Haftorah Korach with Commentary from Rashi & Me

14And Samuel said to the people, "Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew there the kingdom."

And Samuel said, etc.,… and let us renew there the kingdom: Since previously,
there was opposition in the matter, and now they were all agreeable.

15And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal, and there
they slaughtered peace-offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the people rejoiced greatly.

1And Samuel said to all Israel, "Behold, I have hearkened to your voice,
to everything which you have said to me, and I have made a king to reign over you.

2And now, behold the king is walking before you, and I have become old and hoary, and my sons are here with you,
and I have walked before you from my youth and until this day.

and I have become old and hoary: Our Rabbis said that he aged prematurely, as it is stated in Tractate Taanith (5b).

3Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed; whose ox did I take, or whose ass did I take,
or whom did I rob; or whom did I oppress, or from whose hand did I take a ransom,
that I hide my eyes therewith, and I shall restore to you."

whose ox did I take: for my work.

or whose ass did I take: When I used to go from city to city to judge them concerning their needs, I used to go on my own ass, although I should have taken (one) of theirs.

or whom did I oppress: Every expression of ‘meruzah’ which follows ‘oshek’ (robbery), is an expression of “robbed and oppressed” (Deut. 28:33), one who robs the poor and oppresses them.

that I hide my eyes therewith: in order to hide my eyes from the judgment because of the money.

and I shall restore to you: all that you will say.

4And they said, "You did not rob us, nor did you oppress us, neither did you take anything from anyone's hand."

5And he said to them, "The Lord is a witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day,
that you have not found anything in my hand, and they said, "(He is) witness."

and they said, “(He is) witness.”: (lit., ‘and he said.’ The Rabbis, taking the word literally, explain that) a bath kol (a heavenly voice) came forth and said, ‘I am witness.’ This was one of three places in which the holy spirit entered the earthly court,
as it is stated in Tractate Makkoth (23b).

6And Samuel said to the people, "(It is) the Lord Who made Moses and Aaron,
and Who brought your forefathers up from the land of Egypt.

Who made Moses and Aaron: to be prepared for His mission to take your forefathers out of Egypt.

7And now, stand and I shall reason with you before the Lord, concerning all the righteous acts
which He did to you and to your forefathers.

and I shall reason: or debate.

8When Jacob came to Egypt, and your forefathers cried out to the Lord, the Lord sent Moses and Aaron,
and they brought your forefathers out of Egypt, and they made them dwell in this place.

9And they forgot the Lord, their God, and He delivered them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor,
and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they waged war with them.

10And they cried out to the Lord, and said, 'We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Baalim
and Ashtaroth. Now, save us from the hand of our enemies, and we shall serve You.'

11And the Lord sent Jerubaal, and Bedan, and Jephtah, and Samuel,
and He saved you from the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelt in safety.

Jerubaal: This is Gideon (Jud. 6:32).

Bedan: This is Samson who came from the tribe of Dan.

and Jephthah: Here are three insignificant leaders with three eminent leaders: Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, to tell you that the insignificant leader in his generation is equal to the eminent leader in his generation. Every court which is appointed over the generation must be followed as though its members were the noblest of nobility.

12And when you saw that Nahash, the king of Ammon, came upon you, you said to me,
'No, but a king shall rule over us,' when the Lord your God was your king.

13And now, behold the king whom you have chosen, whom you have requested,
and behold, the Lord has appointed a king over you.

14If you will fear the Lord, and serve Him, and hearken to His voice, and you will not rebel against
the commandments of the Lord, both you and the king who reigns over you, will be after the Lord your God.

both you and the king who reigns over you will be: Both you and the king who reigns over you will live to a ripe old age.

15But, if you will not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and you will rebel against the commandments of the Lord,
the Lord's hand will be against you and against your fathers.

the Lord’s hand will be against you and against your fathers: Meaning, after it was against your fathers.
Our Rabbis, however, said: (Jeb. 63b) “against you and against your fathers” refers to the digging up of the dead,
which is a visitation of disgrace upon the dead.

16Even now, stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.

stand and see, etc.: and just as through my prayer, I am able to change the seasons, similarly, if a war befell you,
there would be power in my prayer to protect you against the adversary,
and you had no need to ask for a king during my lifetime despite the fact that I am old.

17Is it not wheat harvest today? I shall call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, and you shall know and see,
that your evil is great, which you have done in the eyes of the Lord, to ask for yourselves a king."

Is it not wheat harvest today?: Rain is an evil omen (Taanith 12b), and the Holy One Blessed be He is reluctant to visit retribution for nothing. Nevertheless, I have power; I shall call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain.

and you shall know and see: that it was unnecessary to ask for a king and to treat me with disrespect.

18And Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain on that day,
and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God and let us not die,
for we have added to all our sins evil, to ask for ourselves a king."

20And Samuel said to the people, "Fear not. You have done all this evil,
but do not turn aside from following the Lord, and you shall serve the Lord with all your heart.

21And you shall not turn aside, for then (you would go) after vain things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are vain.

22For the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake; for the Lord has sworn to make you a people for Himself.

for His great Name’s sake: for His Name has spread concerning you,
that He is your Savior and lest the Name of His greatness be diminished.

the Lord swore: (Heb. ‘ho il,’) like (infra 14:24) “And Saul made the people swear (Heb. ‘vayoel’).”