Yonatan - The Ideal Friend When our Talmudic Sages wished to
cite an example of the ideal friendship - one that is not
motivated by any ulterior motive - they mentioned the
relationship between David and Yonatan. Yonatan, who was in line
to inherit the throne from his father King Saul, was aware that
by protecting David from his fathers wrath he was forfeiting his
inheritance by championing David as his fathers successor. He
nevertheless risked his life and sacrificed his future to assist
David. In his eulogy on Yonatan who was slain in a battle with
the Philistines, David bemoaned the passing of "my brother..
whose love to me was more wonderful than the love for women."