Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer HaLevi Eidels, one of the greatest commentators on the Talmud, was born in the year 5315 (1555) to Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi and Gittel from the family of the Maharal of Prague, in Kazimierz, Poland. He married the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Lifshitz, the rabbi of Brisk, and he and his wife were supported by his mother-in-law, Eidel, who also maintained the Maharsha's yeshiva. Because of this, the Maharsha referred to her as his second mother, hence his nickname "Eidels" (of Eidel).
In 5368 (1608), Eidel passed away, and upon her death, the Maharsha moved to serve as rabbi in Chelm. He later served as rabbi in Lublin, Tiktin, and Ostroh, and participated in the Council of Four Lands in Yaroslav. He became famous during his lifetime for his many acts of kindness, and on his door was inscribed the verse, "I would open my doors to the wayfarer" (Job 31:32). He wrote his commentary on the Talmud entitled "Chiddushei Halachot" and "Chiddushei Aggadot," and in an unusual step, united them into one book to emphasize the equal importance he attributed to both parts of the Torah. Tzaddikim testified that his book was written with Divine inspiration, and he was among the first scholars of the revealed tradition to bring the opinions of the Kabbalists in his books. He passed away on the 5th of Kislev 5392 (1631) and was buried in Ostroh.
The Maharsha was a rabbi in a certain community, where he studied Torah in his yeshivah all day. At that time, there was a Chief Rabbi of the region under whose authority the Maharsha served, and all the rabbis of the communities belonging to the Chief Rabbi were obligated to come to him and receive his permission to serve their communities, as was customary in previous generations.
All the rabbis of the communities came to the Chief Rabbi, but the Maharsha continued to sit and study and did not go to meet him. The Chief Rabbi judged him favorably and said: "Perhaps because he is occupied with his studies, he has not come to give me honor?" The Chief Rabbi decided to travel to the Maharsha. When he arrived, the entire town trembled before him, and they all came to greet him, but the Maharsha refused to go to him. The Chief Rabbi again judged him favorably, attributing this, too, to his unwillingness to interrupt his studies.
The Chief Rabbi went to the synagogue where the Maharsha was studying, but the Maharsha did not interrupt his studies and did not greet him at all. Nevertheless, the Chief Rabbi judged him favorably even now, saying, "Perhaps this too is because he does not want to interrupt his studies?" Just then, a handsome young man entered the synagogue, and immediately the Maharsha rushed to greet him, stood up before him, and spoke with him at great length.
The Chief Rabbi became very angry with the Maharsha, saying, "At first, when you didn't come to me, I judged you favorably and attributed it to your wish not to interrupt your Torah study. Then when I came to your town and you didn't come to me, I said the same. Afterward, when I came to the synagogue and you didn't greet me, I again judged you favorably, attributing it to your wish not to interrupt your Torah study! But now I see that it's all false, for you have honored this young man and spoken with him at length in the middle of your studies!"
The Maharsha said, "As a sign and wonder that there is a secret reason for my actions, I will tell you that this young man will be killed within two hours." The Chief Rabbi did not believe this, so he took the young man and walked with him here and there, talking with him at length so as not to let him out of his sight until the two hours had passed, to disprove the Maharsha's words. As they were walking through the town, a nobleman passed by, casually carrying a firearm to shoot at some bird or the like, as was their custom. He mistakenly shot the young man, who was killed immediately, just as the Maharsha had said.
The Chief Rabbi ran to the Maharsha, who told him that soon they would bring a dead person to the town. While they were speaking, a dead person was brought in. "What is the meaning of this?" asked the Chief Rabbi in alarm. “What caused this person to die?”
The Maharsha revealed to him that the young man who he had spoken to and who was killed by the wandering shot of the nobleman was a reincarnation of Ahab, king of Israel, and that was why he had shown him such great honor. Because Ahab, king of Israel, was killed by a wandering arrow,[1] the young man would suffer a similar fate. To that end, as soon as the young man, the reincarnation of Ahab was born, the force of his demise was also created to kill him. It had been standing in that place, near our town, waiting until the time came for the young man to be killed by it. Because you delayed his death, until he was killed by that nobleman, the force of his demise was given to another person in his place. Therefore, you need to repent, for this dead person was killed because of you!
The Chief Rabbi fell before the Maharsha's feet, begged him for forgiveness, and asked him to prescribe a penance. The Maharsha told him, "Your penance is to give up your rabbinical position and become a wagon driver." He accepted this upon himself and became a wagon driver.
Ahab the king, around whose reincarnation our story revolves, is one of the kings most remembered for evil in Jewish history: he married the daughter of the king of Sidon, devotedly worshiped idols, and seized his subjects' lands. If so, why did the Maharsha honor him?
The holy Ari reveals that until Ahab's great sin of taking Naboth's vineyard, there was indeed a good and holy part in him, but it departed from him at the time of the sin. Because of that good part, the prophet Elijah constantly tried to cause him to repent. Had Elijah succeeded in drawing Ahab close, the messianic destiny of uniting the two kingdoms—"the tree of Joseph and the tree of Judah"[2]—would have been fulfilled then, and our righteous Messiah would have arrived.
This duality of good and evil characterizes Ahab's entire generation. Elijah the prophet rebukes them for "hesitating between two options"[3] and living double lives: on one hand praying to God and believing in Him, and on the other bowing to the Ba’al, the popular idol of the Canaanites. Both sides are hinted to in Ahab's name (אַחְאָב), which is a composite of “brother” (אָח) and “father” (אָב). The brother half alludes to Ahimelech (אֲחִימֶלֶךְ), a righteous priest, and his father half alludes to Abimelech (אֲבִימֶלֶךְ), the wicked Philistine king.
What was Ahab’s positive half? In Ahab as an individual, there were positive aspects of submission to God and generosity. God praises him for his humility, and the holy Ari notes that because he was generous with his wealth, he merited to indirectly provide for Elijah through the ravens that brought food from his kitchen to the Cherith Brook, where Elijah was hiding.[4]
More broadly, Ahab symbolizes the entire kingdom of Israel: Caring for the people's welfare, fostering religious pluralism, and struggling to deal with those he deemed extremists, like the prophet Elijah. In modern terms, the Northern Kingdom corresponds to liberal Jews. The Kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, corresponds to traditional Jews who are more committed to the past and who practice a relatively strong and cohesive Judaism that maintains fewer connections with surrounding foreign cultures.
The process that the kingdoms must undergo is similar to that of a bride and groom. Like every heavenly match, they have an original common source. But then they were split and must develop and consolidate, individually, separate from one another. The culmination of the split is when they rediscover their connection, this time through their own free choice and in a mature way. Both kingdoms have their unique virtues that, at their core, do not contradict: Liberals are not necessarily secular, and conservatives can certainly join the desire for civil rights and justice. But for this to happen, both camps must look at each other with love, face to face, and agree to contain the very different poles within themselves.
[1]. 1 Kings 22:34.
[2]. Ezekiel ch. 37.
[3]. 1 Kings 18:21.
[4]. Ibid. 17:5-6. Chullin 5a.
