Kol Tzofaich: Zachor: Shared Roots

“The word of God came to Samuel, saying, “I have regretted that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from Me and has not fulfilled My word!” It aggrieved Samuel and he cried out to God the entire night.” “Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his home at Gibeah of Saul.”

“Samuel never again saw Saul until the day of his death, for Samuel mourned over Saul, but God had reconsidered His making Saul king over Israel.”

“God said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn over Saul, when I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?”

We must understand why did Samuel suffers so much over Saul? Why did he storm and rattle all the worlds over Saul’s removal as King? Why was he so devastated that he was as a mourner, impossible to comfort until the day of his death? So much so, that Samuel never again went to meet Saul until the day of his death.

Samuel was in such a devastating state of mourning that God had to push him and say, “How long will you more? It’s enough! Even after God said, “I have regretted that I made Saul King,” Samuel continues to mourn. Why does he act like this?

It is clear that we have before us an important and hidden secret; from the secrets of the Roots, from the inner rooms of the souls that are ours, and those close to us, the ones that play an important role in our lives:

I have seen in the Shevet Mussar (Chapter 11), “there are some common people who have great love for Torah scholars, who run to fulfill God’s mitzvot, and who seek to hear words of wisdom. Know that all of their good deeds are drawn from the highest roots of their souls; the place their soul holds in the Olam ha-Nishamot, the Sold World, connected to the “Ilan,” the Tree of Life, the Tree of Souls, where they are the neighbors of the souls of the Torah scholars. This is why they feel this loving connection to the scholars.

We know that there are some friendships that are more intense than one would have for a sibling; the reason is that it is possible for two brothers to be distant on this tree, even while the friend is connected on the tree to another. It is our Soul Connection on the Tree, that nourishes the connection that we have to others.

This is why you will also see that there are some people who connect to one specific Torah scholar and to no other. Again, this is because of their connection on the Tree in the Soul World.

This is similar to a concept taught by the Ohr ha-Chaim ha-Kadosh on the verse, “He said to them, so said God, the Lord of Israel, every man, put his sword on his thigh and pass back-and-forth from gate to gate in the camp. Let every man kill his brother, every man his fellow, and every man his near one (Exodus 32:27).” Why did the verse need to say “every man his brother,” if it already says, “every man his fellow”?

This is because there are some brothers who despite their relationship are distant from each other in ideas and values. There are other people who are not related at all, and yet share a deep love because they share the same ideas and values; this draws from the root of their souls in the Soul World.

There are souls that share a common root but are born distant, and there are souls that are distant in their roots and yet are born close to each other, as brothers.

The closeness and relationship that existed between Samuel and Saul was this closeness of souls, sharing a common root, a love more powerful than this world as it was connected and rooted in the highest worlds.

Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Simeon: The Holy One, Blessed is He, brings into the world numbers of associations and numbers of brotherhoods. If one of the Association die, let the whole Association become apprehensive, since Rabbi Samuel bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: There are predetermined periods of power, and one does not overlap that of the other even to the breadth of a here (Ruth Rabbah 2:8).

This midrash describes souls that share the same root but were separated from each other when they came to this world. It was not coincidental that God joined them together in one group or in one place, for in the Soul World these souls were united as one.

The Ramban says (The Book of Belief and Trust), all the souls of Israel are rooted in a single soul, and when we love each other, it is an expression of this “oldest” love.

It is for this reason that if one of a group dies that the entire group shall worry because they all share a common root.

The closeness and relationship that existed between Samuel and Saul, rooted as it was in the Soul World, was the relationship of two souls carved from one piece.

The Gra teaches that all of the prophets, especially Samuel, knew the root of each person’s soul, and therefore when one came to the Prophet, he would be given direct should for the very essence of his soul.

Samuel, the expert in the roots of souls, surely knew the root of Saul’s soul, its place, and its closeness to Samuel. He knew Saul’s purpose of existence in this world, and that they were partners not only in this world but in the Upper World. He knew that Saul was an expression of his own root.

Therefore, when Saul failed as King, and only as King, Samuel was devastated. He lost part of himself. He mourned and was inconsolable.

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