride month by marching again in Jerusalem, in solidarity with all the suffering, and with prayer for peace, in the city where once David, queer-ish, reigned, and in the entire region where he once lived, loved, fled and fought.
The legacy of this poem, regardless of its strange history, is its most famous, timeless and timely slogan:
“Pursue Peace. Again and again.”
Image: Original Design of Ps. 34:15 by Gabriel Wolff
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Thank you for showing the art work of Gabril Wolff! Very inspiring.