A Vort From the Rebbe Parshas Shoftim, Rabbi Leibel Schapiro - 5786

In fourth from today we are in this week's parsha, parsha shof'tim. In parsha shof'tim the torah tells us the mitzvah of minuy melech, of appointing a king. Says the rebbe shlita, "Same to us a melech a melech, you should appoint a king upon you." And this is a mitzvah that had to be done after the yidden entered Eretz Yisrael, they have to appoint a king. On the other hand, we find the time of Shmuel Hanavi when the yidden asked for a king, they said, "Nol lanu melech, give us a king." But Shmuel Hanavi was unhappy, was upset, and so was the rebbe shlita. And the rebbe shlita told Shmuel that it's not "Ois chomo asu, they are upset with you and they don't want you and they want somebody else." "Eisi mo asu, the rebbe shlita this mitzvah they don't want." And therefore the rebbe shlita was upset. And the question is, why was the rebbe shlita upset when they were asking for something that was originally a mitzvah to do? Hashem said, "Appoint a king." And that's what they asked for, so why was the rebbe shlita upset? Also, if the rebbe shlita was upset, which means that it was not a good idea, then why did he give in? Why did he have Shmuel Hanavi appoint a king if it's a wrong thing to do? And the rebbe answers this based on what it says in other places in chassidus, that there could be two reasons why we need a king. One reason is a simple reason, and that's the way a king is all over the world. In order to keep law and order, you need a government, you need a king. Says in pirkei avos, "Ilmali ilmali miras hamalchus, isha isha yuchalin bloi, if not for the fear of the government, of the king, people would swallow each other." So to keep law and order, you need a king. That's one simple reason you need a king. Then there's another reason why possible, if the case is where people don't need a king for that, to keep law and order, they'll do it themselves. But a king really is supposed to be somebody who has a very high madregah, a very high ruchniyusdige spiritual madregah. So by having a king and leading the people, leading the yidden, like teaching them, would elevate the Eden to higher spiritual madriga. We know that by Shaul Hamelach, it says, "Mishich Mayim Mal Gevaya Mekolam." From a shoulder and up, he was taller than everybody else. It means people reached his sh- his their head reached his shoulder. Which simply means he was a very tall person. But that's not the real maila of Shaul Hamelach. The mail is he was in a very, very high spiritual madriga. Beruchnius, what was their and their head was in his shoulder, so to speak. So, the reason to have a king and according to that is that the king would be the one to elevate the Eden to higher madriga. When the Eibishter gave the mitzvah same to us in Malach Hamelach, "Make a king," he meant the higher the second level, the higher level of making a king. Have a king that he should elevate you to a higher madriga. But when the Eden asked for a king, that's not what they had in mind. They asked for a king, they felt that we just need a king to run the country. We need a king to take care that there should be law and order. And that's why the Eibishter was upset. This is not what I meant. I didn't mean to have a king like this. And therefore he was upset, and so Shmuel Hanavi upset. On the other hand, since they asked for it in that level, the Eibishter agreed to give it to them because if they are that level that they do need it for that, then they need the king for that, too. So, the Eibishter was on one hand upset why they wanted a king for that reason. But on the other hand, since that was what they are at, so that's what the Eibishter gave in, and he said y- to Shmuel Hanavi that he should appoint a king. But the real way to appoint a king is purpose is so that they should elevate the he should elevate the Eden to a much higher madregah beruchnius. And that's exactly what the king of the David the king was etc. etc. But at that time when they asked for it, they were upset because they didn't have this true reason in mind. They had the other reason in mind.