שמואל א, פרק כ״א, פסוק י״ד

Finding himself in life-threatening danger deep within enemy territory, David is forced to take extreme measures to survive. He completely alters his behavior, staging a dramatic display of madness. A rich tradition notes that David had once pondered the purpose behind certain creations in the world, specifically questioning the existence of foolishness. Yet, upon arriving at the king's court, it was this exact foolishness that he desperately needed to save his own life [חומת אנך].

To secure his escape, David acts across multiple levels to project a complete loss of sanity. The primary approach among commentators is that he first altered his normally wise and measured speech, beginning to talk like someone who had lost his mind. Taking this a step further, some point out that he completely changed his cover story. While he initially provided a logical reason for his arrival, he abruptly switched his narrative to words of pure madness [מלבי״ם]. He performed this act right in front of his captors' eyes. His goal was to disguise himself so thoroughly that they would either fail to recognize him as the military commander David, or simply view him as a harmless fool and expel him from the royal palace [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

The performance continued even as David was physically held captive and surrounded by guards, where he actively engaged in foolish and erratic behavior [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. To further strengthen the illusion, he incorporated physical actions into his routine by interacting with the doors of the gate. While some explain that he simply wrote on the doors [רש״י], others describe how he scratched meaningless marks and symbols into the wood, mimicking the behavior of individuals who have lost their senses [רד״ק, רלב״ג, מצודת דוד].

The act reached its peak when David allowed his saliva to freely drip down his beard. This deliberate combination of confused speech, illogical actions, and a complete lack of physical control perfected his disguise. It successfully convinced his captors that the man standing before them had completely lost his sanity [מלבי״ם, רש״י].