Spiritual and
Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach;
JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim) These four books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible. One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical. Political Leadership and Kingship (Shoftim
8:22-23) We be should be aware that the terms usually used in these discussions - kings, democracy, freedom, judges etc. - do not have exactly the same significance and meaning nor exist unrestricted to the same extent, in Jewish sources as in the general ones. Here the questions are dealt with solely in the moral and spiritual perspectives of Torah law and commandment. The completely different criteria used in other sources are very clearly spelt out in a phrase that is repeated throughout the Books of Kings; “and all the other acts of king… [over and above those evaluated in the light of Torah]... are they not written in the chronicles of the kings of Israel [or Yehuda as the case may be, irrelevant in a Jewish framework that has not preserved the chronicles]?” Our verses in chapter 8 are the first discussion on the subject that occurs in Neviim. Midian was conquered and the country was at peace. The tribes, out of a sense of gratitude or perhaps seeking an assurance that that peace would endure, offered Gideon kingship over them; an act duplicated very often in world history, with a similar reason. Kingship differed from the Judges that had led until then, in the former being an inheritance “both you and your son and your son’s son” (Judges 8:22). However, nothing in their offer or actions related to the Torah’s treatment of kingship. We could have expected that Gideon’s answer would have reflected a truly Torah answer. After all, at the very outset of his story, he had shown great Ahavat Yisrael, a trait that is basic and essential to all Jewish leadership. The greeting of the angel who had come to tell him of G-d’s choosing him to deliver Israel from Midian, had been, “The Lord be with you, man of valor”. To this Gideon had replied, “If G-d be with us then why has He given us into the hands of Midian?” This is seen as an expression of Ahavat Yisrael and a defense of Israel and so the angel said, “go in this your strength” (Judges 6:13 as explained in Yalkut Shimoni and Midrash Tanchuma). Nevertheless, Gideon’s refusal solely on the basis that G-d was their ruler, does not reflect Judaism’s position on the subject, in that it would suggest that kingship was something forbidden by the Torah. He failed to see the special and significant essence of Judaism’s teaching that recognizing and serving G-d was to be achieved in the mundane and natural activities of human living; ‘sanctify yourself by what is permitted to you’. When conducted in the way that the Torah commanded, the establishment of a political-social structure of government, an activity common to all mankind, becomes a way of worshiping G-d and sanctifying Him, just like prayer or ritual. So, contrary to Gideon’s words the Torah said, “Three mitzvot Israel was commanded to observe after they would cross the Jordan, to anoint a king, to wipe out the memory of Amalek and to build the Bet HaMikdash” (Rambam, Hilkhot Melakhim, 1:1). The theme common to all three of these mitzvot viz. the unification of Israel, highlights the essential purpose of kingship in Judaism. The king does so through providing social, political and military unity. His crown is round demon- strating a closed unity, while he is the heart of Israel and so the Torah said, “ one from among your brothers you shall choose” (Devarim, 17:15). Amalek disrupts the unity between one Jew and the other as well as their unity with G-d; “he surprised you on the way and cut down all those that were weakly straggling behind” (Devarim, 20:18). Bet HaMikdash is the spiritual center point of Israel, as we see from Shlomo’s prayer at its consecration (1Kings 8:22-53). Its destruction would be caused by revolting against the word of Hashem and by the ‘sinat chinam’, both of which destroyed that unity of Israel (Shem Mi Shmuel, Shoftim, 5680). It is common for government officials, elected representatives and kings or political leaders to become arrogant and therefore corrupt, since power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. However, when the governors are bound and acknowledge an authority and a power higher than their own, that their rule is dependent on Him and that He removes them from office when they disobey Him, then, “then his [their] heart be not raised above his [their] brothers” (Devarim, 17:20). So in the Jewish scheme of things, all the ruler’s obligations and duties are clearly spelt out in the Torah, but none of the rights or privileges are even mentioned. These only come some hundreds of years later, when the prophet Samuel lays out for the power of the king that Israel had requested (1 Samuel, 8:11-18). Furthermore, the real source of the power of the governors and the ultimate authority was clearly defined halakhically. The king had initially to be appointed by a prophet and the Sanhedrin, who were ultimately, the representatives so to speak of HaShem and His Torah (Hilkhot Melakhim 1:3). This ensured that even a socio-political function like government would become truly a means of achieving holiness through everyday social living. This is the seventh installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times.” [The
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