From among your brothers

                   (Deuteronomy 17:15)

Elul 6, 5778/August 17, 2018

It has been quite a journey for Moshe and the children of Israel. A shepherd in exile, chosen by G-d to lead his people to freedom, who tried to argue with G-d his way out of the assignment which he felt he was very under-qualified for, Moshe not only brought the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage by bringing the world's most powerful nation to its knees, but, once out of Egypt and squarely in the middle of nowhere, he turned his ragtag band of runaway slaves, who left Egypt at midnight with all their belongings slung over their shoulders, into a people: a people who lived peacefully together by a covenant they signed with G-d, traveling through the wilderness with the G-d of Israel, through ecstatic highs and catastrophic lows, and are now encamped upon the eastern bank of the Jordan River, receiving their final marching orders from Moshe, who won't be joining them on the other side.

Moshe, the reluctant prophet and redeemer, who could hardly conceive of how to get the Israelite slaves to hear him, let alone shepherd them to freedom, now is shepherding them from people-hood to nationhood, instructing them throughout the book of Deuteronomy how they will transform themselves into an independent, sovereign nation in the land of Israel. To accomplish this they will need "judges and law enforcement officials," (Deut. 16:18) lower courts and higher courts, an army and proper laws of warfare, and even future prophets to guide the people throughout the generations, so that they will not stray from the Torah they received at Sinai. All this, and more, Moshe maps out in this week's Torah reading, Shoftim, (Judges). And then Moshe arrives at the greatest challenge that the nation of Israel will face in the future:

"When you come to the land HaShem, your G-d, is giving you, and you possess it and live therein, and you say, "I will set a king over myself, like all the nations around me... " (ibid 17:14) Why is the potential for appointing a king such a challenge? Moshe's language frames the future scenario as a natural development, yet one fraught with peril. It is only natural to see how the nations around them are led by powerful kings and see advantages in that. It may even, in the distant future, become a political necessity (as, in fact, it did). But G-d is Israel's sovereign, and what advantage can be gained from adopting a foreign mode of monarchy? The dynamic, as Moshe describes it, is reminiscent of the very beginnings of humanity, of the story of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adamwas at home in his earthly paradise with only G-d, his father and creator, to hearken to. Yet he too was tempted by a foreign concept, presented by a non-G-dly source, and by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, effectively made himself king over his own fate. But by doing so he estranged himself from G-d, a cataclysmic tragedy that would take generations to repair. Moshe sees the same danger inherent in the inclination by the people to appoint for themselves a king, and hastens to present guidelines to mitigate the danger.

Moshe sets three basic guidelines to be adhered to, but, in truth, they are an organic whole, which proceeds logically from the first rule:

"You shall set a king over you, one whom HaShem, your G-d, chooses; from among your brothers, you shall set a king over yourself; you shall not appoint a foreigner over yourself, one who is not your brother." (ibid 17:15) Your king must be your brother. Following man's turning from G-d in the Garden of Eden, brotherhood and fraternal unity was mankind's greatest challenge throughout the ages. As we know, the malady of brotherly strife directly impacted the lives of the patriarchs, from Avraham through Yitzchak and Yaakov, and finally threatened to tear the children of Israel apart, in the generation of Yosef and his brothers. Choosing "a king from among your brothers" is a stark reminder to Israel the immense responsibility in making this choice, and placing, front and center, the potential danger which must be avoided at all costs. The next rule, then follows naturally:

"Only, he may not acquire many horses for himself, so that he will not bring the people back to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, for HaShem said to you, 'You shall not return that way any more.' And he shall not take many wives for himself, and his heart must not turn away, and he shall not acquire much silver and gold for himself." (ibid 17:16-17) Your brother must not aggrandize himself to his brothers. We remember that perceived entitlement was the source of the fraternal rivalry which plagued the children of the patriarchs.

And finally, "And it will be, when he sits upon his royal throne, that he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah on a scroll from [that Torah which is] before the Levitic kohanim." (ibid 17:18) Yes, even the king is subject to Torah, no greater and no less: an equal to his brothers before HaShem.

"And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear HaShem, his G-d, to keep all the words of this Torah and these statutes, to perform them, so that his heart will not be haughty over his brothers, and so that he will not turn away from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, in order that he may prolong [his] days in his kingdom, he and his sons, among Israel." (ibid 17:19-20) "So that his heart will not be haughty over his brothers." Brotherly love and respect: this is goal of Torah. Even a king, should Israel appoint one, is first and foremost, a brother and an equal, and should behave as one. To the king! To brotherhood!

-The Temple Institute