Nitzevet bat Adael - mother of David HaMelech

Nitzevet bat Adael - mother of David HaMelech Yahrzeit - 27 Sivan Resting place - Our Sages teach that one must be very careful with people who have endured tzarot - "tzara" (trouble, oppression). This applies in addition to widows and orphans, about whom the Torah states explicitly: "You shall not afflict any widow or orphan… If you dare afflict them! For if he cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; My wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will become widows and your children orphans." (Shemot 22:21-23) The Sages bring examples of childless women (such as Chana and Peninah), women abandoned by their husbands (Nitzevet bat Adael), and people who suffered loss (Iyov and his friends) - and in every one of these stories, Ha-Shem rewards those who endured tzarot for their suffering, while punishing their oppressors. All these examples reveal that trials in this world are sent by Ha-Shem, and it is impossible to perceive or understand any cause-and-effect connection within them. Indeed, the question of "why do the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper" runs like a refrain through the entire Torah and remains unanswered, yet it teaches us a great deal. Nitzevet bat Adael David's father, Yishai, was the grandson of Boaz and Rut. After several years of marriage to his wife Nitzevet and the birth of seven sons, Yishai began to have doubts about his own lineage. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, a leading Torah authority of his generation, but his grandmother Rut had been a Moabite. The Torah forbids Israelites from marrying Moabites. When this doubt took hold of Yishai's heart - a man of honesty and responsibility - he decided to separate from his wife. Yishai's children knew of this separation. Yishai's wife, Nitzevet bat Adael, was a righteous woman and suffered greatly over her husband's decision to leave her. Since Yishai was a tzadik, he knew that Ha-Shem did not create the world to remain desolate, but wanted it to be settled, and therefore a man should not live without a wife. After several years of living alone, he chose one of the non-Jewish maidservants living in his household and said to her: "I am freeing you on this condition: if I am a full-fledged Jew, then your freedom is complete, and I am taking you as my wife according to the laws of the Torah given to us through Moshe. But if I am not, then you are not freed and remain in your previous status, and thus you have the right to marry even a Moabite." The maidservant proved loyal to her mistress and did as our matriarchs Rachel and Leah once did - Nitzevet took her place. Three months later, Nitzevet's pregnancy became evident, and her sons, suspecting their mother of infidelity, decided to kill her. Yishai commanded his sons not to touch her. "Do not kill her! Instead, let the child who is born be regarded as a mamzer." The Talmud (Shabbat 55b) names Yishai as one of four tzadikim who died solely because of the sin of Adam and Chava, and not because of any sin of their own. When David was born, his family greeted his birth with utter mockery and contempt: "I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother's children." (Tehillim 69:9) David was not permitted to eat with the rest of his family; he had a separate table in a corner. He was made a shepherd in the hope that a wild animal would come and kill him while he was out in the pastures. The only one who suffered for David's sake and felt a deep connection and love for the child was his mother, Nitzevet bat Adael, who felt the pain and rejection of her youngest child as her own. Humiliated and scorned, Nitzevet shed rivers of tears, waiting for justice to be restored. She endured long years of "bizyonot" (humiliations), 28 years of attacks, suffering, and pain. 28 years of tzarot. Nitzevet chose a vow of silence. And like Tamar, Nitzevet would be rewarded for her silence with a child of a great future, who would become the ancestor of Mashiach. The Midrash tells us that when Shmuel HaNavi anointed David, weeping was heard from another room. It was the voice of Nitzevet, David's sole supporter and only source of comfort. 28 long years of silence in the face of humiliation had finally come to an end. Now everyone would see that her youngest son's lineage was pure. Though he would be called David HaMelech ben Yishai, it was from his mother that he absorbed the strength of spirit and courage to stand honorably against his adversaries. She also taught him to show courage at the crucial moment - to take personal risk - for without her bold act of taking the maidservant's place that fateful night, the great soul of her youngest child, David, ancestor of Mashiach, would never have descended into this world. The heart-rending psalms of David HaMelech, spoken by him in his most difficult moments, help us too - his descendants - as though they were written specifically for us. Behind every psalm stands the mother of David HaMelech, who endured so many tzarot for his sake, yet lived to see her son anointed. A segula with the name of David HaMelech's mother, Nitzevet bat Adael   There is a special segula - to say the name of David HaMelech's mother, Nitzevet bat Adael, 17 times. It was written about 250 years ago by the kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Culi in "Me'am Loez," and it was also used daily by another great kabbalist, Rabbi Chaim Palagi, 150 years ago. What is the meaning of this segula, and how does it work? The unique quality of this segula is that once recited, it becomes "patachat et hatefilah" - a key that opens the Gates of Prayer, transforming the moment of prayer into an "Et Ratzon" - a time of favor, a time when our requests are accepted. Rabbi Chaim Palagi teaches, based on what is written in the Zohar HaKadosh, that one who says the name of King David's mother right after Birkot HaShachar will receive more than he deserves - "mi shezakhah yekabel yoter." The secret is that saying Nitzevet bat Adael 17 times is "al pi ha-sod" - tov (good). Rabbi Yaakov Culi, in "Me'am Loez," reveals that it was Chana - the mother of Shmuel HaNavi - who, upon first coming to the Mishkan at Shilo, said the name of King David's mother, Nitzevet bat Adael, 17 times, knowing the secret that Nitzevet ניצבת is composed of the same letters as "Nitzevet" ניצבת - the name of the Angel that we find mentioned regarding Shmuel HaNavi. Rabbi Emanuel Mizrachi emphasizes that it is especially good to say the name of David HaMelech's mother in the morning on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur - right after Birkot HaShachar. One should light a candle and say: - "Bizchut Nitzevet bat Adael, aseh lema'an Shimcha, aseh lema'an Yeminecha, aseh lema'an Mikdashecha, aseh lema'an Mashiach tzidkecha, aseh lema'ancha - lo lema'anenu" - (In the merit of Nitzevet bat Adael, act for the sake of Your Name, act for the sake of Your Right Hand, act for the sake of Your Temple, act for the sake of the righteous Mashiach, act for Your own sake - and not for ours). Tehillim 82, or Where David HaMelech Encoded His Mother's Name https://silatehilim.com/теилим-82-где-давид-а-мелех-закодировал/     (From Yeshivat "Kisei Rachamim" of Rabbi Meir Mazuz, for Silatehilim by Yura Plishtiev, based on a lesson by Gaon Bentzion Mutzafi)