Shoftim - 2nd Portion

Join me as we learn Chumash for Monday, the second Torah reading in parshat Shoftim. Yesterday we learned about the appointment of judges and how judges have to be honest and not to show favoritism, not to take bribery. And as well as the judicial hierarchy that if a person the lower cities doesn't know what the law is, they would then go to the Beit Hamikdash, to the Sanhedrin, the great tribunal and that they would be able to decide what the judgment should be. Today we learn about the unique mitzvah, the mitzvah of appointing a king and the laws pertaining what the king's responsibility is for the Jewish people. Verse 14, chapter 17. Ki Savo el haaretz, when you will come to the land of Israel asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lach otah, God will give you v'rishta, you will settle there. V'yashta ba, and you will conquer it and settle in it. V'amarta, you will say asima li melech k'chol hagoyim asher s'vivotai, I want to appoint a king amongst your appoint a king over myself like the nations around me have. Rashi. No, no Rashi yet, I'm sorry. Verse 15. Som tasim alecha melech, you should you can indeed appoint a king over yourself. Asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha bo, that God will choose. Mikerev achecha. It should be of somebody from amongst your brothers. Tasim alecha melech, you should make for them a king. You may not appoint a foreigner upon you asher lo achicha hu is not your brother. In fact, this is this Talmud tells us about the story of Agrippa the king. When he was king, he started crying when he read this verse and at the time the rabbis placated him and the debate in the Talmud if it was good what they did or not. Because if he was considered being that he was a if he was considered a Jew or not and that becomes all discussion in the Talmud at the time. Verse 16. Rak lo yarbeh lo susim, however there are conditions to what the king may and may not do in order that he should remember that he's only a king of flesh and blood. Luckily, I believe system should not have a lot of horses for the ocean of some of the time should not bring the people back to Egypt and have a source. So, therefore, so that so he should not be able to get more horses. Hashem and God said to you you should not have a lot of you must never return along this path. What does this mean? Rashi explains. The I believe system Ella K Day Mark after he is a lot of have horses that should be able to pull his chariot. The only reason that's why the Torah gives us a qualifying reason of why he's not allowed to have a lot of horses. Should we all should we have some of the time he shouldn't bring back the people down to Egypt cuz most of the horses come from Egypt. As it says by King Solomon number of them in the book of Kings telling us that the best that the King Solomon bought the chariot of horse four horses with 600 silver golden coins and one horse itself costed about 150 as it's enumerated in the book of Kings telling us that the best horses used to come from Egypt. Therefore, the Torah tells us don't have a lot of horses cuz that's going to cause them to go back to Egypt. As well, the verse 17 of the I believe it's not take more than 18 wives for himself. The also love of a this way he should not be distracted. His heart should not be distracted because of his over the I believe me or does well, he must not acquire more silver and gold for himself that is necessary to finance his army and his country. The I believe in ocean How many consider a lot? Ella you just only 18. How do we know 18? The fish cuz we find in the book of Samuel that King David had six wives. And then and then God he's told by the prophet If this is too few, then you can add on like this and like this meaning six plus six another 12 onto the six. So, we know it's a total of 18. The cast of his over the I believe me or does not have too much silver and gold. Ella K Day he He to have enough to be able to give and support and finance his army. Verse 18. And when the king will sit securely upon his throne and he must write for himself two copies of the Torah on the Torah scroll. I'll say for you will write it on a book and the Torah scroll will be in the care of the Levites and the priests. Rashi You must again because if the king does so that I should just kind of if he continues to have the Torah with him at all times then it's worthy that the kingdom should stay with him. As Mishnah Torah, what does it mean the Mishnah Torah? The word Mishnah means double. Stay safe with you have to write two Torah scrolls. Ahaz one you would have she would not that would stay in the in the in the in his storehouses and his chest. The Ahaz necessities in there and one that he always carried with him at all times. Uncles gives the same terminology to again. Pass Shagan No year Uncles translate not that there were two Torahs but the very fact that he would have to constantly translate the Torah and you would have a copy of the Torah meaning that it would always be learning in and that's why he uses the terminology double. Verse 19. The what's the purpose of him having the Torah as the Torah continues The this Torah must remain with him physically at all times. The he must read it all the days of read from it every day of his life. The he may learn from it leaders I shall not fear God and he covers God. The to make sure that he's obeying all the rules of the Torah and the rules that are in it to make sure that he performs them accordingly. This we see over here that the king always has to remember that he's only a king of flesh and blood that there is always a superior the king of all kings that's above him as we're going to see in verse 20. The like the words of the Torah. All the vilti rum levav, and all this is so that his heart will not become haughty may acha from amongst his brothers who the vilti sur min hamitzvos that he should not go astray astray or deviate from the mitzvos yamin u'smol lo yider left l'man yorich yamin yamin yamin mamlachto in order that he might prolong the days of his kingdom. Who he u'vanav in his children b'kerev Yisrael amongst the Jewish people. Rashi u'vilti sur min hamitzvah filu mitzvah kala shelo navi meaning not to go astray even if it's not a mitzvah that's clearly written in the Torah but just to follow the words that the prophets tell him. L'man yorich yamin from here we learn miklal lav atah shomea miklal heinah atah shomea lav from the positive you derive the negative meaning that if he doesn't follow the Torah then he will not have a long time in his kingdom. V'chein matzinu b'Shaul as we find that by King Shaul that after he was anointed as the king for the Jewish people she'omer lei Shmuel Shmuel told him shivas yamim teichel ad bo'i elacha you're going to wait seven days until I come to you l'ha'alot ha'olous to bring the sacrifices v'chi va'yichal shivas yamim waited seven days. Being that he didn't see that Shmuel was coming he started bringing the sacrifices v'lo yishmor es ha'chassidus lishmor kol hayamim he did not keep to the promise to wait all day until Samuel would come. And over here he didn't wait until Shmuel came and Shmuel came and admonished him and said because you didn't wait until I came your kingdom is not going to last so we see over here for a very simple abrogation meaning that he was told to wait to bring the sacrifices. This was only a prophet it wasn't a law in the Torah and even it was something just that a prophet told him and he didn't listen that caused that he should not be able to be on his kingdom and he would did not last and he was only king and it did not go on to his children as well. Who banav magid it comes to teach us im banav hagunim l'malchus that if his son is worthy and appropriate to be the king who kaidem l'chol adam he would go first from here we see over here something very interesting that when we talk about the hierarchy of the king, the only time that the son replaced the king was only if the son was appropriate and fitting for the job. If there was somebody else that was more fit, then the son is still the one that has precedent, but only if the son is fit. If the son is completely not fit for the job, then they would take somebody who is appropriately to fit for the job, and just because he's a son, if he's completely not fit for the job, he would not be the one to be the king. This concludes the second Torah reading of Parshas Shoftim.