L-rd of the Rings – Shoftim
שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לִשְׁבָטֶיךָ וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט צֶדֶק (דברים טז, יח).
וּבָאתָ אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם וְאֶל הַשֹּׁפֵט אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְדָרַשְׁתָּ וְהִגִּידוּ לְךָ אֵת דְּבַר הַמִּשְׁפָּט. וְעָשִׂיתָ עַל פִּי הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ מִן הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה' וְשָׁמַרְתָּ לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ (יז, ט-י).
שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ בּוֹ מִקֶּרֶב אַחֶיךָ תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ לֹא תוּכַל לָתֵת עָלֶיךָ אִישׁ נָכְרִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא אָחִיךָ הוּא (יז, טו).
נָבִיא אָקִים לָהֶם מִקֶּרֶב אֲחֵיהֶם כָּמוֹךָ וְנָתַתִּי דְבָרַי בְּפִיו וְדִבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶם אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּנּוּ (יח, יח).
This week’s parsha describes the Torah construct of government in Am Yisrael. Not surprisingly it is unlike any man-made system of government, such as “communism”, “totalitarianism”, “autocracy”, “democracy” and all the other “…isms” and “…cy's”.
At the head of the pyramid is מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הקב"ה. All the lower constructs are, without exception, subservient to HKB"H.
The liaison between HKB"H and all the other lower constructs is the נָבִיא. HKB"H does not communicate directly with the entire Am Yisrael (except on Har Sinai, when Am Yisrael heard the first two commandments directly from HKB"H). HKB"H does communicate “indirectly” with Am Yisrael, showing His pleasure/displeasure with us, by heaping abundance on us or withholding abundance/rain. The prophet is the messenger of HKB"H and authentically relates His message verbatim to Am Yisrael. The prophet is selected by HKB"H, not by democratic election and is not self- appointed. The Torah gives a system of checks and balances how Am Yisrael can ascertain if he/she (prophecy is given both to men and women – Miriam, Devorah, Chulda, etc.) is a true prophet or not. If the prophet incites Am Yisrael to worship avodah zarah or if something he/she says does not come to pass, then he/she is a false prophet and is put to death.
The next construct is the Kohanim and the Levi’im. They are the “civil servants” of HKB"H in this world. Unlike the other 12 Tribes, they have no inheritance in Eretz Yisrael. Their inheritance is to serve HKB"H in the Beit Hamikdash, the Kohanim offering korbanot and the Levi’im opening and guarding the gates, singing Shira, baking the Menachot, preparing the Ketoret, etc. Each Kohen/Levi worked a total of two weeks a year in the Beit Hamikdash and also on the Shloshet Ha’Regalim, when all the shifts worked at the same time and all together in the Mikdash. The remainder of the year these Kohanim and Levi’im taught Torah and gave piskei halacha. The Kohanim and Levi’im lived spread out all over Eretz Yisrael, in the עָרֵי הַלְּוִיִּים. They did not possess farming land to grow their own food, instead their sustenance was provided by Am Yisrael via the Trumot and Ma’asrot. Their function was to foster peace within Am Yisrael (they are talmidim of Aharon אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם) and to rehabilitate sinners. Someone who accidentally killed a fellow Jew had to flee to the עָרֵי הַלְּוִיִּים to escape the גּוֹאֵל הַדָּם. Accidental murder was not something that occurred by chance, it was orchestrated by HKB"H. The murderer had committed some sin that he was required to do tshuva for, so HKB"H organized it that he would have to relocate to the city of the Kohanim and Levi’im, be surrounded by spirituality and accomplish the required tshuva. The person who was killed was also not killed by chance - it was someone who was liable the death penalty for some severe sin he had committed. The עָרֵי הַלְּוִיִּים were also interspersed throughout Eretz Yisrael, to provide easy access for Am Yisrael to give Trumot and Ma’asrot.
The next construct of government are the judges and the policemen. If the Kohanim/Levi’im were teaching Torah and giving piskei halacha, why do you also need judges? Rabbeinu Bachyei (Devarim 16, 18) says that the reason that the passuk of appointing judges and police is juxtaposed after the previous parsha of the Regalim is to teach us that even though Am Yisrael go to Yerushalayim on Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot and can ask the Kohanim and Levi’im any halachic question that they need, there is an additional mitzva to appoint judges and policemen in every city in Eretz Yisrael, that are not Kohanim/Levi’im, but rather talmidei chachamim, to provide an “on the spot” halachic authority for matters requiring an urgent psak halacha that cannot wait to travel to the city of the Levi’im for an answer. The judges give the psak and the policemen enforce the psak. The job of the policemen is to make sure that the people are abiding by the psak given by the judges and punish anyone who does not. The policemens' job is also to make sure that regulations are being upheld, that weights and measures are accurate etc. Although the Torah gives one judge the authority to make a psak, it is a Takanat Chachamim that a court of a minimum of three judges is required to give a psak in monetary disputes. If it is a capital case, דִּינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת, a court of a minimum of twenty-three judges is required to make a psak. This is called a “small” Sanhedrin and the judges sit at the gates of the city. The “large” Sanhedrin, comprising seventy-one judges, was situated in the Beit Hamikdash (in Lishkat Hagazit) and their primary purpose was to give piskei halacha pertaining to the Kohanim and their avodah/yichus etc. All the courts had an odd number of judges so that in every case there would be a majority ruling and the psak was according to the majority.
The next construct is the king. The king is also a “civil servant” of HKB"H, the head of the other "civil servants" and his function is to ensure the smooth running of the entire nation and its infrastructure – to build roads, to wage wars, to ensure law and order, to ensure smooth running of the Beit Hamikdash (access roads for olei haregel, sufficient mikvaot, availability of raw materials etc.), national building projects (like Shlomo building the Mikdash). The king is not democratically elected or self-appointed, he is appointed by HKB"H and is answerable to the prophet, who is liaison with HKB"H. The king cannot perform any major undertaking without the authorization of HKB"H (via the prophet).
The above structure is in fact comprised of three circles, crowns - כֶּתֶר תּוֹרָה, כֶּתֶר כְּהֻנָּה, כֶּתֶר מַלְכוּת. There was only one person who could have filled all three roles simultaneously and that was Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe was both a prophet and a king, but not a Kohen. If, however, he would not have repeatedly objected to undertaking the role of savior of Am Yisrael, when HKB"H commanded him to, he would have also been a Kohen. Since he objected, HKB"H gave the role of Kohen to Aharon. The question is how Moshe could have been a king if he was not from the Tribe of Yehuda? The answer is that the Mishna does not say that Malchut is for Yehuda and his descendants, but for David and his descendants. Prior to David Hamelech it was possible to be a king even if you were from another tribe (Yosef was a king, Moshe was a king, Shmuel was a king, Shaul was a king), but from David onwards, only David’s descendants are entitled to Malchut.
The subsequent allocation was split – Kehuna to Aharon and his descendants, Malchut to David Hamelech and his descendants and Torah/Nevuah to anyone in Am Yisrael who is worthy of it. It is a kind of a “separation of entities” of government. Instead of being concentric circles, they are intersecting circles that allow for division of power on the one hand, and also for checks and balances and symbiosis on the other. The only concentricity that exists is with the circle of the Torah. This circle may be concentric with Malchut or Kehuna. It is possible for one person to be both a king and a Navi, or a Kohen and a Navi, but it is impossible to be a Kohen and a king.
Whenever there was an illegitimate seizure of power by one circle from another, it led to disaster, like when Alexander Yannai (a Kohen from the Chashmonaim family) appointed himself king. Whenever there was a disproportionate abuse of power by one circle, it led to disaster, like the Kohanim Tzedukkim. The three-ring model is built on each circle performing its allotted role without interfering with the functioning of the other circles, but at the same time intersecting, working in sync, with a focused, singular purpose, keeping each other in check and maintaining balance. If this balance is upset, this model instead becomes a three ring “circus”.
The circle of Kehuna was given to Aharon HaKohen and his descendants because Aharon possessed the ideal character traits to be a Kohen, a servant of HKB"H in the Beit Hamikdash. Aharon was unquestioning and Aharon loved peace. Every Kohen inherits these genetics from Aharon. Aharon was also a Navi as well as a Kohen. When the Kohanim deviate from Aharon’s life philosophy, they are not fit to be Kohanim. The Tzedukkim were not interested in being an unquestioning servant of HKB"H or preserving peace in Am Yisrael. All they were interested in was preserving their “elevated” social status.
Someone who has Aharon’s genetics however, is unfit to be a king. A king cannot place peace above all else and be unquestioning. If Aharon was the king instead of Moshe and HKB"H told him, “I will destroy Am Yisrael (after the sin of the egel) and reseed Am Yisrael from you”, Aharon would have not questioned and Am Yisrael would have been destroyed. The job of the king is to question (even question HKB"H) and be a loyal shepherd to his people.
A king possesses other genetics. A king must assume responsibility and not give into public pressure (like Aharon did with the sin of the egel). The job of king is not a popularity contest. A king cannot be swayed by public opinion. Surveys and polls are not relevant to a king. A king must be willing to do things that are not popular, like Moshe circulating in the camp and killing all those actively involved in the sin of the egel. A king must nullify his own essence and become a vessel of HKB"H and the Torah. The pomp and ceremony, honor and fear associated with a king in Am Yisrael, are not for the king's own ego, but purely to be sublimated upward into honor and fear for HKB"H. These are character traits that Yehuda possessed, which is why the circle of Malchut belongs to his descendants - it is in their genes.
When Am Yisrael approached Shmuel and asked to appoint a king, (Shmuel I, 8, 5), Shmuel was very angry with them. This was not because Shmuel considered himself a Navi and a king and was resentful of Am Yisrael trying to “depose” him from the role. Shmuel was angry because of the way Am Yisrael asked him - שִׂימָה לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשָׁפְטֵנוּ כְּכָל הַגּוֹיִם. Am Yisrael were asking for a king who would judge them like the kings of the other nations judge their people. Kings/leaders of other nations are swayed by public opinion - the people control them and not the other way round. Am Yisrael were asking for a king who they could control, not like Shmuel who ruled them according to HKB"H’s will. The result of such a request was that Shaul was appointed king and twice Shaul became the king that Am Yisrael envisioned – they controlled him. When waging war with the Pelishtim, Shaul bowed to public pressure and did not wait for Shmuel to offer sacrifices to HKB"H. When they conquered Amalek, Shaul bowed to public pressure and did not destroy all the livestock and did not kill Agag. This type of king does not fit the Torah model.
The Torah gives us the model for ideal government in Am Yisrael. Seldom however, throughout history, was this model applied. There are too many instances when Am Yisrael deviated from this model. This is perhaps why we are still pre-Geulah.
There is only one model of government that is suitable for Am Yisrael and that is the above model. All other forms of government are man-made and therefore fallible and imperfect.
If the State of Israel would have adopted this model upon its inception, the Mashiach would have arrived long ago. Instead, we thought we were so much smarter than G-d. We tried to mimic the goyim and adopt every other system of government except the Torah model. Socialism/Communism, Democracy, Liberalism, Ottoman/Turkish law, British law, American law. Is it any surprise therefore that we look the way we look today?
When you have an arrogant ex-supreme court president whose legacy to Israeli society is not believing in G-d, thinking we are smarter than G-d and that our sole purpose is to “defeat” G-d (in a TV interview, he proudly quotes the Gemara about Tanur Achnai, Bava Metzia 59b, when HKB"H says נִצְחוֹנִי בָּנַי – that kiveyachol we “defeated” HKB"H). A legacy that he bequeathed to and has been adopted by every facet of the judicial system in Israel, is it any surprise that we look the way we look?
The whole debacle of the judicial reform and the “apocalyptic” backlash it unleashed, has served to expose all the illusions that have pervaded until now. The illusion that Israel is a democratic society, the illusion that democracy itself is a successful form of government, the illusion that we are a light unto the nations, the illusion that we live lives of freedom, the illusion that we are militarily superior in the region, the illusion that we are morally superior, the illusion that the Zionist dream has been accomplished. Any sane person in Israel no longer believes any of the above.
Israel is being ruled by a demographic minority that holds key control positions in the courts, in the police force, in the office of the state prosecutor, in the military, in academia, in the economy, in the banking system, in the food industry, in the medical system, in the workers unions …. who impose their minority life philosophy and agenda of the goyim on the demographic majority, based on the premise that it is not quantity that counts but “quality”. The misguided, arrogant and doomed-to-failure attitude that they are better than the rest of, the majority of Am Yisrael, who want to adopt G-d’s model of government.
This is but a link in a long chain of recent global events in which all illusion is being stripped away. HKB"H is exposing them all for the falsehoods they are, in preparation for revealing the real truth and restoring balance to the world.
It is pointless to try change the reality by force. The sin of this generation is כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי and adding more to it is not only pointless but counterproductive. Instead, we need to take a step back from the ֹ כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִיand let HKB"H continue doing what He is doing anyway, much more successfully than we ever could and devote all our energy in placing more faith in Him and less in ourselves.
The fact that we have judges and leaders like this today in Israel is not incidental. They are a direct reflection of us. Am Yisrael merits judges and leaders according to our spiritual status. Before we even contemplate switching the judges in the supreme court, we should be turning the spotlight inward – onto ourselves. The passuk says שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ. Why does the passuk speak in the singular תִּתֶּן לְךָ and שְׁעָרֶיךָ? The passuk should say שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתְּנוּ לָכֶם בְּכָל שַׁעֲרֵיכֶם. The Shlah Hakadosh (and other Mefarshim) say that the passuk is not referring to the judges that sit in the high court in Jerusalem or the policemen in the downtown precinct, it is referring to the judges and policemen each and every one of us has on our "gates" - our eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Do we adequately control and police what we see, hear, smell, eat and speak? If we did, we would not have judges like we have sitting in the high court in Jerusalem. If we successfully work on our own "judges" and "policemen" - in ourselves, we will raise our level of spirituality and automatically that will be reflected in our national judges, policemen and leaders. The only way to effectively remove them from office is to improve ourselves.
Tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh Elul. It is the month where we greet the True King - בַּשָּׂדֶה. We don't even have to go anywhere, HKB"H is coming to us. Let us use this unique month to let go of all our illusions and embrace the L-rd of the rings, מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הקב"ה. To do tshuva as if our lives depended on it, literally, as if this was the last chance we have (it may be) and welcome and crown Him on Rosh Hashana like never before. If we invest even a 1000th of the effort and honor the British invested in crowning their mortal king this past year, this may prove to be the most powerful thing we can do to change the current situation and b"H even be zocheh to the Geulah this Rosh Hashana, the date of the birth of the world.
