DEUT892 Do not appoint a non-Jewish king over yourselves. Key concept is that people in positions of authority must speak and act in ways that cause their underlings to accept and submit their decisions. For this reason, the high officials of our nation must be of Jewish seed, for Jews are merciful, having inherited this trait from their fathers. With mercy in their blood, they will exercise their authority with mercy, never oppressing anyone and never abusing their authority. They will love truth, righteousness and virtue. As is known, the descendants of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov possess these qualities inherently. From this main idea of the mitzvah we derive that we are forbidden to appoint over ourselves anyone who is cold, evil or cruel. If such a person is given authority--perhaps because he is a relative, or because people fear him and want to flatter him--evil will not cease from the homes of those who appointed him. One who fears no man and with all of one’s might seek the good of the community will earn unceasing reward from Hashem, in this world and in the next.

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DEUT894 Do not take up permanent residence in the land of Egypt. The Egyptian people are evil and sinful. In His great kindness, Hashem redeemed us from their lands, in order to give us the privilege of following the path of truth. Because He wants only our good, He does not want us to return there and sully ourselves by contact with them. He does not want to learn their evil ways or be influenced by any of their sinful practices or heretical ideas.

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DEUT895 The King of Israel shall not possess a multitude of horses. The King of Israel shall not possess even one more horse than is necessary for his royal chariot or for the chariots of his horsemen. That is, when he travels, not one horse shall prance freely before him to honor him, as is done for the kings of other nations. Key concepts: So that the king will not send even part of our nation back to Egypt to settle there and raise horses for him. Also, the mitzvah serves to guard against the king becoming haughty, which is likely to happen if he has many horses and accumulates large amounts of silver and gold.

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DEUT897 The King of Israel shall not accumulate great quantities of silver and gold. The King of Israel shall not accumulate a fortune of wealth. He may own all that is necessary for the upkeep of his residence, servants and household. The king violates his prohibition if he accumulates wealth for personal purposes, without intent to use it for the sake of the people. His punishment is very great, for the nation depends upon him., and his thoughts and efforts must be for the sake of the nation. He cannot be concerned with self-glorification and gratification of his lusts. Key concept is as the verse says, “so that His heart does not become raised above his brethren, and so that he does not turn aside from the commandment either to the right or to the left.” The mitzvah helps to prevent him from becoming haughty and oppressive of his underlings, from deviating from Torah or Rabbinic law [or a minor mitzvah of a Prophet: Rashi].

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DEUT901 The King of Israel shall not have too many wives. Wives can sway the hearts of their husbands. That is, they possess the power to influence their husbands to do things that are improper or that he might not normally do.

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DEUT902 The King of Israel shall write a sefer Torah in addition to the one that every Jew has a mitzvah to write. The King is the most independent and powerful person in the land. No one can tell him what to do. With one word he can decree death on whomever he wishes, so it is important that he be restrained and in control of himself at all times. He must keep a tight rein on his evil inclination, and be reminded to incline his heart to his Maker at all times. Therefore, a sefer Torah must be with him at all times, and it should never be out of his sight.

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DEUT916 The tribe of Levi shall not have a land inheritance in the land of Israel. Key concept: In order that the Levites and Kohanim concentrate all of their efforts on serving Hashem. To this end, they do not work the land, and the other tribes give them a portion of all that they have. Thereby, the Levites and Kohanim receive their livelihood without oil.

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DEUT917 The tribe of Levi shall not receive booty from the conquest of the Land of Israel or from other warfare. The Levites and Kohanim, Hashem's attendants in the Beis HaMikdash, are sanctified for a sublime calling, so it is not fitting that they take booty snatched in wartime. All that is associated with Hashem's House must be obtained peacefully, through justice, fairness, and mutual agreement, without any trace of violence or force.

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DEUT921 Do not practice divination. The term קוסם (koseim) refers to someone who secludes himself and focuses his mind entirely on some matter of the future that he wants to know. By mentally blocking out all matters of the physical world and intentionally concentrating on what he seeks to know, his soul mingles with spiritual forces associated with events that are about to transpire in the near future. Even so, diviners do not attain an accurate and clear picture of what will be. It goes without saying that they are powerless to know anything of the distant future of, for these matters are revealed only to genuine prophets. The perfect Torah forbids divination and the like because these practices lead the unlearned to a false conclusion. When they see that some of what the diviner say comes true, they mistakenly conclude that all that transpires in the world is controlled by stars, planets and other forces of astrology. People who harbor this mistaken notion are almost as those who maintain (Yechezkel 8:12), “The Lord has abandoned the physical world.” If someone seeks information from a diviner, he has not violated this prohibition, but his deed is truly shameful. Why should a Jew turn his thoughts to foolishness? How can he waste his time on it? Hashem has given every human being creativity and superior powers of intelligence. He has revealed to the Jewish nation His Infinite Wisdom as embodied in the Torah, so how can a Jew turn his thoughts to practices such as soothsaying? Rather, as a member of the Chosen People, each Jew should devote his thoughts to proper and devoted service of his Maker and never fear even one word of the soothsayers! Always, a Jew must realize that Hashem is managing the world and anytime He wants He can alter what He has set into motion through the agency of cosmic forces. Hashem has the power to totally deactivate the astrological forces and change what is destined to be, in order to bestow kindness on all who are faithful to Him. As is known, the nation of Israel is not under the sway of any star or mazal, for the Almighty manages all of our affairs directly.

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DEUT924 Do not practice witchcraft (sorcery). See [[EXOD634]] Exodus 22:17 sorceress CHINUCH 41

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