Saul and Samuel – Transitioning Leadership (Zevachim 118b)

I’ve been in jobs that have really helped me with my transition. I’ve also been at jobs that haven’t been so great at it. Here’s one model that we find in today’s daf for how to negotiate this transition.

While accounting the history of Israel’s early rulers, the Talmud uses an interesting phrase:

ושנה המלך שמואל ושאול

Samuel and Saul reigned for one year [jointly]

In case these two names don’t sound familiar here is a little background. Samuel was one of Israel’s most important prophets, but after ten years of leadership the people began begging for a king. After asking God what he should do Samuel eventually agreed and Saul became king. However, Samuel didn’t relinquish control. Rather, as Rashi tells us, he continued to rule alongside Saul; Saul was the political arm of the government, Samuel was his council.

I like this model for leadership transition. I know that Samuel must have been a big pain for Saul, telling him the “right way” to do things. However, through his guidance, I imagine Saul might have also felt a sense of security, as if he wasn’t at it completely alone.

What ended the year of joint work? Saul spared the Amalekite king Agag during war (1 Sam 15) and Samuel was so angry that he stopped advising him. Tradition looks at this as one of Saul’s greatest mistakes; however, we might look at this episode another way. Perhaps Saul felt that he had worked long enough with Samuel to take a risk. Tradition may view this risk as a mistake but maybe deep down Samuel thought, “Enough holding your hand! You’ve made a mistake, now you’re really ready to lead!”