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Sophie Aroesty
Solomon Schecter Day School
St. Louis, MO

                         Teach Bnai Yisrael to Listen

    In 1020 BCE, Saul, a young, tall, shepherd boy from the tribe of Benjamin, was
confronted by the priest of Israel, Samuel, with some very surprising news – he was
the chosen person by God to be the new king that Israel had been complaining for.
“Samuel took a flask of oil and poured some on Saul’s head and kissed him, and said
‘The Lord anoints you ruler over his own people.”’( Samuel 1 10:1). So Saul took his
position as ruler over Israel. He gained popularity by leading them in rescuing an
Israelite outpost from invasion. Saul was only king for 20 years, but for some very good
reasons. He disobeyed God and misinterpreted orders. The first mistake was after
some military victories, he tried to rush into battle by performing a sacrifice without the
help of a priest. Another was that Samuel sent Saul to fight the Amalekites, instructing
Saul to destroy them completely and leave nothing alive. However, Saul spared the
Amalekite ruler and the best portion of their flocks, hoping to present them as sacrifices
to God. In 13:8 it says, “When Samuel failed to come… and the people began to
scatter… he presented the burnt offering [ to God].” Samuel was angry with him, telling
him God’s instructions were more important than sacrifices, and tells Saul that a king
shall replace him because he had not followed orders. “Samuel [told] Saul, ‘You acted
foolishly in not keeping the commandments that the Lord your God laid upon you!”’
(Samuel 1 13:13).
    Even though Saul begs for forgiveness, Samuel doesn’t listen, and goes to
Bethlehem where God tells him that he will find a possible king. Samuel finds a young
boy named David, and appoints him as king. When David is appointed, Saul’s power is
replaced with “psychological distress in the form of an evil spirit” (Samuel 1 16:14). It is
relatively confusing what happened next, but I believe the two of them, Saul and David,
are competing for the position as king. David is slowly rising, and Saul is slowly falling.
David’s first position in court is to play the harp for Saul. David seemed more and more
appealing to the people of Israel- for example, when Goliath threatened the existence
of the Israelites, David defeated him, while Saul just sat by. Saul became very jealous
of David and tried to kill him multiple times. David escaped every time and made some
very heroic moves, overtaking Saul. Saul learned to accept David. “Saul said to
David… may the Lord be with you!” (17:37)
    I believe that Saul was an awful leader. I don’t think many could argue his sanity.
But is his sanity the cause of his reckless leadership? When someone cannot make
logical decisions, they should not be in charge of very important ones, like ones
regarding an entire nation’s safety and success. So why did God choose Saul? In
Samuel 1 15:35, it says “the Lord had regretted that He had made Saul king over
Israel.” He had to know that he would bring trouble for the people of Israel. So why
would he choose him? An obvious answer to this question pops straight to my mind.
Why does God make anything bad happen to Israel? Many Biblical examples suggest
that the stories were to teach Israel a lesson. When Miriam gossiped about Moses, she
was “stricken with snow-white scales” (12:10 Bamidbar) in order to teach all, not to
gossip. When Israel was complaining nonstop about food and water in the desert, God
overloaded them with quail, so that they would learn not to complain. When Bnai
Yisrael did not listen to God about the consequences of wanting a king, He gave them
an awful king to prove that they should’ve listened to Him. In Samuel 1, 12:1 “Samuel
says, ‘I have yielded to you… and have set a king over you.” Samuel is implying that
this was their idea, not his or Gods. That is my explanation of why God had chosen
Saul.
    The rabbis have different opinions than mine of Saul’s leadership. Some believe he
was a good leader because of his modesty, he was just, he never sinned, he was
handsome, and strong. They say his only sin was mercy to the enemy (Yoma 22b; M.
Ḳ 16b, and Rashi ad loc.). The rabbis also say he was a better leader than David.
They gave an example, saying that Saul had only one concubine, while David had
many (2 Samuel 21:17; Lev. Rashi 26:7; Yalk., Sam. 138). The rabbis were also
impressed that he followed rules of eating food with “ceremonial purity”, which I believe
is implying the rules of kosher, and that he taught the right way to the people of how to
kill an animal. The commentary just shows how many different sides that this story has.
After learning what the rabbis have said changes my views a little, but not enough to
make me believe Saul was a good leader. I believe that someone very close to God
with important decisions should listen to God no matter what. He didn’t follow
instructions, which was a huge flaw in a person in charge. My conclusion is that Saul
was a bad leader, and that he was chosen to teach Bnai Yisrael to listen to God.