The Jews were slaves in Egypt, they've been 40 years in the desert. And the fact that the Jews want to be like everybody else. And I think that you really hit on something that's so important, the uniqueness of the message of the Torah. So what is your read on this Rabbi, what what is going on here? Is this totally unique in terms of the type of give and take that we've seen, when the Bible, the Torah is being tweaked as the rubber hits the pavement and the Jews come into the land of Israel?įirst of all, thank you, Geoffrey, this is a great topic. And then God goes ahead and says, or, the Bible says you can have it, and then gives a bunch of limitations. I mean, that is a really bad strategy, seeing as so much of what Moses and God are trying to do is to create a distinctive narrative. But I think this one is really striking, in that if you had to give one argument to Moses, or God, I think the last thing you would ever say is, I want to do something because the nations around me are doing it. or to the left." We've seen many times where the Jewish people have gone to Moses, whether as a group or individuals and asked for exceptions to the rule. And then it goes on to say, thus he will not act haughtily toward his fellows, or deviate from the instruction to the right.
You shall not have many wives, you shall know amass silver and gold in excess, he shall have a copy of the teaching of the Torah written for him on a scroll, and he shall read it regularly. And then it goes on to further limit what the king can do, you shall not keep many horses, or send people back to Egypt to add to his horses, since the Lord has warned you, you must not go back that way again.
It says, "If after you have entered the land, that the Lord your God has assigned 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 the Lord your God, be sure to set as a king over oneself one of you own people, you must not set a foreigner over you who is not your kinsmen.
So again, we start almost like last week, trying to put it in the context of entering the land. kingship is not that much emphasized throughout the Bible till now. Because this is the first time that not only is the Jewish people asking for a king, but frankly, we'll see in our discussion. And so I'm just going to go ahead and read Deuteronomy 17. And it is the first time that the Jewish people ask for a king. Link to Sefaria Source Sheet: Transcript: A live recording of Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz as they explore the Torah’s visceral disgust for the monarchy and how this rejection sheds light on the New Year Festival and it’s powerful message.
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