Parshas Vayeira 5785
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayera 5785
14 Cheshvan 5785/ November 15, 2024
Dedicated in loving memory of my Savta, Mrs. Minnie Staum, Shprintza bas Avrohom Yitzchak, whose yahrtzeit is 17 Cheshvan. May her memory be for a blessing.
SYMBOL FOR THE AGES
It is fascinating how mislabels stick.
The city of Yerushalayim is inextricably connected with David HaMelech. The Navi refers to Yerushalayim as “Kiryas chanah David – the city in which David camped” (Yeshaya 29:1). Malbim explains that because it is the city where David camped one should conduct himself there with awe of Hashem and His service.
In contemporary Yerushalayim, there are three places named after David HaMelech: Ir David – the City of David, just south of the Sha’ar Ha’ashpos – the Dung Gate next to the Kosel. It contains many archeological sites, including the remains of the palace of David HaMelech. Kever David, just outside the Zion gate, is believed to be the tomb of David HaMelech, and Migdal David – the citadel/fortress of David.
The irony is that Migdal David has nothing to do with David HaMelech. In fact, regarding Migdal David it’s been said that “David didn’t build it, David never saw it, and David never slept there.” Although there may have been some sort of fortress there in David’s time, the current structure has no connection to David HaMelech.
The Byzantines erroneously thought that it was the site of David HaMelech’s palace. They called it the “Tower” of David based on the pasuk in Shir HaShirim (4:4): “Your neck is like the tower of David.” The Arabs would refer to the site as mihrab Dawud, meaning “prayer place of David.”
The architect of Migdal David was actually the evil Judean King, Herod. During the waning years of the Second Beis Hamikdash, Herod fortified the western hill of the city with three massive towers to bolster the city’s defenses and to protect his nearby palace. One tower was named after Herod’s brother Phasael, the second was named after Herod’s friend Hippicus who had been killed in battle, and the third was named after Herod’s wife, Miriam.
For over a thousand years, the name “Tower of David” referred to the broad remains of the Phaseal Tower. During the Nineteenth Century however, the name was transposed to a round Turkish tower located within the fortress. This famous tower is actually a Muslim minaret built in 1636. From the top of the minaret, a Moslem would call the faithful to prayer.
That Moslem tower is depicted on the covers of Siddurim and Machzorim, and there are pictures of the minaret in countless Jewish homes.
Even stranger than Migdal David having nothing to do with David HaMelech, is a Moslem minaret being a symbol of Jewish Yerushalayim.
Some suggest that while David was not involved in building the Citadel, the name “Tower of David” is still somewhat appropriate. After all, it was David who made Yerushalayim the capital of Eretz Yisroel, built up the city, located the site of the Beis HaMikdash, planned for its building and pined to see its completion. David wrote about Yerushalayim, sang about Yerushalayim, and inspired his people to dream about Yerushalayim.
Yerushalayim remains David’s city. Being that the fortress stands behind Sha’ar Yafo – the Jaffa Gate, the main entrance into the Old City, it is appropriate that the area be referred to as David’s fortress.
I also saw a theory about why a Moslem minaret serves as a symbol of the holy city. The Navi Zecharia (12:3) prophesies that, in the future, the nations of the world will try to lay siege over Yerushalayim to conquer it. “And it shall be on that day that I will make Yerushalayim for all the peoples a burdensome stone.” Their very attempts to lay claim to the holy city will become a crushing burden. Their own fortifications and efforts to strengthen the city will serve the purposes of the Jewish people.
Why are Jews fascinated and enraptured by Migdal David? The very fact that the fortress is controlled by the Jewish people in a reunified city of Yerushalayim that once again symbolizes the heartbeat of our nation, is a stunning symbol of divine irony. Numerous marauding armies marched on Yerushalayim and claimed it as their own. Various countries and religions tried, and still try, to conquer the holy city. They developed doctrines and theologies claiming that Jews will never again reclaim Yerushalayim. But ultimately, all their attempts to grab hold of what is inherently not theirs will become a “burdensome stone”. Yerushalayim has again become the ultimate symbol of Jewish ascendancy.
David Hamelech may not have any connection with the Herodian fortress that bears his name. There are those who argue that David isn’t even buried in the tomb that bears his name. But that hardly changes the fact that the holy city will always be “Kiryas chanah David”, the place where David’s hopes and prayers combine with the hopes and prayers of Jews everywhere and throughout time.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
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