The Haftorah for Parashat Chayei Sara

From the Book of Melachim Aleph or the First Book of Kings

King David Installs Shlomo as his successor.

The story line: 1:1-3 In return for tearing of the corner of King Shaul's robe, King David's always felt a chill in his bones. The Haftorah begins with the story of King David being a brought beautiful woman named Avishag in order to warm him in his elder years. He was already married to the maximum amount of wives he could have, 18, so Avishag was employed just to keep him warm and not brought to him to become a wife. 1:4 One of King David's sons Adoniyahu proclaims himself king. 1:5-9 Adoniyahu tries to seize the throne 1:10 However Shlomo, Adoniyahu's younger brother was to become the next king of Israel. 1:11. A wife of King David, Queen Bathsheva and the Prophet Nathan, confer regarding Adoniyahu's will to become king. They decide to bring it to King David's attention. 1:12-16 Nathan confirms to David the news that Batsheva has told King David about his son Adoniyahu having seized the throne from David. 1:17-21 Bathsheva pleads with David to fulfill his promise of her son Solomon becoming the heir to the throne. 1:22-27 The prophet Nathan confirms her words. 1:28-31 Kind David promises Bathsheva to rectify the situation. He takes action by instating Shlomo as the next King of Israel.

The Connection of the Haftarah to the Parasha: In this weeks Torah reading of Shay Sarah we are told of Abraham's old age and the Haftorah speaks of King David's last years.

Haftorahman’s thought of the week. Regarding spiritual matters, a person should not depend on his parent's merits to carry him/her through life. Every person has to be aware of the fact that they themselves have a personal spiritual responsibility and accountability. Therefore we should live life as if, each and every one of us, has our own "spiritual" bank accounts, that we make deposits into when we perform spiritual deeds. Does anyone want to be a "spiritual" millionaire?

King David's Biography: David's father's name was Ishai. but his mother's name is unknown. His name means "beloved." He was a descendant of Ruth the Moabite. He was a shepherd who used tend to flocks of sheep. He was a warrior, who killed lions with his bare hands and is famous for killing Goliath with a single slingshot. He was a musician that played music to calm Saul. (Former King of Israel, and David's father in law.) David was the faithful friend of Jonathan, King Saul's son. King David's died when he was 70 years old. David was supposed to have been still born but Adam prophetically saw this and gave 70 of his 1000 years to David. Adam lived 930 years. He was an empire builder. A failed father. His son was King Solomon, know as the wisest man that ever lived. He had 18 wives. David always felt cold from the time he cut a corner off of King Saul's robe. His name occurs more than a thousand times in the Tanach. He wrote Tehilim (Psalms) the most popular words worldwide used to pray. He brought the Holy Ark containing the two tablets that had the Ten commandments written on them to Jerusalem. The Mashiach (messiah) will be a descendant of King David. David was a "Gingie," also known as a redhead. He was a prophet. The "fourth" meal of (after) Shabbat is called the meal of David. David was told by G-d that he was going to pass away on Shabbat. He also knew that the angel of death couldn't get to you while you are learning torah. So in order to postpone his death David would learn Torah from the beginning, to end of Shabbat. Once Shabbat would end he would have a meal celebrating that he was going to make live for one more week.

Famous Phrases from King David. Psalm 150 or Tehilim, and many of the prayers in the Siddur are from King David's pen. King David has helped us more than any other human being with the words we use to speak to Hashem. David has helped us with saying, "Please, Thank You, You are great!" to Hashem. "Praiseworthy are those whose way is perfect, who can walk with the Torah of Hashem." Kind David sang this celebratory song after he brought the Holy Ark containing the Ten Commandments to the city of Jerusalem.

Timeline: This story took place in the Hebrew year 2924, about 2838 years ago.

Map: The Haftorah takes place in Jerusalem.

Written by: The Haftorahman - Reuven Gavriel ben Nissim Ebrahimoff 5762-2002

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