I like the figure of Saul, our first king; modest and a hero, haunted and passionate, who despite the difficulties of leadership knew how to build a kingdom from nothing that would one day be David's. Saul knew that his fate was sealed, which is what Samuel the necromancer foresaw for him: "Tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me" (1 Samuel 28:19). But he did not pull back or, heaven forbid, abandon his soldiers – instead, he set out for battle in all his royal adornments. The war in the valley was a hard one, and the people of Israel were retreating to the mount in the hope that the Philistines' heavy iron chariots would give out. For naught. Many were killed, many fled, three of Saul's sons – Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua – were killed, and the king of Israel was trapped in an ambush by archers and mortally wounded.
Saul fears he will die right away at the hands of the Philistines, and for the far-reaching political and defense ramifications that would ensue from such an act. He orders his armor bearer: "Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me." But the terrible order was too much for the loyal servant. He refused. "Saul took his own sword and fell upon it." The Philistines would not be able to take pride in having killed the king of Israel.
And this is what the mother says to her son who informs her about the defeat at Mount Gilboa, telling her, "So has ended a day of battle and it's evening, how the king fell upon his sword" – "So she said to the courier: Blood / May cover the mothers' feet, / Yet again shall the people rise / If its own country hosts the defeat. / The dead king shall soon have an heir, / For when falling apart he leant / His sword, upon which he died, / On his own, own and only, land / She spoke thus and her voice trembled / And so it was to be, and when David heard of it… " (From "So Has Ended a Day of Battle and Its Evening," by Nathan Alterman).
Alterman read the biblical story well: The battle was lost, not the war, because the soldiers died on their own promised land and not in exile among foreign armies. Therefore, Israel did not lose hope; before Saul fell, the kingdom of David was starting to come together. There is a reason why the national poet included that poem in his volume "City of the Dove," where he wrote the history of Israeli heroes in the 1948 War of Independence.
David, our king, mourned Saul: "From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty" (2 Samuel 1:22). Indeed, his sword returned not empty and his bow did not turn back. In the middle of the lament, in the midst of the words of grief, David includes the spirit of battle: "How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan!" You were a great warrior, and even if the shield of heroes, Saul's shield, was made impure (it hadn't been properly oiled and therefore did not deflect the arrow, which hit Saul) – your sword, my king, will not return empty. It wasn't in vain.
Saul's sword did not return empty because he leaned on his sword in battle on his own land. He has served as an example and an inspiration for the soldiers of Israel in every generation, to defend our people and our land against invaders, and when the time comes – if the land has been occupied by foreigners – to fight to liberate it.
On this day, I am proud to be Israeli. I am full of gratitude for the privilege I have of living at a time like this in our nation's history. May the memory of the warriors of Israel throughout the ages be etched on our hearts and in the nation's memory forever.
