Governments

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Choosing a King

TANAKH

The Torah mandates that any king over Israel must be chosen by God and be an Israelite, ensuring the leader is deeply connected to the people and their faith. Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah, outlines the conditions under which the Israelites may appoint a king, emphasizing divine selection and national identity.

If, after you have entered the land that your God יהוה has assigned to you, and taken possession of it and settled in it, you decide, “I will set a king over me, as do all the nations about me,” you shall be free to set a king over yourself, one chosen by your God יהוה. Be sure to set as king over yourself one of your own people; you must not set a foreigner over you, one who is not your kin.

Deuteronomy 17:14-15

The Balance of Power and Morality

TANAKH

Exploring how kings or governments make decisions, especially regarding war and public policy, involves balancing the sanctity of life with long-term interests. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks examines the Talmudic view on a king's authority in Israel, stressing the importance of Sanhedrin approval for non-defensive wars and addressing moral and political choices in Jewish law.

Now we can see exactly what was ambiguous about Pinhas’ act. He was a private individual. The question he would normally have asked was, “What shall I do?” to which the answer is a moral one. But he acted as if he were a political leader asking, “What shall we do?” and deciding, based on consequences, that this would save many lives. Essentially, he acted as if he were Moses. He saved the day and the people. But imagine what would happen anywhere if an ordinary member of the public usurped the role of head of state. Had God not endorsed Pinhas’ action, he would have had a very difficult time.

I Believe; A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, Pinhas; Moral vs Political Decisions 19

The Law of the Kingdom

TALMUD

The principle that 'the law of the kingdom is the law' obligates Jews to obey the laws of the state, including paying taxes. The Gemara in tractate Nedarim discusses the implications of this principle, especially in the context of taking vows to tax collectors.

GEMARA: The Gemara asks, concerning the mishna’s statement that one may take a vow to tax collectors: But didn’t Shmuel say: The law of the kingdom is the law, i.e., there is a halakhic principle that Jews must obey the laws of the state in which they live? Since one must pay the tax determined by the kingdom, how did the Sages permit one to lie in order to avoid paying?

Nedarim 28a:4

The Divine Influence on Government

KABBALAH

Governments are not just political entities but are influenced by divine emanations known as the Sefirot. In his Kabbalistic work, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto explores how these divine emanations shape the nature and order of different types of governments.

Part 1: During the time when the vessels were broken, the power of government was taken from them. The concept of being broken applies to things that are unfit to carry out their function. This has two meanings that are both really one. For as you have already heard, the Sefirot are the underlying measures of all that exists (i.e. of the separate realms and beings) and the Sefirot themselves are also the laws of government. In other words, it is the separate creations that are subject to the governmental order, while the Sefirot are the laws of the governmental order itself…

Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah 54:6

The Tyranny of Abimelech

SECOND TEMPLE

Josephus provides a vivid account of Abimelech's tyrannical rule, highlighting the dangers of absolute power and the disregard for justice. In his first-century historical work, Josephus details the rise and fall of Abimelech, who murdered his brothers to seize power and ruled with extreme harshness.

That The Judges Who Succeeded Gideon Made War With The Adjoining Nations For A Long Time.
1. Now Gideon had seventy sons that were legitimate, for he had many wives; but he had also one that was spurious, by his concubine Drumah, whose name was Abimelech, who, after his father's death, retired to Shechem to his mother's relations, for they were of that place: and when he had got money of such of them as were eminent for many instances of injustice, he came with them to his father's house, and slew all his brethren, except Jotham…

The Antiquities of the Jews 5:7:1

Empires as Beasts and Metals

JEWISH THOUGHT

The visions of Daniel use vivid imagery to symbolize different empires, each with unique characteristics and ambitions. The Maharal of Prague’s commentary, Ner Mitzvah, delves into these symbolic representations, offering profound insights into historical and future events.

And this, is because the first empire - the Babylonian Empire - sought the important of being considered "everything", as it is written in Daniel (Daniel 2:38) "you are the head of gold", which is to say that he [Babylon] is the head with the most importance. And this is what he sought in his elevation upon everything, and when Daniel saw this first beast, it was similar to a lion. For the lion is the most important of the beasts, as it is said in [the Talmud] (Chagigah 13b) "As the Master said: The king of the beasts is the lion"…

Ner Mitzvah, Volume I 29

Halachah in Modern Governance

HALAKHAH

Rav Herzog's efforts to integrate Halachah into the legislative framework of the modern State of Israel highlight the ongoing debate about the role of Jewish law in contemporary governance. Rabbi Chaim Jachter's work explores the complexities and challenges of aligning modern Israeli law with Torah principles, as exemplified by Rav Herzog's manuscript.

Rav Herzog was passionately devoted to the goal of operating the modern State of Israel in accordance with Halachah. He even composed a manuscript (published many years later by Rav Itamar Warhaftig) entitled Techukah L’Yisrael Al Pi Hatorah (legislation for Israel based on the Torah), which grapples with many of the challenging issues involved in administering the state in harmony with Halachah in modern times.

Gray Matter IV, Israel, Expelling Arabs from Israel 6

A Future Free from Persecution

JEWISH THOUGHT

The promise of a future where corrupt governments no longer scapegoat Jews is a powerful message of hope and resilience. Eliezer Berkovits, a modern American rabbi and philosopher, reflects on the universal need for freedom and security, especially in the context of Jewish suffering during and after World War II.

But point 6 said much more. It also stated that the two great democracies were aiming at a peace “which will afford assurance that all the men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want.” Involuntarily I began thinking: Are not Jews “the men in all lands”? And is it not the case that millions of us never had a chance “to live out their lives”? And from time immemorial has any nation known less of freedom from fear and want than the Jews? Now, however, this will be changed…

Between Yesterday and Tomorrow, II; A New World in the Making? 10:11

The Academy at Jabneh

REFERENCE

After the destruction of the Second Temple, the survival of Jewish scholarship was ensured by the relocation of the great academy of Jerusalem to Jabneh. Gershom Bader’s work details the efforts of Rabban Gamliel the Elder and the Roman government's permission to continue Jewish learning in Jabneh.

It also seems certain that the great academy of Jerusalem was transferred to Jabneh during the time of Rabban Gamliel. In Jabneh it remained for many years after the destruction of the temple with the permission of the Roman government.

The Jewish Spiritual Heroes, Volume I; The Creators of the Mishna, Rabbi Gamliel the Elder 27

Debating the Appointment of a King

MUSAR

The appointment of a king in Israel has been a topic of significant debate among rabbinic scholars. In his 17th-century work, Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz explores the differing rabbinic opinions on this matter, referencing Talmudic sources and scholars such as Rav Yehudah, Rav, Rabbi Nehorai, Rabbi Eliezer, and Rabbi Yitzchak Abravanel.

We can answer this after first examining some details of the legislation dealing with the appointment of a king. All our commentators have spent long hours trying to comprehend why Samuel was so angry at the people of Israel when they asked him to appoint a king, seeing that the Torah provides for the appointment of a king. In Sanhedrin 20b, Rav Yehudah says in the name of Shmuel that all the prerogatives a king claims for himself as per Samuel I 8, 11-17 are legally his. Rav, however, said that the entire passage was only meant to frighten the people out of their demand for a king…

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Shoftim, Torah Ohr 10

The Ruler's Responsibilities and Limitations

MISHNAH

The Mishnah outlines specific limitations and responsibilities for a ruler to ensure that power is exercised with morality and accountability. This foundational Jewish text from around 200 CE discusses the laws derived from Deuteronomy that govern the conduct of a ruler, including restrictions on wealth, wives, and horses, and the requirement to carry a Torah scroll.

And the king brings out people for conscription in an optional war, i.e., a war that is not mandated by the Torah and is not a war of defense, on the basis of a court of seventy-one, and breaches fences of anyone in his way to create a pathway for himself for his various needs, and no one can protest his power. The pathway of the king has no measure, neither lengthwise nor widthwise, and one cannot protest that this pathway is wider than necessary…

Mishnah Sanhedrin 2:4

The Evolution of Jewish Governance

GUIDES

The Sanhedrin, once the supreme court and legislative body of ancient Israel, had to adapt to the loss of Jewish sovereignty and the challenges of life in the Diaspora. Adin Steinsaltz explores the historical evolution of Jewish legal and political structures, focusing on the Sanhedrin's changing role and authority.

Historical developments brought about changes in this political structure. Already during the Second Temple period the Sanhedrin decided to formally relinquish many of its powers, in order that it not be viewed as an empty symbol of theoretical sovereignty, robbed of the practical ability to enforce its decisions (see 21a and Sota 47a-49b). After the loss of Jewish independence and the destruction of the Temple, the situation changed even more drastically. As Jewish sovereignty became diminished and lost…

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, Introduction to Sanhedrin 8

A Divine Warning of War

TANAKH

The prophet Jeremiah received a divine message about the impending war waged by King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon against Jerusalem. The Book of Jeremiah, a prophetic text from the period leading up to the First Temple’s destruction, details the divine communication received by Jeremiah during the siege of Jerusalem.

The word that came to Jeremiah from GOD, when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth and all the peoples under his sway, were waging war against Jerusalem and all its towns:

Jeremiah 34:1

Joseph's Authority in Egypt

MIDRASH

Joseph, a foreigner, wielded immense power and influence over Egypt and its neighboring regions. The medieval midrashic text Sefer HaYashar provides an expanded narrative of Joseph's rise to power, detailing his military conquests and the tribute paid to him.

and all Egypt called his name Pharaoh, according to the name of his father, as it was customary ‎in Egypt with every king that ruled over them; and when Pharaoh ruled instead of his father, ‎he surrendered all the laws and the government affairs of Egypt into the hands of Joseph, as ‎his father had commanded unto him. And thus Joseph became the king over Egypt, for he was ‎the actual ruler over all the land, and all the matters of Egypt were under his hand and ‎command. And all Egypt inclined towards Joseph after the death of Pharaoh, and they were ‎greatly pleased with his ruling over them…

Sefer HaYashar (midrash), Book of Genesis, Vayechi 10

Praying for the Government

LITURGY

Praying for the welfare of the government is essential for communal peace and stability. This traditional prayer, recited after the Torah reading on Shabbat, draws on scriptural and rabbinic sources to emphasize the importance of seeking peace and stability in the host country.

The custom to pray for the welfare of the government is mentioned in Kol Bo and Avudraham. The latter writes, “After the reading of the Torah, it is customary to bless the king and pray to God that he be given might and power over his enemies. This prayer is based on Jeremiah 29:7, “Seek the peace of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to Adonoy in its behalf; for in its peace, you will have peace.” We also find reference to such prayer in the Mishna, (Maseches Avos 3:2), “Rabbi Chanina, Deputy Kohein Gadol…

Shabbat Siddur Sefard Linear, Reading of the Torah, Prayer for the Government 1

Assessing Leadership Worthiness

CHASIDUT

Leadership roles should be assigned based on individual worthiness and capability. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, in his foundational text Likutei Moharan, reflects on Moses' method of selecting leaders through direct observation and discernment.

This is the concept of “As for you, you shall see from among all the people… and you shall appoint over them captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds…” (Exodus 18:21). Specifically “As for you, you shall see,” because through Moshe Rabbeinu’s seeing alone—that he would see and gaze at each and every person—each one’s mind would shine. And through this, each one received greatness and authority commensurate with his worthiness, as was appropriate for the level of his mind—i.e., the concept of “captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds….”

Likutei Moharan, Part II 72:4:2

The Hidden Struggles of Leadership

SECOND TEMPLE

Philo of Alexandria reveals the hidden challenges and personal sacrifices faced by public leaders. In his work 'On Dreams,' Philo blends Jewish theology with Greek philosophy to explore the internal struggles of those in power.

[222] Search then the man who is thoroughly immersed in public business, the man on whom the interests of the state depend, and do not be daunted by those who hold him in admiration. You will find many a disease lurking in him, many a baneful thing fastened upon him, each one of them violently gripping his soul and invisibly wrestling with it, striving to overthrow it and cast it down, either because the multitude are dissatisfied with his leadership, or because a more powerful rival is attacking him.

On Dreams, Book I 38:4

The Authority of Kings Over Jerusalem

TANAKH

The historical authority and taxation power of kings over Jerusalem and the province known as Beyond the River illustrate the breadth of their influence and control. The book of Ezra, found in the Hebrew Bible, details the struggles and successes of the Jewish return to Israel and the reconstruction of the Second Temple.

Powerful kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole province of Beyond the River, and tribute, poll-tax, and land-tax were paid to them.

Ezra 4:20

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