בראשית רבה (וילנא) פרשת ויחי פרשה צח סימן יד
מר ר' לוי כתיב (שם /שופטים ט"ז/) ועל הגג כשלשת אלפים, אלו מה שהיו על שפת הגג אבל מה שהיו לאחוריהם ולאחורי אחוריהם אין בריה יודעת, ואת אמרת (שם /שופטים ט"ז/) וירדו אחיו וכל בית אביהו וישאו אותו ויעלו ויקברו אותו וגו' בקבר מנוח אביו, אלא יעקב אבינו בקש רחמים על הדבר, ויפול רוכבו אחור, יחזרו דברים לאחוריהם, לפי שהיה יעקב אבינו רואה אותו וסבור בו שהוא מלך המשיח, כיון שראה אותו שמת אמר אף זה מת, לישועתך קויתי ה',
"Because Yaakov (Jacob) saw him and thought concerning him that he was the messianic king. When he saw that he had died he said, even this one had died, for your salvation I have hoped for, Hashem"Two questions that need to be discussed. 1] Which quality or qualities in Shimshon led Yaakov to his initial assumption, that Shimshon was the messianic king? 2] Shimshon was from the tribe of Dan, not Yehuda (Judah). How could Yaakov ever have entertained the idea of Shimshon being Mashiach if he was not from the tribe of Yehuda?
Sorry but that just doesn't make any sense. Shimshon is full of character flaws, he is almost comical.
All Jewish leaders have flaws. So too did David HaMelech have some character flaws (remember his lineage was questioned by his own father).... I don't think 'character flaws' prevents anyone from being Moshiach.Shimshon had allot of them, by todays terms he was had a self destructive personality, lack of self control and addiction problems.
http://www.dafyomi.co.il/sotah/insites/so-dt-009.htm
1) THE SIN OF SHIMSHON
QUESTION: The Mishnah relates that Shimshon sinned with his eyes when he was lured by the beauty of a foreign woman and married her. How is it possible that a Tzadik like Shimshon, who was the leading Shofet (judge) of Yisrael of his time and who "judged the people of Yisrael like their Father in heaven [judges them]" (10a), could have committed such a sin?
ANSWER: The RAMBAM (Hilchos Isurei Bi'ah 13:14-16) asks this question, and he explains that Shimshon did not sin when he married the foreign woman because he converted her before he married her. Why, then, did his parents protest the marriage, and why does the Mishnah chastise him?
The Rambam explains that the conversion was not performed by a properly ordained Beis Din. A proper Beis Din would not have converted her without first investigating whether there were ulterior motives for the conversion. Shimshon, however, converted the women in the presence of a Beis Din Shel Hedyotos (a Beis Din of uneducated judges), and the women converted only in order to marry him. Therefore, they remained prohibited to him after their conversion. The Rambam adds that their true, ulterior motives became clear later. Since they never genuinely accepted the Mitzvos, their conversion was not considered valid.
Why did Shimshon attempt to convert these women as acceptable Gerim when their conversion was dubious? The commentators (see KEREN ORAH) explain that in order to bring the world to its final state of Tikun, the nations of the world must all come to the recognition of the role of the Jewish people, and the Jewish people's closeness to Hash-m, and they must attempt to humble and attach themselves to the Jewish people. Shimshon -- who judged the Jewish people "k'Echad" (Bereishis 49:16), like Hash-m Who is One, as the Gemara says, and who judged them in the manner of David ha'Melech (as Rashi there writes) -- had the potential to bring about the final Ge'ulah. In order to accomplish this, however, Shimshon knew that he would have to subjugate the nations to Klal Yisrael, and that is what he attempted to do when he took these wives from foreign nations. David ha'Melech had a similar intent when he married women ("Eshes Yefas To'ar") taken during the wars he fought (see Sanhedrin 21b). This was also the intention of Shlomo ha'Melech when he married the daughter of Pharaoh and the other foreign wives whom he converted.
Although Mashi'ach will come from the tribe of Yehudah and from the House of David (as Yakov Avinu alluded to in his blessing to Yehudah), the tribe of Dan always has a part in the Tikun together with Yehudah, and thus Shimshon, from the tribe of Dan, sought to take part in bringing the Mashi'ach. This joint effort is evident in the construction of the Mishkan, which was supervised by Betzalel (from Yehudah) together with Ohali'av (from Dan). Similarly, the Beis ha'Mikdash was built by Shlomo ha'Melech (from Yehudah) with Chiram (maternally from Dan; see Divrei ha'Yamim II 2:13, and Radak to Melachim I 7:14).
This is also implied by the fact that both Yehudah (in Yakov's blessing) and Dan (in Moshe's blessing) are compared to "Gur Aryeh," a lion. The Beis ha'Mikdash (Midos 4:7) and Hashra'as ha'Shechinah in general (Hoshea 11:10; Amos 3:8) are compared to the power of a lion. (The Yetzer ha'Ra of Avodah Zarah that directly opposes the worship of Hash-m in the Beis ha'Mikdash is also represented by a lion; see Sanhedrin 64a. This may be alluded to by Shimshon's act of tearing apart a lion with his hands, after which a beehive filled with sweet honey formed in its carcass. Shimshon sought to destroy the Avodah Zarah in the nation and to replace it with the worship of Hash-m.)
The Midrash (Shemos Rabah 40; Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 13) teaches that Yehudah is the most spiritually uplifted of the tribes while Dan is the least. To build the Beis ha'Mikdash the two must work together, in order to include all of the elements of the Jewish people. (M. KORNFELD)
It is impossible to judge, Zelhar, the tzadikim of the Tanach as we are not even close to the level they were on.Not to change the subject, but the Torah also says Chiram was the son of the tribe of Naphtali...
Even when their misdeeds 'sins' the sages made sure to clarify that their weaknesses were not true sins, but appeared to be sins to those examining their deeds.
In the case of Shimson the Oral tradition (the Talmud) explains that Shimson DID NOT sin with Delilah....
Not to change the subject, but the Torah also says Chiram was the son of the tribe of Naphtali...
Does anyone discuss this...
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/762109/jewish/Raise-Your-Hand-If-Youre-A-Kohen.htm
Jewish men and women are Jewish because their mothers are Jewish. Their tribal affiliation, however, such as being a kohen or a Levi, comes from their fathers. When a woman marries, she takes on the tribal affiliation of her husband (Kohen, Levi or Israel) regardless of the status of her father. The affiliation that the woman received from her father goes into abeyance.
I am confused. It says that he converted Delilah before marrying her. But today, we usually do not accept a woman who converts to get married. Was this the case here? Was Delilah a sincere convert?
Parshas Naso
Shoftim 13:2
by Rabbi Dovid Siegel
This week's haftorah shares with us an incredible perspective on sanctity and self control. The focus of the haftorah is the heavenly message sent to the pious Manoach and his wife informing them of her miraculous conception of a special son, Shimshon. Manoach's wife, a righteous woman who was barren for many years was suddenly informed by an angel that she would bear a child. She was also given specific instructions during pregnancy restricting her from all wine and wine-related products. She was informed that her son would be dedicated to Hashem from the day he was born and could never shave off his hair. The angel also stated that Hashem would bring much salvation to the Jewish people through this precious boy.
This is the first chapter in the life of the famous Jewish leader, Shimshon. However, in the subsequent chapters of his life we discover the life's trials of the most perplexing leader in all of Jewish history. On the one hand, Shimshon was a powerful and effective judge who maintained the highest ethical standard. In fact, our Chazal (Yerushalmi Rosh Hashana2:8) place Shimshon amongst the greatest of all Jewish judges paralleling him, in some ways, to Moshe Rabbeinu himself. Shimshon also merited that the Divine Presence of Hashem preceded him to secure his every step with success. And it was solely in Shimshon's merit that Hashem constantly protected the Jewish nation (see Sota 9b, 10a). Yet, at the same time we discover a man succumbing to physical passions being constantly enticed by Philistine women. Eventually Shimshon fell prey to the persuasion of his Philistine wife Delila and forfeited all his sanctity and greatness. How can this glorious, yet so tragic life be understood and explained and what can be learned from this perplexing story? (See Derech Bina to Shoftim by Rabbi Avrohom Shoshana)
We begin with the words of the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba 10:5) in explanation of Shimshon's unique experience of Nezirus (restriction from wine). In general, one accepts the abstentions of a Nazir for a period of a month or two but never for an entire lifetime. This week's parsha reveals that the purpose for the short restrictive period of Nazirus was to serve as a model lesson for life. Typically, the Nazir briefly abstained from certain mundane activities to gain control over his physical passions and cravings. This was obviously not the case for Shimshon who was obligated in Nezirus since his birth. The above Midrash clarifies this matter and states, "Hashem, knowing that Shimshon's nature would be to stray after his eyes, restricted him from wine which leads to immorality." Chazal continue, "And if Shimshon albeit a Nazir did stray after his eyes one could only imagine what would have happened without the restriction of wine." Our Chazal share with us an important insight into the life of Shimshon. Apparently, his nature and consequent role in life revolved around an attraction to women and it was intended for the Nezirus restriction to hold him back from sin.
To put this into perspective we refer to the words of the Radak (Shoftim13:4) which explain the setting of Shimshon's times. Radak explains that the Jewish people's devotion to Hashem had severely fallen during those times. Because of this they did not merit total salvation by Hashem and remained under Philistine rule throughout this entire era. However, the Philistines deserved to be revenged for their harsh rule over the Jews and for this reason Hashem sent Shimshon to the scene. The Scriptures indicate (see Shoftim 14:4) that it was the will of Hashem that Shimshon mingle with the Philistines to cause them pain and strife from within their very own camp. It can be understood that for this reason Hashem actually sanctioned, in principle, Shimshon's marriage to Philistine women, given their conversion to Judaism. Although they did actually convert (see Radak adloc. and Rambam Isurai Beiah 14:14) the potential did exist for Shimshon to be influenced by their foreign ideals and allegiances of their past.
In essence, Hashem provided Shimshon with the appropriate nature for his role and he was naturally attracted to the Philistine women he encountered. This allowed Shimshon to be regarded as one of the Philistines and set the stage for a perfect inside job. The Radak explains that Shimshon's motive of bonding with Philistine Jewish converts to secretly attack the Philistine nation was a proper motive. However, this powerful drive to marry Philistine women served as a double-edged sword. And when Shimshon added to his pure motive small degrees of attraction to beauty his actions were disqualified. Granted that the overwhelming percentage of his motivation was proper and pure, nonetheless a subtle attraction to Philistine women's beauty did accompany his thoughts. Eventually this soft physical drive overtook Shimshon, and after succumbing to his wife's seduction, lost his pure motives and forfeited all of his sanctity and greatness.
We now appreciate Shimshon's lifelong abstention period of Nezirus and its projected impact on his personal conduct. This perpetual state was intended to serve as an anchor for Shimshon to control and subdue his physical urges and steer him away from immorality. The comprehensive picture drawn from our haftorah is the following. Shimshon was ordained to live a life of sanctity from the moment of conception until the end of his life. His parents carefully protected him from all impurities and raised him in a perfect atmosphere of sanctity. This childhood groomed him to be a perfect candidate for the constant manifestation of the Divine Presence itself. However, as we painfully discover none of the above guarantees one from foreign immoral influences. And when, alongside the purest of motives, one includes physical drives and passions the result can be devastating. Even the pure Shimshon was then prone to plunging deeply into immorality and open to forfeiting all that life had in store for him. From this we learn the importance of pure motives and that any degree of intended personal gratification can undo all the good we seek to accomplish.
Edu- please link it.I assume you mean the Rabbi Kahane commentary that you quoted above
Tag-MehirTzedek:I assume you mean the Rabbi Kahane commentary that you quoted above
http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/what-makes-samson-such-a-hero/
2] Shimshon was from the tribe of Dan, not Yehuda (Judah). How could Yaakov ever have entertained the idea of Shimshon being Mashiach if he was not from the tribe of Yehuda?Ramban to Breishit/Genesis 49:10 states that it seems from the words of the prophet, that if Shaul (Saul) had not sinned his kingdom would last forever, even though he was not from the tribe of Yehuda (Judah). How could this be given the verse in Breishit/Genesis 49:10 ?
All I have seen indicates he could have been Moshiach Ben Yosef, not Moshiach Ben David...Although there are other viewpoints of the Midrashim that seem to have set the role of the Messianic King being from Yehuda at the earliest point of Jewish history, the view in the Midrash that I quoted above seems to take the view that before the time of David (Shimshon was before the time of David), the tasks of the Moshiach and the extent and time of his authority were much more fluid and that potentially Jewish history could have developed somewhat differently if the Biblical leaders that came before David had reached a higher spiritual level than the level they actually achieved.
edu, are you suggesting he could have been Moshiach Ben David?