What does Shimshon have to do with IKEA?

Many of the Israeli branches of IKEA are situated in well known locations such as Be’er Sheva, Netanya and Rishon L’Tziyon. So when the IKEA store opened in Eshtaol in 2020, many Israelis had no idea where it was located.

When reading the books of Yehoshua and Shoftim, we find references to Eshtaol and learn about its location.

We first encounter Eshtaol in Yehoshua 15:33 where the cities of the tribe of Yehuda are listed: “In the lowland: Eshtaol, Tzorah, Ashna.”

In Yehoshua 19:41 we learn about the borders of the tribe of Dan: “The border of their heritage was Tzorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh…”

Are Eshtaol and Tzorah in the territory of Yehuda or Dan?

Rashi explains that they are in Yehuda, but Dan is situated next to them.

This week’s Haftara recounts the birth and childhood of Shimshon (Shoftim 13:24-25): “The woman gave birth to a son, and she called his name Shimshon. The lad grew and God blessed him. The spirit of God began to resound in him in the camp of Dan between Tzorah and Eshtaol.”

According to Metzudat Tzion it was called the camp of Dan since that is where the tribe of Dan camped when they went out to war.

We see from here that Shimshon was from the region of Beit Shemesh, between Tzorah and Eshtaol.

It makes sense to build an IKEA in Eshtaol since the land is less expensive and there is a lot of open space. IKEA customers also need Shimson’s strength to get their heavy purchases back home.