About Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz served as Director of Programs for NCSY before becoming Associate Director of the Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue Services. Rabbi Abramowitz holds degrees in Jewish studies, communications and Higher Education Administration. Among his accomplishments, he authored NCSY's Torah on One Foot series of educational pamphlets and created negiah.org, the first abstinence web site for Jewish teens. Rabbi Abramowitz is the author of The Shnayim Mikra Companion on Torah, The Nach Yomi Companion volumes 1 and 2 on the books of the Prophets and the Writings, and The Tzniyus Book.

Recent Posts

Taryag: A Mitzvah a Day

Questions? Contact us at taryag@ou.org

PARSHAT Shoftim
MITZVAH COUNTER
Mitzvos to date: 499
Positives:205
Negatives:294
That can be performed today:214
Plus those that can be performed only in Israel:22

499. Horsepower: The prohibition against the king having too many horses


He may not have too many horses for himself… (Deuteronomy 17:16)

While the king was an absolute monarch, he still had a Higher Authority he had to heed. There are quite a few mitzvos that only apply to the king. Here we are told that he could not accumulate a ridiculous quantity of horses for himself (which no doubt would have been quite the status symbol of the time). He could have what his armies required for military needs, but he was not to exceed this in order to stroke his own ego.

The reason for this mitzvah is explicit in the text: horses come from Egypt. If the king stockpiles horses, people will move to Egypt in order to engage in the horse trade. (As we will see in the very next mitzvah, we're not allowed to live in Egypt.)

King Solomon, the smartest man who ever lived, figured that he could collect horses and still see to it that the people didn't return to Egypt. As we see in I Kings chapter 10, people moved to Egypt to get in on the lucrative horse business. The lesson is clear: even the smartest human ever still doesn't know better than God!

This mitzvah applies at a time when the Jews have a king. In the Talmud, it is discussed in tractate Sanhedrin on page 21b. It is codified in the Mishneh Torah in the third chapter of Hilchos Melachim. This mitzvah is #363 of the 365 negative mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos.



Submit a Comment

Name:


Email: (Rest assured, your email address will not be published.)

Comment:


Please enter the word you see in the image below:





© Orthodox Union - All Rights Reserved.
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Orthodox Union and its agencies