Articles by Author
Shoftim
Rabbi Aaron Silver
Amongst the forty one mitzvot enumerated in parshat Shoftim is that of appointing a king over the Jewish people. This is based on the verses in chapter 17,14 - 15. (See Sefer Hachinuch mitzva 497, Rambam mitzvot asei 173). The gemara in Sanhedrin 20b quotes R. Yosi that the nation of Israel was commanded three mitzvot when they came into the land of Israel: 1. to appoint a king 2. to destroy Amalek 3. to build the beit hamikdash. This is quoted by the Rambam at the very beginning of Hilchot Melachim. It is therefore strange that when the Jewish people finally asked for a king during the time of Shmuel Hanavi, they were rebuked for doing so by Shmuel and by G-d. (Shmuel I, 8:4 - 9, 19 - 22).
The Drashot Haran (drush 11) and the Nachalat Yaakov (parshat Shoftim) explain that the Jews asked for a king for the wrong purposes. The Avnei Nezer (Yoreh Deah 312,50) points out that there are two major roles of leadership in the Jewish people. The first is the king and the second is the nasi - the head of the Sanhedrin. The major role of the king is to run the government and to maintain law and order in the country as the verse says in Mishlei 29, 4 "Melech b'mishpat ya'amid aretz." The primary function of the Sanhedrin and the nasi is to make sure the Jews keep the Torah and follow the mitzvot. They are in charge of the spirituality of the Jewish people. The Rambam states in the beginning of Hilchot Mamrim that the Sanhedrin in Yerushalayim are the pillars of the Oral Law and they are the final word in psak halacha (ruling in Jewish law).
The Talmud tells us in Sanhedrin 46a that when there is a total breakdown of religious observance amongst the Jews that beit din can punish over and above the letter of the law in order to bring the situation under control. This is quoted by the Rambam in Hilchot Sanhedrin 24,4 and Hilchot Mamrim 2,4. The gemara and the Rambam are specifically talking about a breakdown of shemirat Shabbat and morals (tzniut) in society. However, the Rambam in Hilchot Melachim 3,10, when discussing a similar situation regarding murder, says that it is the king who has the right to punish over and above the letter of the law. This is because murder is not just a religious problem but a breakdown of law and order in the country as well and it comes under the king's domain. However, immorality and shemirat Shabbat are religious problems and they are in the domain of the Sanhedrin.
It is important that these two roles (that of the king and that of the sanhedrin) be kept separate. The Talmud relates in Bava Basra 3b that the entire Hasmonean family was wiped out by Herod. The Ramban explains in Bereshit 49,10 that this was for two reasons. Firstly, the verse says that the king (after the coronation of King David) must always come from the Tribe of Yehuda, and the Hasmoneim, who were Kohanim, came from the tribe of Levi. Secondly, the Kohanim have a spiritual role in the Jewish people and should not get involved in governmental matters. Since they ruled over the Jewish people against the halacha, their punishment was that they were all killed.
Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky zt'l writes in his sefer Emet L'Yaakov (parshat Vayechi), that Yaakov blessed his sons in the presence of the whole family so that all would know what each tribe's role was in the Jewish people and that no one would encroach on another's domain. Another reason for this was that they would all know that each one's role was critical for the Jewish people and that the nation as a whole would succeed only if each one did his role. The Drashot Haran and the Nachlat Yaakov point out that the Jewish people, in their request from Shmuel, asked for a king who would judge them like all the nations of the world (Shmuel l, 8:5 - 6).
Amongst the non-Jewish world, there was no distinction of roles between the civil and the religious, and consequently, the Jews were requesting a king who would be in charge of religion as well. This is what did not find favor in the eyes of G-d and Shmuel. When Shmuel finally gives them a king, he rebukes the Jewish people and tells them there will be a sign from heaven that they have acted improperly. He tells them that it is the time for harvesting the wheat and there will be a rainstorm that day and this is a sign that they have acted improperly in the eyes of G-d (chapter 12, 16 - 19). The Nachalat Yaakov points out that the sign from heaven was that water and rain are essential for the world, yet at the wrong time, they are a curse and not a blessing. Similarly, even though appointing a king is a mitzvah it must be done in the right way. If done improperly, it is a sin and not the fulfillment of G-d's wishes.
About Us | Programs | Apply | Halacha and Health | Events | Alumnae | Torah Online | Support | Contact Us
Contact: NISHMAT 26a Berel Locker Street, Pat Neighborhood,Jerusalem 93282 ISRAEL
Email:
Phone: +972-2-6404333 Fax: +972-2-6404353
Women's Halachic Hotline: +972-2-640-4343 Toll free from the United States and Canada: 1-877-963-8938