Ishbitzer on the dialogue between Michal and David haMelech

At the beginning of Re’eh when we first read about making a mishkan/mikdash, the Torah tells us, “…U’smachten b’chol mishlach yedchem atem u’bateichem,” (12:7) that you and your household will rejoice.  The parsha then continues and relates that when you cross into Eretz Yisrael and establish a secure country you will build another mikdash, and there, “…U’smachtem lifnei Hashem Elokeichem atem u’bneichek u’bnoseichem v’avdeichem v’amhoseichem…”  (12:12) you and your children and servants and maids will all rejoice.  Here the Torah emphasizes that the simcha will not just be for you and your household, but will spread to the servants as well.  Why the difference?

The Ishbitzer (Mei haShiloach vol 2) explains that the first pasuk is discussing the mishkan, “menucha”; the second pasuk is describing the Mikdash, “nachalah”.  There was simcha in the avodah of the mishkan, but it had limits.  You had to be on a certain madreiga to appreciate what was going on.  The achievement of David haMelech, which culminated in his bringing the aron to Yerushalayim and expressing the desire to build the Mikdash that Shlomo would eventually construct, was to break those limits.  The simcha of avodas Hashem would, through David, not only reach every individual, not only reach the sons and daughters of Klal Yisrael, but would even trickle down to the lowliest servant and maid as well.

 

With this background in mind we have a much deeper understanding of the dialogue between David and his wife Michal in Shmuel II ch 6.  Michal saw the procession bringing the aron to Yerushalayim, and there was David, in the front, dancing and rejoicing like it was Simchas Torah and Purim all rolled into one.  She scathingly chastised David, “Mah nichbad ha’yom melech yisrael asher niglah ha’yom l’einei amhos avadav…”  What a day it is when the king of all of Israel exposes himself [like a fool] before the servants and maids!  This is a simcha shel mitzvah – look at how you are acting and who you are sharing the experience with.  To which David responds, “…V’im ha’amahos asher amart, imam ikabda,” I will in fact be honored by those very maidservants that you dismiss.  David was telling Michal that it from the “amahos,” from the words “avdeicheim v’amhoseichem” that are written in our parsha in connection with Yerushalayim, his city, and not earlier, that he gets the most kavod.  Spreading simcha even to the people on the bottom rungs of the ladder and helping them rejoice in the experience of avodas Hashem is not an embarrassment – it’s a tremendous accomplishment, one which the Torah singles out for praise.  This was the hallmark of Yerushalayim, the Mikdash, of David haMelech.