King David’s Retaliation: God, Gaza and the ethics of shared responsibility

Annual lecture from the Rabbi Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought, established by the Zandan family.

In defending Israel, King David fought wars against many enemy nations. How are the military decisions he took understood by our sages? This lecture focuses on a battle with the Moabites and how David’s personal feelings may have affected his judgment. This also impacted on him being passed over for building God’s Temple in Jerusalem. This approach suggests a novel and deeply religious response to the current challenges in Israel since October 7.