Why is "David Melech Yisrael" So Popular?

Q. When it comes to weddings, bar mitzvahs, Simchat Torah, etc., why do we only sing "David Melech Yisrael Chai Vekayam" (taken from the Talmud, first said by no less than Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi) and not "Yechi Adoni/Adoneinu Hamelech David Leolam" (in Melachim Alef – at the end of the Haftarah for Chayei Sarah – as David Hamelech is about to die)?

I could understand saying it at Kiddush Levanah, because "David Melech Yisrael Chai Vekayam" alludes to the cycles of the waxing and waning of the Jewish people, but what makes the one much more popular than the other?

[Note: Here's some background for readers who may not know. According to the Talmud in Rosh Hashana (25a), Rav Yehuda HaNasi once told Rabbi Chiya to go to a place called Ein Tav and to sanctify the new moon there. He instructed Rabbi Chiya to confirm that he had done so by replying with the passphrase David Melech Yisrael chai v’kayam, “David, king of Israel, lives and endures.”]

A. Thanks for your very interesting question. My answer is purely speculative, but I have three ideas of what may have contributed to one's popularity over the other.

First, the context of Rabbi Yehuda's statement was as a watchword. It could be that people adopted it because of its inherent symbolic meaning, as opposed to the pasuk, which is intended more literally.

Second, while the sentiments are similar, there is an important difference in meaning. The verse in Melachim expresses a wish that King David live forever; "David melech Yisroel" expresses the concept that David (metaphorically) actually does live and endure. (Also, as you noted, "David melech Yisroel" is used to represent the Jewish people as a whole; the pasuk doesn't really suggest such an interpretation.)

Finally, and perhaps less profoundly, "David melech Yisroel" is concise. It's easy to memorize and easily fits into a number of tunes. It simply may lend itself better to being made into a song.

Any or all of these factors may have contributed to the Gemara’s ubiquity and the pasuk’s relative obscurity.

Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.