Shmuel Alef 7

לעילוי נשמות אמתינו היקרות Esther Oppenheimer and Sarah Shenker עליהן השלום, each deeply devoted and proud to transmit their families’ Torah legacy to the next generations. From their children, Nina and Chaim Shenker

Discombobulating the Philistines

The people of Kiryas Ye'arim took the Ark and put it in the house of a man named Avinadav, where it would reside for twenty years. Shmuel then presided over a national teshuvah movement. ("Teshuvah" means repentance, or a return to G-d.) The Jews discarded their idols and turned to G-d.

At a national gathering in Mitzpah, the Philistines attacked the nation. The people cried out to Shmuel to pray for them. He did and G-d sent thunderous noises that so discombobulated the Philistines that they were easily defeated. Shmuel established a monument to the event and called it "even-ezer," meaning "the rock where G-d helped us."

After this, the Philistine threat subsided and they remained in the background for the duration of Shmuel's tenure as a Judge. Shmuel was an exceptional Judge, traveling the country to go to the people, rather than expecting them to come to him. Unfortunately, the rigors of his self-imposed routine made him old before his time.

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz