Shimshon (Samson) means, "man of the sun". He was the 13th of 14 Judges and ruled for 20 years. Shimshon was a Nazir, one that is dedicated to HaShem by promising to abstain from intoxicants, cutting one's nails and hair. He was from the tribe of Dan and the city of Zorah. He was famed for his strength despite his legs being lame. He fought against the Philistines but married their women. His mother's name was Zelponis and his father's name was Manoach. Shimshon lived in the city of Zorah, which was a part of the tribe of Dan. He was the savior of the Jews from the Philistines. However, the battles that Shimshon waged with the Philistines were almost always "personal adventures," often in response to personal affronts and confrontations. In this way he protected the Jews from retribution from the Philistines. The story of the dedication of Shimson as a nazir serves as the Haftorah for Parshas Naso.
Shimshon's Mother Dreams of an Angel
Like many other heroes, Shimshon was born to an older couple who had given up hope of having children. When his mother was pregnant, she had a dream in which an angel told her that her son would be special. Because of this, she was not to drink wine or other liquor, or to eat anything unclean. When the boy was born she was not to cut his hair, for he was to be a Nazir. He would be destined to deliver Israel from its enemies. When the baby's father was told this, he asked that the angel give them further instructions about how to raise their son. This the angel did, appearing again to the mother when she was out in the fields. This time she ran and got her husband, who came and asked the angel how they should raise the boy. The angel replied that they must not let him eat anything that came from a grapevine, or drink wine or other intoxicants, or eat anything unclean. After this the father, Manoah, offered a young goat on a rock to HaShem and the angel ascended to the sky in the flames of the fire.
The Girl from Timnath
Shimshon's mother eventually gave birth, and the boy was called Shimshon. When he was grown to manhood, he became a fighter, leading his people against their enemies the Philistines. Despite this, Shimshon “appeared” to have a weakness for Philistine girls. He saw and fell in love with one in a town called Timnath. 'Get her for me,' he said.
But his parents objected. 'Can't you marry an Israelite girl instead?' they asked.
'Get me that one,' said Shimshon. 'She is the one who pleases me.'
So they set out for Timnath, to arrange the marriage. On the way Shimshon killed a lion with his bare hands - but somehow his parents did not know about this, and he did not tell them. Later he found a swarm of bees and honey inside the dead body of the lion. He took the honey and gave some to his parents, still not telling them where it came from. Then they went on to arrange the marriage.
They returned home, and when it came time for the wedding Shimshon again walked to Timnath. He looked for the carcass of the lion he had killed and found it. It was full of bees. He scooped out the honey and ate it.
The Wedding Banquet and the Riddle
According to custom, Shimshon and his family had to give a banquet for the girl and all her family and friends - there were thirty people altogether. At the banquet, Shimshon made the guests a proposition. 'I will tell you a riddle,' he said. 'If you can solve it, I will give you each a new set of clothing. If you cannot solve it, you must each give me a new set of clothing - thirty sets in all.' The guests accepted his challenge.
This was the riddle: 'Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet.'
The guests puzzled and wondered, but they could not solve the riddle. But they had agreed to pay if they lost. So in desperation they went to the young girl and told her that she must find out the answer, or they would be seriously out of pocket. If she did not wheedle the answer out of Shimshon, something nasty would happen.
The Riddle is Solved
Frightened and upset, she went to Shimshon and him, she persuaded him to tell her the answer, and then she relayed it to the guests. That evening, the smirking men were able to tell Shimshon the answer to his riddle. 'What is sweeter than honey, and stronger than a lion?' Shimshon saw at once he had been tricked. He said 'If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would not have guessed my riddle!'
He still had to pay the debt to his wedding guests. So he went down to the Philistine city of Ashkelon and there he murdered thirty men, stripped the clothes off the bodies, and gave them to the men who had answered the riddle. Then, appearing to still be full of anger, he went home to his parents' house. Later, Shimshon went back to visit his wife, bringing gifts for her. But her father would not even let him into the house. 'I gave her to one of the wedding guests', he said. 'But don't worry. She has a younger sister who is prettier. You can have her.'
Taking Revenge
The girl's father had gone too far. Shimshon caught a large number of foxes, set their bushy tails on fire, and then released them into the wheat fields, vineyards, olive groves and storage silos of the Philistines, causing terrible havoc. In response, the Philistines went to the girl's house and burned it to the ground, with her and her father inside. Then they went after Shimshon.
He was hidden in a cave. Only when his own people begged him to surrender did he come out. His own people bound him with new ropes and took him to the Philistine leaders - he did not resist. But once there, when the Philistines began to torment him, he easily broke the ropes, picked up the jawbone of a dead donkey and killed a large number of men with it.
Delilah Appears
Some time later after many other victories against the Philistines, Shimshon again fell in love, this time with a Philistine woman called Delilah. When they found out about it, the Philistine leaders came to her offering a large sum of money if she could find out the secret of Shimshon's strength. Delilah asked and asked; each time Shimshon put her off with false answers.
If she tied him up with seven fresh tendons that had not been dried, he said, he would be as weak as a kitten. She tried it, and it didn't work. He simply threw off the tendons and laughed at her. If he were bound with new ropes that had never been used, he said, he would be weak. But she did that, and he simply broke the ropes apart. If she wove seven locks of his head into her weaving loom, he said, he would be weak. She did it, and he simply pulled his hair out of the weave. She was angry and frustrated. Three times you have deceived me, she said - and finally he told her the truth. I am strong because my hair has never been cut. If it were cut I would lose all of my strength. This time Delilah sensed he had told the truth. She sent a message to the Philistine leaders. "Come and get him", she said.
Delilah Cuts Off Shimshon's Hair
That night when Shimshon was sleeping she cut off his hair, and when he awoke, his hair and his strength were gone. He was easy prey for the Philistines, who took him away and gouged out his eyes. Death would have been kinder, but they were in no mood to be kind.
Shimshon, now blind, was taken to the city prison. There he was loaded down with chains and set to work in the mill, turning the wheel that ground the flour. But slowly his hair grew back.
One day he was brought out to amuse a crowd at a religious festival to honor their idol Dagon. He was placed on view between two large columns that supported the roof. He asked the boy who was leading him to put his hands against the pillars, and then he prayed to HaShem for strength, just one more time. He pushed on the pillars with all his might. The roof of the temple shuddered; he pushed more. Then it came crashing down onto the screaming crowd of Philistines and upon himself.
Lesson
G-d stipulated a special 'off-balance' element for Shimshon - that he should be a Nazirite. This was to make Shimshon develop other spiritual traits to 'maintain equilibrium', such as exemplary self-control and keen judgment. And when combined with miraculous strength, the salvation could be complete. The Israelites, at their lowest spiritual point, would be sufficiently impressed to change their idolatrous habits when they would see how G-d miraculously supports those showing exemplary desire to do His will.
