Steller’s Jay : In David’s Shadow

This is a Steller’s Jay. When I first saw him, he was completely shadowed. I could see him and appreciate his beauty, but without more light I wouldn’t be able to receive a photograph. I wouldn’t have this offering to share. So I waited, and I watched him, and ultimately for reasons I won’t claim to decipher, he moved just enough that this photo became possible. Much of him remains obscured, of course. But the distinctive beauty of this photo is precisely that mixture of clarity and obscurity. It’s a different pose than most of the photos I like to offer. This photo is more complex and perhaps also richer. Focus on his eye, the clear light reflecting back out.

For several months I have been studying King David. “King David” started out of course, as “young shepherd” David. He was an errand boy sent to deliver food to the real soldiers. In a dizzying ascent, David slayed the giant Goliath, became the son-in-law of King Saul, was anointed by HaShem, and then founded what is even today Israel’s capital city. Along the way, though, many of David’s actions could be seen as clothed in shadow. His cruel treatment of others, his displays of license, and a seeming disregard of even the most basic loyalties, all call into question David’s character. And then he wrote the Psalms.

Our tradition realistically acknowledges our heroes’ fraught humanity. David is much the archetypical warrior-king. He shares their foibles and weaknesses. But he is distinctively a poet, who sings with the most intimate understanding of human nature. Reading his Psalms, we see gentleness and humility that stand in stark contrast to the slayer of Goliath and the victor over thousands. The whirling dancer and jealous suitor authors the idyllic reflections of a quiet shepherd boy. Like the Jay, David is a figure moving in light and darkness - and through his poetry makes clear that we do as well.