From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2008 1:02 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Shoftim, 5768
Yours for the Asking
By Rabbi Joshua ( majestically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
The Torah tells us that,
after the nation has settled in the land, they will want to appoint a king, and
that, when they do, they should go ahead and appoint a king.The way in which
this event is described is problematic, because, we are told,
the people will say, " I will set a kng over myself, like all the other
nations that are around me," ( Devarim, 17:14).although there is a dispute
in the Talmud ( Sanhedrin 20b) whether this is a mitzvah or only voluntary,
Ramban, in his Torah commentary, cites the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah that it is,
indeed, a mitzvah, and that the statement in this verse is something that the
people should say. This being so, asks the Ramban, why is the statement phrased
in such an usual way, that the people should ask for a king like all the other
nations? Ramban explains that the verse is actually an allusion to an event
that would occur in the future, when the people came to the prophet
Shmuel and asked for a king. When they did ask, they asked for a king "to
judge us like all the nations"( Shmuel,1,8:6). Still, it is difficult
to understand why the Torah would allude to this event in formulating the
mitzvah, especially if, as some commentators say, the reason that Shmuel became
angry at the people, even though they were merely asking to fulfill a Biblical
command, is the very fact that they asked for a king like the ones that other
nations have! I would like to suggest an alternative explanation, based on the
teachings of Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohein Kook, zt'l, whose seventy- third
yahrzeit occurred this past Wednesday, the third of Ellul.
Rav Kook, in the
beginning of his work Orot, writes that Eretz Yisroel is not something
external to the Jewish people, but an intrinsic part of their very existence.
In order to truly understand this intrinsic connection, one needs to delve into
the kabbalistic teachings about it. On a more simple level, however, Rav Kook
writes that the charge of the Jewish people, as given at Mt.Sinai, is to be a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This charge entails two basic elements,
that of a kingdom, and that of holiness. what the nation is being called
on to do is to establish themselves as an entity that exhibits all of the
elements of a working country, with all of the economic, political,
sociological aspects that this entails, but to approach them in a manner that
results in holiness. In this way, all of the nations of the world who observe
them will see that one does not need to be a recluse living on a mountain top
in order to maintain a connection with God in his life. Rather, a person, and a
nation, can live in a full way and, in doing so, become connected with God. In
this way, the Jewish nation will be able to influence all of mankind to live
their lives in accordance with God's will, and thereby be a light
to the nations, as the prophet Yeshaya would later teach .
In light of Rav Kook's
teaching, we can understand why the people's request for a king is formulated
in the Torah in the way that it is. The king is to constitute the central
figure in leading the nation, in a way that other nations can appreciate. Just
as other nations run their countries through the institution of a monarchy, so
too does the Jewish nation. However, the manner in which that formal
institution is to be run is not the same as it is among other nations. for
example, although the people are told to fear the king, the king himself is
commanded to write a Mshneh Torah, amd carry it with him and read from it
at all times, in order to learn to fear God, and, as the Torah puts it, "
so that his heart does not become haughty over his brothers" ( Devarim,
17:20). Ramban explains that conceit is a disgraceful trait among human beings,
and glory and exaltedness belong to God alone, Thus, when the people will
say that a king should be appointed over them like all the nations, the meaning
is that , in its outer trappings, the institution of the king is part of the
formal structure of a functioning nation. However, in terms of the inner nature
of this institution, it must be governed by the laws and ideals of the Torah,
and, in that way, influence other nations to lead a life guided by an awareness
of God. When the nation asked Shmuel for a king to judge
them like all the other nations, however, he apparently sensed
that they did not have this intention in mind, Based on our
analysis,perhaps we can suggest that this was because they added the word
'leshfteinu'-to judge us, to the phrase "like all the nations" that
is mentioned in the Torah's formulation. Thus, rather than
merely referring to the position itself as being 'like all the
nations," they appeared to be asking for a king who would act as other
kings,as well,thereby missing the Torah's message of the function of the king
in the wider context of the Jewish nation's mission to
the world. That is why Shmuel felt a sense of failure when they made
their request.
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