Haftorah Beam - VaYechi

I'm so behind, it's distressing.  Some Haftarot are so inspiring, they just write themselves.  The Torah portion for this parsha was pretty fruitful last year.  I used it as an opportunity to connect to the Russian ban on international adoption by Americans.

The Haftorah, like the Torah portion, centers around a leader (David vs. Jacob) passing on his legacy.  It begins with a grand statement of the power of faith and tradition:

Chapter 2¹ When David's life was drawing to a close, he instructed his son Solomon as follows: ² "I am going the way of all the earth; be strong and show yourself a man. ³Keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in His ways and following His laws, His commandments, His rules, and His admonitions as recorded in the Teaching of Moses, in order that you may succeed in whatever you undertake and wherever you turn. ⁴ Then the LORD will fulfill the promise that He made concerning me: 'If your descendants are scrupulous in their conduct, and walk before Me faithfully, with all their heart and soul, your line on the throne of Israel shall never end!'

The rest of the passage, however, is a litany of allies and enemies, unfinished business that Solomon must take care of before he can be secure in his kingship.  David is extremely human in this passage.  I did not know what to do with this, until a recent holiday concert (where my husband's new barbershop quartet was one of the featured acts) included this famous tune, which really sums this up for me: