The Book of Samuel: chapter 31 + Siyum Whither Malchut Welcome to our thirtieth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 30: Death of a Hero This chapter concludes the tragic and heroic life of king Shaul. We touch on some of the halachic concepts around suicide, euthanasia, and notice how many elements in this chapter are reflective of earlier events in this book. We conclude with several excursions, including on the parallels between stories in Shmuel and those in Shoftim, a look at how elements of Shmuel Aleph lay the groundwork for the events in Megillat Ether and finally, we attempt to explain how Shaul’s end can be seen more as a triumphant act of heroism, rather than a sad coda to his life. All this and more. Thank you for joining us, I hope you enjoy this podcast and will consider sharing it with others. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/isaacson/support