שמואל ב, פרק א׳, פסוק י״א

The devastating news of the defeat at Gilboa instantly transforms into a profound display of both national and personal grief. Upon hearing of the fallen king and the military disaster, David tears his garments as a definitive sign of mourning, a powerful gesture immediately echoed by all the men standing with him [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This spontaneous act of sorrow established the foundation for the traditional laws of mourning. The primary approach among commentators is that David's response serves as the legal source for the obligation to tear one's clothes upon the death of a national leader, represented here by Saul, and upon the passing of the head of the high court, represented by Jonathan. It also establishes the requirement to mourn in this way when a severe tragedy strikes the broader public. Because these overwhelming losses occurred simultaneously, David was required to make a distinct, separate tear for each individual tragedy [רד״ק, אברבנאל].

The tradition surrounding the written text reflects the magnitude of this grief. While the basic law derived here dictates that a mourner is strictly required to tear only their outermost layer of clothing [מנחת שי], David actually tore multiple garments. He performed separate acts of tearing to mourn Saul, Jonathan, and the nation individually [רד״ק].

The sorrow for the public itself contained two distinct layers. Some explain that this dual mourning was directed both toward the loss of the high court's sages and the tragic slaughter of the Israelite masses [מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, David's tears for the people stemmed from two complementary perspectives: he mourned the tragedy that befell them specifically as the people of God, while also grieving the physical disaster that struck the House of Israel simply as a distinct nation [אברבנאל].