Tehillim for every situation?

amother

Emerald

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 7:41 pm

Always wondered this. Rabbis and other people always say that King David wrote Tehillim for every possible situation and emotion. But I don't see where he wrote one when his wife Michal made fun of him and spoke to him with contempt. I know he was joyful serving Hashem. But didn't he feel rejected by her? Discuss please? (I'm posting anonymously because I don't want to give away too much about myself.)

chicco

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 7:56 pm

There are plenty of kapitlach that David Hamelech wrote in response to being scorned or misunderstood. He expresses his pain and hurt and resolves the matter by reminding himself that he is doing the right thing and Hashem will help him prevail and the slanders will be shown the error of their ways.

amother

Emerald

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 8:04 pm

OP here, but I'm referring specifically to being rejected by a spouse.

chicco

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 9:20 pm

I don't know that David Hamelech wrote a perek of tehillim in that moment, but he does sing about times of rejection and betrayal from those closest to him.

I'm sorry for whatever you are going through now. Are you looking for a particular kapital?

3, 11, 35, 52, and 102 may have elements that touch upon what you may be experiencing.

I hope you find peace and resolution. No one deserves to feel rejection...

etky

Thu, Jan 10 2019, 2:15 am

There was no love lost between David and Michal.
Or rather there was, but Michal was the injured party here.
She fell in love with David and even defied her father to save his life but she was merely a trophy bride for him in the most literal sense.
He had numerous other wives and concubines.
Michal's purpose as far as David was concerned was to solidfy his kingship through union with the family of his predecessor,Saul. Towards this end he wrested her from her second husband, Palitel be Layish, who obviously cared very much for her, in a coldy calculated political move to boost the legitimacty of his claim for kinship over all of Israel.
I'm not justifying Michal's condemnation of David's ecstatic dancing before the Aron Habrit, just that her words have to be understood on the backdrop of the bitterness that she must have felt after being treated as a political pawn by David with little regard of her feelings.
There's no way we can know for sure but it doesn't seem likely that David suffered a profound emotional crisis because of Michal's sharp words.
We are told that no children came out of this union as a result of this incident - possibly because David avoided her after the depths of her bitterness and contempt towards him was revealed.
This was regretful since a son from Michal would have been a beautiful symbol of unity between the tribes of Binyamin (Rachel) and Yehuda (Leah) and would have helped in cementing David's kingship.
Still, David had many other wives and subsequent children.
The real loser in this story - on the personal level - was Michal, who must have lead a very lonely existence after this incident.

amother

Wine

Thu, Jan 10 2019, 3:53 am

We know that Michal loved David. (I think it's the only time in Tanach that says outright that a woman loved a man.) We don't know that he loved her. The criticism might have just rolled off his back.

In any case, no need to be literal about specific tehillim relating to specific events.

amother

Plum

Thu, Jan 10 2019, 10:21 am

I've wondered this too--specifically, there doesn't seem to be much about infertility. (I know, there's "moshivi akeres habayis" but I mean the pain of WHILE someone is going through primary infertility is not covered, as far as I know.)

PinkFridge

Mon, Jan 14 2019, 9:13 am

Etky, I don't know what your sources are for the relationship between Michal and Dovid.
I would think that Dovid wouldn't have been hurt to the degree of writing Tehillim for this pain. I would think that while yes, of course he was human and might have felt some momentary pain, he might have switched to compassion and dlkz mode and thought about how his wife was used to one model of expression and malchus and still hadn't adjusted to his model.

imasoftov

Mon, Jan 14 2019, 11:27 am

It seems to me that if someone wrote a chapter of psalms for every situation he experienced there would be more chapters than the days of his life (he lived for 70 years which is about 25550 days). It wouldn't be possible to do the same for someone else's life.

etky

Mon, Jan 14 2019, 3:32 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

My sources are the text itself as well as commentary and shiurim that I have read and heard, based on a close reading of the pshat that understands events within the specific context of the immediate narrative and within the context of Tanach as a consistent and unified work.
For example, it's impossible to understand the bitter exchange between David and Michal in this episode without appreciating the political aspect of their convoluted relationship and without acknowledging the tragic toll that Michal's royal status had exacted on her psyche and on her personal life.
There is so much to write about this but I'll mention just one of the most interesting ideas that I have encountered on this topic:
If one wants to delve even more deeply into the David/Michal relationship then you can view it as a counterpoint to the Ya'acov/Rachel relationship which contained many of the same troubled elements and motifs but which ultimately succeeded because of Ya'acov's sustained love for Rachel. The David/Michal relationship failed because this love, on the part of David was lacking. Ultimately Ya'acov and Rachel's relationship bore fruit and Rachel became the quintessential maternal image in Jewish tradition. Michal, as we are told at the conclusion of this painful exchange between her and David, never had a child.
Rav Amnon Bazak of Yeshivat Har Etzion has a fascinating article (in Hebrew) on this comparison and contrast in Megadim (the Yeshiva's annual journal on Tanach).
Personally, I take great satisfaction in the fact that in the modern era so many Jewish girls bear Michal's name and that she is commemorated in this way.
It feels like a sort of compensation for her tragic and childless life.

amother

Cobalt

Mon, Jan 14 2019, 5:14 pm

etky, do you have a link to that article?

etky

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 12:28 am

amother wrote:

etky, do you have a link to that article?

http://old.herzog.ac.il/tvunot.....k.pdf