Section Two of Shoftim-Deuteronomy (7 August, 2013, Elul 1, 5773)
Duration: 12. 31 minutes. The Read Text Please Scroll Down.
The Israelites were commanded in the Book of Deuteronomy that after entering the Land and settling in it they should appoint a King over them. This monarch had rights and obligations.
Appointing a King and National Independence
s.2 17:14-17:20
Deuteronomy 17:
14 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me, 15 you may indeed set over you a king whom the Lord your God will choose. One of your own community you may set as king over you; you are not permitted to put a foreigner over you, who is not of your own community.
you may indeed set over you a king. In Hebrew "Som Ta-Sim oleca Melec" which has an emphatic connotation. We were commanded to set the King over us i.e. respect his authority. This applies to all authority. We should respect those in authority even when we doubt whether they deserve it.
#you are not permitted to put a foreigner over you. # The King had to be an Israelite.
From this was learned the general injunction that for all matters of authority only native-born Israelites could be appointed.
The Jewish State of Israel is forbidden to surrender any of its authority and power of jurisdiction to non-Jews.
The Oslo Peace Accords were a dastardly crime and we said so at the time, as veteran readers of our writings will testify.
Unfortunately time has vindicated the warnings we then made
The Israelite Peoples are forbidden to give up any of their sovereignty.
British Membership of the EU is probably against the Torah.
The same may apply to the proposed North American Union (NAU).
Deuteronomy 17:
16 Even so, he must not acquire many horses for himself, or return the people to Egypt in order to acquire more horses, since the Lord has said to you, You must never return that way again. 17And he must not acquire many wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; also silver and gold he must not acquire in great quantity for himself.
The King was allowed to have 18 wives.
Deuteronomy 17:
18 When he has taken the throne of his kingdom, he shall have a copy of this law written for him in the presence of the Levitical Priests.
The Hebrew original says that the King himself had to write his own Torah scroll. Most Torah Scrolls are quite large but very small ones that may be carried around with ease also exist.
Deuteronomy 17:
19 It shall remain with him and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statutes,
The King had to keep this Copy of the Torah Scroll that he himself had written with him at all times and read it frequently.
Deuteronomy 17:
20 neither exalting himself above other members of the community nor turning aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, so that he and his descendants may reign long over his kingdom in Israel.
The King was commanded to be humble in his own eyes and not consider himself better than others. Nevertheless others still had to respect him.