Last week, my son came home from school bursting with excitement about his class election. “Mommy, I won!” he announced, brandishing his “Class Representative” badge. But what touched me most wasn’t his victory ā it was what he said next: “I didn’t just win because my friends voted for me. The other group’s kids voted for me too because I promised to think about everyone’s ideas.”
Out of the mouths of babes comes wisdom that echoes across three thousand years to one of the most pivotal moments in Jewish history: King David’s choice of Jerusalem as his capital city.
When we think about Jerusalem becoming our eternal capital, we often imagine it as a purely divine choice. After all, doesn’t the Torah repeatedly reference “the place that the Lord your God will choose” (hamakom asher yivchar Hashem Eloheichem)? But a closer look at the biblical text reveals something fascinating ā and deeply relevant to our modern struggles with unity and leadership.
Consider this: When David first became king over Judah in Hebron, he sought divine guidance explicitly. The text tells us: “David inquired of the Lord, saying: ‘Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?’ And the Lord said unto him: ‘Go up.’ And David said: ‘Where shall I go up?’ And He said: ‘Unto Hebron.'” (2 Samuel 2:1)
Yet seven years later, when David decides to make Jerusalem his capital, something remarkable happens ā or rather, doesn’t happen. There’s no divine consultation. No prophetic guidance. No use of the Urim v’Tumim. Instead, we read simply: “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 5:6).
The answer lies in understanding the brilliant wisdom behind David’s choice. Jerusalem sat at a unique crossroads ā technically part of Benjamin’s territory but never fully conquered, straddling the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. This wasn’t just a geographic detail; it was a master stroke of peacemaking.
Remember the context: The kingdom had been torn by civil war between David’s supporters and the house of Saul (from Benjamin). By choosing Jerusalem, David wasn’t just picking a convenient location ā he was making a powerful statement about unity. He deliberately avoided establishing his capital in Hebron, the heart of his own tribe of Judah, despite its natural advantages. Instead, he chose a city that could belong to everyone.
As Rabbi Yitzchak Levy, who teaches at Israel’s Yeshivat Har Etzion and has written extensively on Jerusalem in the Bible, points out in his analysis, this choice reflected a deep understanding that true unity sometimes requires leaders to step outside their comfort zones and create new, shared spaces.
Jerusalem’s establishment as our capital unfolded in stages. It began with David’s choice ā a choice that reflected deep wisdom about what his divided people needed. Later, God would reveal the Temple’s location at Araunah’s threshing floor, and finally, during Solomon’s reign, Jerusalem would be fully established as both political capital and divine dwelling place. This progression ā from human initiative to divine confirmation ā shows us how human wisdom and divine purpose can work hand in hand.
According to Radak’s (Rabbi David Kimchi) interpretation of Psalm 132, David actively searched for the Temple’s location after choosing Jerusalem, showing his deep commitment to finding God’s chosen site. His immediate concern was creating a capital that could unite the tribes and heal the nation’s wounds. The divine confirmation would come later, through a series of events that would reveal the holy city’s deeper destiny.
Today in Israel, as we wrestle with deep divisions between secular and religious communities, between different Jewish traditions, between right and left, Jerusalem’s story carries special weight. Just as David faced a kingdom split between north and south, between the houses of Saul and David, we too face moments when our differences seem insurmountable. His choice of Jerusalem reminds us that true leadership means finding ways to create shared sacred spaces, even when ā especially when ā it requires us to step beyond our comfort zones.
My son’s innocent wisdom ā “thinking about everyone’s ideas” ā echoes the ancient wisdom of David’s choice. Sometimes the most divine acts begin with very human choices. And sometimes, the most important thing a leader can do is create a space where everyone can feel at home.
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