May the month of Iyar be a month of blessings;
blessings of goodness, blessings of joy,
peace and kindness, Friendship and love,
creativity, strength, serenity,
fulfilling work and dignity,
satisfaction, success, and sustenance,
physical health and radiance.
May truth and justice guide our acts
and compassion temper our lives
that we may blossom as we age
and become our sweetest selves.
May it be so.
- Saul, anointed of God (the current king)
- David, the to-be-king
- They DON'T get along
- Samuel, the current prophet
- Nabal, the boorish rich dude who has a lot of sheep
- Abigail, Nabal's cool and kind wife
(23) When Abigail saw David, she quickly dismounted from the ass and threw herself face down before David, bowing to the ground. (24) Prostrate at his feet, she pleaded, “Let the blame be mine, my lord, but let your handmaid speak to you; hear your maid’s plea. (25) Please, my lord, pay no attention to that wretched fellow Nabal. For he is just what his name says: His name means ‘boor’ and he is a boor. “Your handmaid did not see the young men whom my lord sent. (26) I swear, my lord, as Adonai lives and as you live—Adonai who has kept you from seeking redress by blood with your own hands—let your enemies and all who would harm my lord fare like Nabal! (27) Here is the present which your maidservant has brought to my lord; let it be given to the young men who are the followers of my lord. (28) Please pardon your maid’s boldness. For Adonai will grant my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of Adonai, and no wrong is ever to be found in you. (29) And if anyone sets out to pursue you and seek your life, the life of my lord will be bound up in the bundle of life in the care of Adonai; but God will fling away the lives of your enemies as from the hollow of a sling. (30) And when Adonai has accomplished for my lord all the good God has promised you, and has appointed you ruler of Israel, (31) do not let this be a cause of stumbling and of faltering courage to my lord that you have shed blood needlessly and that my lord sought redress with his own hands. And when Adonai has prospered my lord, remember your maid.”
End of the story: David is pleased, tells her to go home and he'll make sure good things happen to her. She does, Nabal dies of stubbornness, David sends for her so they can marry, they do and she is silent forever more...
What is going on here? What does Abigail actually tell David and why is it important?
What can we learn from the maneuvering that Abigail demonstrates?
How can we grow and perhaps be even stronger than Abigail?
by Tamar Kadari
The Rabbis depict Abigail as a wise and practical woman, capable of acting at the right moment and in the right way. She saves David from committing unnecessary bloodshed, while at the same time assuring her future. This good woman and David were suited for one another, and their marriage was ordained by Heaven; it was not based on political or economic considerations, but rather on love and mutual appreciation, the roots of which had already been planted the first time they met.
The Rabbis’ positive attitude to Abigail is evident from their deliberations about the number of wives that a king may take. The Torah (Deut. 17:17) mandates that the king “shall not have many wives,” which the Rabbis understood as limiting him to eighteen wives. In this context they add the proviso: “‘he shall not have many wives’—even though they be like Abigail” (M Sanhedrin 2:4). In other words, even if the king’s wives are blessed with good traits and are as righteous as Abigail, he may not take too many.
The Rabbis include Abigail among the four most beautiful women who ever lived. The mere thought of her, even without seeing her, inspired lust (BT Megillah 15a). She is also mentioned among the seven women prophets of Israel (BT Megillah 14a).).
The Rabbis tell how Abigail managed to conduct a weighty discussion with David. She came to him on a pretext, asking him to rule whether she was pure or impure after her menstruation. They deduce this from the verse (I Sam. 25:20): “She was riding on the ass and going down the covert of the mountain,” that is, she addressed him concerning covert things, namely, questions concerning menstruation. David told her: “Can blood be seen at night? Menstrual blood must be seen in the daylight!” Taking advantage of this opportunity, Abigail also responded on matters of “blood”: “Are capital cases judged at night? [David had come to kill her husband Nabal at night.] The decision in capital cases must be rendered in daylight!” David replied: “Since I am king and Nabal refuses my orders, he is deemed to be rebelling against the king, and as such may be put to death without a trial.” Abigail retorted: “Saul still reigns, and you are not the ruler. Your coin (matbea) bearing your name, declaring you to be king, has not yet been issued.” This argument won over David, and he conceded to Abigail (v. 33): “And blessed be your prudence” (BT Megillah 14a–b).
Before taking her leave of David, Abigail tells him (v. 31): “And when the Lord has prospered my lord, remember your maid.” The Rabbis respond to this with a popular saying: “While a woman talks she spins,” which praises woman’s ability to engage simultaneously in two activities that require one’s attention. Abigail was indeed blessed with this trait, characteristic of women. She engaged in her husband’s affairs and tried to save his life, while at the same time she wisely laid the foundation for the future, by asking that David favorably remember her for her actions.
In the late Midrash Abigail is listed among the twenty-three truly upright and righteous women who came forth from Israel (Midrash Tadshe, Ozar ha-Midrashim [Eisenstein], p. 474).
Bibliography
Brooks, Geraldine. The Secret Chord. Penguin, 2016.
Biala, Tamar, editor. Dirshuni: Israel Women Writing Midrash (Hebrew). First and Second Editions.
Shaked, Malka. לנצח אנגנך: המקרא בשירה העברית החדשה.
Shamir, Moshe. "Kivshat HaRash: Sippur Uriah HaHiti." Israel, Sifriat HaPoalim.
Reviewed in Jacobson, David C. Modern Midrash: The Retelling of Traditional Jewish Narratives by Twentieth-Century Hebrew Writers. SUNY Press, 2012.
- Hulda is a prophetess, cousin to Jeremiah (another prophet). She is married to the kings wardrobe man.
- Josiah, an ancestor of David, is king in Jerusalem
- Hilkiah is the high priest
(13) [Josiah said to Hilkiah:] “Go, inquire of Adonai on my behalf, and on behalf of the people, and on behalf of all Judah, concerning the words of this scroll that has been found. For great indeed must be the wrath of Adonai that has been kindled against us, because our fathers did not obey the words of this scroll to do all that has been prescribed for us.”
(15) [Hulda] responded: “Thus said Adonai, the God of Israel: Say to the man who sent you to me: (16) Thus said Adonai: I am going to bring disaster upon this place and its inhabitants, in accordance with all the words of the scroll which the king of Judah has read. (17) Because they have forsaken Me and have made offerings to other gods and vexed Me with all their deeds, My wrath is kindled against this place and it shall not be quenched. (18) But say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Adonai: Thus said Adonai, the God of Israel: As for the words which you have heard— (19) because your heart was softened and you humbled yourself before Adonai when you heard what I decreed against this place and its inhabitants—that it will become a desolation and a curse—and because you rent your clothes and wept before Me, I for My part have listened—declares Adonai. (20) Assuredly, I will gather you to your fathers and you will be laid in your tomb in peace. Your eyes shall not see all the disaster which I will bring upon this place.” So they brought back the reply to the king.
Hulda doesn't speak of the book, only of its message. What does she do that is unique to the role of the prophet?
So how do we share our truth in a way that is heard, and not in a way that is shut down?
Also, how do you talk in a way that you communicate effectively, especially in a patriarchal society?
by Tamar Kadari
Huldah is one of the seven women prophets of Israel enumerated by the Rabbis: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther (BT Megillah 14a); she is also mentioned among the twenty-three truly upright and righteous women who came forth from Israel (Midrash Tadshe, Ozar ha-Midrashim [Eisenstein], p. 474).
In the Rabbinic account, three prophets were active in the time of Josiah: Jeremiah, Zephaniah and Huldah. Jeremiah would prophesy in the marketplaces, Zephaniah in the synagogues, and Huldah’s audience consisted of women. The Israelites ignored all this prophetic activity and did what was displeasing to the Lord (Yalkut Shimoni, Zephaniah, para. 566; R. David Kimhi on II Kings 22:14, in the name of the Rabbis).
In another tradition, Huldah lived during the time of Jeremiah and prophesied concurrently with him. Because they were related (according to some rabbinic interpretation), he did not take offense at her prophesying together with him, even though he was a more important prophet. When King Josiah found the Torah scroll in the House of the Lord, he sent messengers to the prophet Huldah, and not to Jeremiah, on the grounds that women are merciful (BT Megillah 14b). Josiah apparently hoped that Huldah would be more moderate in her revelations, or that her compassion would succeed in canceling the anticipated future tribulations. However, contrary to his expectations, Huldah uttered harsh prophecies to the king.
The Rabbis charge Huldah with acting arrogantly when she told King Josiah’s emissaries (II Kings 22:15): “Say to the man who sent you to me”; she should have honored the king and said to his representatives, “Say to the king.” Because of her haughty deportment, she was given a denigratory name, “huldah,” meaning “weasel” (even the Aramaic translation of her name—karkushta—sounds ugly) (BT Megillah 14b).
II Kings 22:14 has Huldah “living in Jerusalem in the Mishneh,” which the Aramaic Targum renders as “study hall,” i.e., academy, a place of Torah. Another view is that she taught the Oral Law (= the Mishnah) to the elders of the generation. According to another tradition, she would preach in public and expound all the subjects mentioned twice in the Torah, and revealed the punishments for those who act counter to the allusions and hidden things in the Torah. These traditions might possibly be connected with the Huldah Gates on the Temple Mount.
When I look in the mirror
Let me try to see what You see—
The self You gave me to be.
Let me find the courage to carry
Forth the dark and the light of it.
In whatever small ways I can,
Let me mirror your ways.