Parshas Vayechi 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Jan 1
- 2 min read
ויקרבו ימי דוד למות ויצו את שלמה בנו לאמר ... (מלכים א' ב-א)
Dovid HaMelech was on his deathbed, and began to make preparations. His son Shlomo had already assumed the throne and Dovid now commanded him on various matters. Interestingly, the Medrash (Koheles Rabbah 88:8) tells us that throughout Tanach the words "המלך דוד" are written 52 times. Here, when Dovid is giving his final instructions, the Navi does not refer to Dovid as a king. Rather, the Navi states, "ויקרבו ימי דוד" and not "ויקרבו ימי המלך דוד". Why is this so?
R’ Tzvi Goldberg zt”l (Ateres Tzvi) answers that the reason is because "אין שלטון ביום המות" - “a person is not a ruler on the day of his death.” However, says the Vilna Gaon zt”l, during the terrible oppression of the Egyptians, the Torah tells us "וימת מלך מצרים" - insinuating that Pharaoh was still king on the day of his death. Thus, the Gaon answers that Pharaoh must have not actually died, but rather he had become inflicted with a terrible illness, and as Chazal tells us, he bathed in the blood of Jewish children to alleviate his pain.
While the answer to our question is clear - Dovid was on his deathbed and was obviously no longer in command - a deeper lesson may be learned from this. As a person approaches the end of his life, one must remember that all the riches and titles he held for years mean nothing. In heaven, Hashem will only call him by his name - which is a reflection of his inner being and soul. Thus, we must spend our entire lives making sure our names mean something and not just rely on external titles and what others think of us.