David: The Divided Heart - David Wolpe

In his interpretive biography, David: The Divided Heart (Yale, $25), Rabbi David Wolpe shows us the King in all his complexity, tracing his rise from obscurity as a shepherd boy through his iconic role in slaying Goliath and on to the regretful end of his life. We see David as a troubled father, a resolute military commander, a generous political leader; witness him making cold-blooded decisions before battle as well as composing music and poetry in quieter moments. David, which means “beloved,” did love his wives yet treated them cruelly; nor could he prevent tragedy and the death of children at birth and in battle, deaths for which he bore responsibility. Wolpe captures David in ways that add to your appreciation of him even if you know only the bare bones of his story or the Book of Samuel’s apologetic version of him. Wolpe’s achievement here is a fresh recounting of the David stories in ways that help us understand why the hardships of neglect can pale beside the challenges of acclaim.