1. The Haftarah of this week’s Torah portion relates how King David led the Ark of G-d from the house of Oved-Edom the Gittite to the City of David. It relates that on the way to the City of David, "David danced with all his might before G-d; and David was girded with a linen ephod." Upon arriving in the City of David, his joy increased; "King David was leaping and dancing before G-d."
We need to understand the significance of the variations in the narrative between David’s actions outside the city and those within the City of David:
- a) Originally, the reading mentions, "David was girded with a linen ephod," however, when describing his actions while inside the City of David, this detail is not mentioned.
- b) Earlier on, it states only that "he was dancing"; there is no mention made of leaping, but in the City of David, he is described as "leaping and dancing."
The continuation of the narrative also requires clarification. When David’s wife, Michal, the daughter of Shaul, saw "King David leaping and dancing," she looked down upon him with disdain for acting in what she considered an unbecoming manner, and she rebuked him for it. David answered her, "Before G-d, who chose me over your father... I will demean myself even more than this." Why did David preface his response with mention of G-d’s choice of him over Shaul? He only needed to explain the reason for his joy.
