Very often when a person’s situation seems completely hopeless, he will lose all hope and utterly despair. However King David did not lose any hope when he was seized by the Pelishtim in Gath, totally alone and abandoned by his own people. His trust in Hashem was completely unshaken, and this act serves as a tremendous lesson to all of us in today’s world, which can sometimes appear quite hopeless to many people.

‘Show me favour O G-d, for men yearn to swallow me, all day long they oppress me with war…All day long they do battle with me.’ If one analyses the life of King David, one will see a troubled life beset by much sorrow and misfortune. Yet he is recognised as one of the greatest Jews who ever lived. It is incumbent upon man to work on himself no matter how big the problem may seem to be.

There were a few exceptional men throughout Jewish history that never sinned. King David’s father Yishai was one of them. However, as the sands of time has passed, those men, great as they undoubtably were, are not constantly remembered as the greatest ever Jews.

The greatest ever Jews that all kids grow up learning about over and over again were the 3 Avot, Moshe Rabbenu, Aharon Hakohen, Yosef and King David, who also make up the 7 Uspizim from Succot. They all sinned at times.

Moshe hit the rock, King David sinned with Batsheva and the others committed averot too. However, despite one or two sins, they repented and rose to a much greater level than any of the other men who never sinned at all. We should take great heart from this lesson and realize that even if we occasional slip up in our Judaism, we can repent, work hard and grow to reach great heights, Amen.