310 Yair Zakovitch
we are to our ancestors. Like those ancient writers, we, too, think, question,
cling to ideas, and then abandon them to espouse others. We, too, hold to
certain beliefs — eternal truths — that sometimes clash with contemporary
challenges. Just as our ancestors devised various ways to reach a compro-
mise between ideal and reality, so, too, do we.
Realizing the similarity between deliberations of the ancient writers and
our own draws us closer to the Bible by forming a bridge over the deep
fi ssure that separates us. Suddenly we become aware that many of the
weighty questions with which we struggle were a source of concern in bib-
lical times. Just as we fi nd ourselves grappling with questions of our right
to the land of Israel, so, too, did the biblical writers: the stories about the
purchase of land parcels in Hebron (Genesis 23), Shechem (Genesis 33:18 –
20), Jerusalem (2 Samuel 24), and Samaria (1 Kings 16:24) were created in
order to make clear that we did not take land illegally, nor did we take it
forcefully from its legitimate owners. Th is is made clear in the midrash:
“And he bought the parcel of ground, etc.” (Genesis 33:18). R. Judan b. R.
Simon said, “Th is is one of the three places regarding which the nations
of the world cannot taunt Israel and say, ‘Ye have stolen them.’ Th ese are
they: Th e cave of Machpelah, the [site of the] Temple, and the sepulcher
of Joseph” (Genesis Rabbah 79).24 Also the story of the Covenant between
the Pieces (Genesis 15) justifi es the giving of the land into our hands as a
response to the transgressions of its previous inhabitants, “for the iniquity
of the Amorites is not yet complete” (v. 16). Th is story contains a bold hint
to the Israelites that if they, too, commit transgressions, the same will hap-
pen to them (see also Leviticus 18:28).
We are able to identify with some of the values espoused in the Bible
such as mercy — a value that the prophet Jonah, who believes that justice
rules all, has diffi culty accepting — or with the notion of ultimate, executive
responsibility that is voiced in the story of Naboth the Jezreelite (1 Kings
21): although King Ahab did not himself act in order to possess Naboth’s
vineyard, his wife being the one who presented him with the vineyard as
a done deal, nevertheless he is the one accused by the prophet: “Have you
murdered and also taken possession?” (v. 19). A king, according to this
story, cannot hide behind another’s shoulders. Ahab represents the ulti-
mate authority, and he is liable for every action carried out under his rule.25
Th e ruler is not above the law but is himself subject to it, as is stressed by
Deuteronomy’s Law of the King (17:18 – 20).
Th e joy of discovering that certain of the Bible’s values are among those
we, too, hold dear does not need to turn to dismay when we acknowledge