My husband told this over on Shabbos and I thought it was an unusually interesting story. It’s not Midrash and it’s not Kabbalah — it’s straight Gemara  telling us what friends are for.

This is the story.

It starts at the time David HaMelech is almost starving to death while escaping from Shaul HaMelech. So David goes to the city of Nov the city of Kohanim. The city that housed the Urim V’Tumim.

David asks for food and shelter only to save his life. And yet the Torah holds David somewhat accountable for what was to be the fate of the Kohanim. That they would all be killed by Shaul for helping David his supposed archenemy.

This is Shaul’s downfall but what I never knew was that David HaMelech was also held accountable because he on the level he was on should have understood the possible consequences of his hiding in Nov.

 For this act Hashem asks David “Do you want to pay for this act with your own life — or with your children’s children?

David HaMelech chooses to pay with his own life. But David is not struck down in that second. Instead later on down the line David goes out hunting and sees a deer yet the deer eludes him and runs ahead. Caught up in the act of following the deer David loses track of how far he’s run and ends up running straight into Philistine territory straight to Goliath’s “little” brother Yishbi b’Nov.

Of course Goliath’s brother has amazingly treacherous plans for David HaMelech.

Meanwhile Avishai David’s close friend and general is preparing for Shabbos.

The Gemara tells us that he is shampooing his hair with four barrels of water when he notices blood in the water. He immediately interprets this to be a sign of danger. Then a dove comes and thrashes its wings in front of him. From this Avishai understands that David is in trouble as Klal Yisrael is compared to a dove and David is the leader.

Avishai then races off to David’s house. David’s not home. He then races to the beis medrash to ask if he’s allowed to use the king’s horse and they say yes.

Avishai rides off experiences kvitzas haderech a miraculous shortening of the road and quickly arrives in Philistine territory.

There he sees Orpah Goliath’s mother and Goliath’s brother Yishbi who is now holding David captive. Orpah is in the middle of spinning thread and she takes out the pin from her spindle and hurls it at Avishai to kill him. The pin misses him and falls to the floor. Oprah pretends it fell by accident and “innocently” asks Avishai if he can pick it up for her. Avishai picks it up throws it at her and kills her.

Avishai then heads toward where David is being held hostage. Goliath’s brother sees him coming and understands that Avishai and David together will be able to overcome him.

Instead of simply killing David and to make a show of his great strength Yishbi pushes a spear hard down into the ground and throws David up in the air saying “David shall fall on the spear and be killed.”

Without any other choice Avishai pronounces the names of Hashem and David’s fall is halted and he remains suspended in mid-air just above the tip of the spear.

The Gemara asks “Why didn’t David save himself?”

The Gemara then answers “Because a captive can not release himself from prison.”

And I think that’s what friends are for.