Shabbat Parshat Korach - 5760 The
Nature of the Jewish King The
link between the Parshah, Korach, and its Haftarah seem to be that Korach
and his followers were guilty of the sin of "Mored B'Malchut,"
"Rebellion Against the King;" Korach against Moshe, in the Parshah,
and the People against Shmuel, who was the leader of the generation, in the
Haftarah. What
is the nature of the Jewish King? First
of all, it is part of the Divine Plan that there be one, for it is one of
the three commands that the Jewish people were commanded to fulfill upon
their entry into the Land of Israel, as it says, "Surely appoint a King
for yourselves." Yet
Judaism, ultimately, is a Theocracy, an organization of individuals under
the rule of Heaven.
The Ultimate King is the Holy One, Blessed be He.
What then is the significance of the human King? We
gain insight from the RAMBAM, in "Hilchot Melachim," the Laws of
Kings.
In Chapter 1, Halachah 11, the RAMBAM writes, based on Masechet
Horiyot (12), that the anointing of Kings from the House of David must be
done by a stream of water, in order to symbolize the desired flowing and
uninterrupted, eternal aspect of that Royal House.
Here the human kingship resembles the Divine. In
addition, the RAMBAM writes in "Melachim" 2:1, "Much honor is
accorded the King.
And awe and fear is cast into everyone's heart, as it is said,
"Surely appoint…, in such manner that his awe be upon you.
No one may ride on his horse, or sit upon his throne, or use his
scepter, or his crown, or any of his personal belongings…"
Awe and reverence are also qualities of HaShem, the Holy King. In
general, "… the King cannot decline the honor due him." (RAMBAM,
"Melachim" 2:3) However,
other laws cited by the RAMBAM cast a different light on the nature and
essence of the Jewish King, "…Anyone who does not behave with 'Yirat
Shamayim,' Fear of Heaven, even if he possesses great wisdom, may not be
appointed to any position of
authority in Israel." (RAMBAM, "Melachim" 1:7) "…All
of the People must appear before the King when he desires their presence.
And they must stand in his presence and bow down to the ground.
Even a Prophet must stand before a King and bow to the ground, as it
is said, 'Behold, Nathan the Prophet!
And he came before the King and he bowed to the King.' " But the
'Kohen Gadol,' the High Priest, the Representative of G-d, only appears
before the King when he wants to.
And he doesn't stand before the King; rather, the
King stands before the High Priest…" (RAMBAM, "Melachim"
2:5) "Even
as the Torah accords the King great honor, and all are required to honor
him, so does the Torah command him to be inwardly subservient and without
substance, as it says, 'and my heart is empty within me.'
And he should not behave with excessive pride among the People of
Israel, as it is said, 'so that he not raise his heart above that of his
brothers.'
And he should be gracious and merciful to the 'small' and the
'great,' and he should occupy himself totally with their desires and
welfare.
And he should be concerned for the honor of the smallest of the
small…At all times, he must conduct himself with the greatest humility.
We have no one greater than Moshe our Teacher, and he says 'and we
are nothing…'
And he should suffer their troublesomeness, and their pride, and
their complaints, and their anger, as a 'nurse carries the infant;' the
Torah compares him to a 'shepherd' " (RAMBAM, "Melachim" 2;6) In
the above behavior, the King is called upon to emulate the ways of HaShem,
as we say in the End-of-Shabbat Prayers, "Rabbi Yochanan says,
'Wherever you find the greatness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, there also
is found His humility.
This principle is exemplified in the Torah, in the "Neviim,"
the Prophets, and in the "K'tuvim," the Sacred Writings.
In the Torah it is written 'for HaShem your G-d is the G-d of
heavenly forces, and the Master of masters, the great, mighty and awesome
G-d, Who shows no favoritism and accepts no bribe.' (Devarim 10:17).
Afterwards it is written, 'He performs justice for the orphan and the
widow, and loves the stranger, to give him food and clothing." (Devarim,
10:18) He
is bound to the Torah; "When the King ascends the throne, he must write
a Sefer Torah for himself…; he must take it to war, return with it from
war; have it with him when he sits in judgment…" (RAMBAM "Melachim"
3:1) And
he is subservient to the Laws of the Torah; "Kings from the House of
David are prosecuted, and testimony is taken against them…" (RAMBAM
"Melachim" 3:7); they
are not "above the Law." "He
must not have too many wives… He must not have too many horses (too large
and powerful an army)…He must not have too much silver and gold…It is
forbidden for him to drink himself into a state of drunkenness …;
But rather, he must occupy himself with the Torah and the needs of
Israel day and night
as it says, 'And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the
days of his life." (RAMBAM "Melachim" 3:2-5) "…The
Torah is worried that his heart not be diverted, for his heart is the Heart of the entire Congregation of Israel;
therefore, the Divine Instruction made him
cleave to the Torah to a greater extent than the rest of the People,
as it says, 'all the
days of his life.' " (RAMBAM "Melachim 3:6) And
that is the crux of the issue.
The sin of "Mored B'Malchut," "Rebellion Against the
King," is a deviation from the "heart of the People," a declaration
of disunity in the ranks of Israel, a cardinal sin. Rabbi Pinchas Frankel |
