Why I Applaud Biden’s Pardon of His Son

President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has drawn widespread criticism. Since he had promised not to pardon his errant son, Biden is being pilloried for lying as well as putting his paternal compassion above his Presidential office. According to the Wall Street Journal, the pardon will wreak permanent damage to his reputation and his legacy.

But I applaud the pardon because of Absalom’s pillar. Let me explain.

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, the legendary head of Jerusalem’s Mir Yeshiva from 1965-79, used to pray on the day before Yom Kippur not at the Western Wall, but at Absalom’s Pillar. This burial monument in the Kidron Valley just outside of Jerusalem’s Old City probably dates to the first century CE, but tradition has it that it is the grave of Absalom, the errant son of King David.

As narrated in the Second Book of Samuel, Absalom mounted a rebellion against his father and tried to murder him. When King David’s general Yoav vanquished the rebellion and killed Absalom, Yoav thought that his king would be pleased. Instead, an inconsolable David broke into a lament for his son that is recorded in the Bible. Eight times he wailed, “B’ni, my son!”

According to the Talmudic sages, the first seven repetitions of “B’ni” lifted Absalom’s soul out of the seven levels of hell, while the eighth “B’ni, my son” brought Absalom’s soul into Paradise. King David thus granted his murderous son a royal pardon.

Absalom’s Pillar, outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City

When Rabbi Shmuelevitz was questioned about his mysterious choice to pray at Absalom’s pillar instead of Judaism’s traditional holy sites on the eve of Yom Kippur, he replied that he appeals to God before the day of Divine forgiveness of our sins to invoke what King David did. With heartfelt prayer, he says to God that if David, who is just flesh and blood, could forgive his rebellious and murderous son Absalom, how much more should God forgive the Jewish People. He would say, “You, God, are greater than King David. And we, the Jewish People, are not as bad as Absalom.”

So here we are at the end of 2024. We know that the Second Temple was destroyed because of infighting among Jews, but after a few stunned months of amazing unity post-October 7, we Jews in Israel are at it again. The incriminations and attacks against those who differ from us politically and religiously have reached new lows. When I pray to God for the return of the hostages and for our soldiers, I am almost embarrassed to be making requests because we, the Jews of Israel, are guilty of violating the thing God most wants from us: unity.

That’s why I’m pleased with President Biden’s pardon of his son. No matter how much you may disapprove of his actions, Hunter Biden’s crimes are nowhere near as bad as Absalom’s, and President Biden is no King David. But now I get to paraphrase Rabbi Shmuelevitz when I pray: “God, Your mercy and compassion are greater than President Biden’s. If Biden can pardon his child just because he is his child, so please pardon Your children because we are Your children, and return the hostages alive to their families and protect our soldiers.”