It may be the most poignant question in the entire Bible, though asked by someone not distinguished for his wisdom. In the Haftorah this week, after an angel appears to a barren woman and promises a child, her husband Manoah begs for another appearance of the angel, for he wishes to know, “What shall we do with the child to be born to us?” (Judges 13:8)
What parent has not wondered the same, looking at a child and trying to understand how to raise that child to adulthood responsibly and well? Here, the child born is Samson.
Samson is a prodigy of physicality. He sees a woman and decides he wants her. He punishes those who offend him by catching 300 foxes and affixing torches to them to burn his victim’s fields. He sleeps with a prostitute, and upon arising, tears the gates of the city off their hinges. No character in the Bible so represents the muscle-rippling heroism of Hollywood movies and Greek myth as does Samson.
His strength, however, is not strength of character. In Samson, the flesh is strong, but the spirit is weak. He lacks judgment, reflection, and restraint. Delilah essentially nags him to reveal the secret of his strength, which he finally confides. The same man who can conquer a city cannot conquer his own impulses.
What lesson did Manoah need from the angel, to offer to his children? The answer is in the Torah portion. Naso tells us, “On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle” (Numbers 7:1). But was it not Bezalel who built the tabernacle? The Rabbis teach that it was Moses’s merit that drew God’s presence into it – therefore, he is credited with building it.
When facing challenges, and especially when confronted by continued attacks such as happened in Colorado, Samson’s lesson is what parents — and society— need to teach: true strength is strength of character. Physical power matters — we must be able to defend ourselves — but we seek the strength of Moses, not Samson: guided by wisdom, grounded in tradition, determined to prevail — and inspired by God.
