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DEUTERONOMY — 17:15 king

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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DEUTERONOMY — 17:16 Egypt

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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DEUTERONOMY — 17:16 horses

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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DEUTERONOMY — 17:17 king

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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DEUTERONOMY — 17:17 many

DEUT898 Excessiveness [in things permitted] is where one crosses the limit of the necessary into the superfluous, what man has no need for, such as overindulgence in food and drink-- the Wise Man has already warned us of this, saying, “Be not among those who drink wine to excess, or among gluttonous eaters of meat” (Mishlei 23:20 ); also, extravagant adornment in dress; overly large homes; excessive talk, in which one cannot be sure that one will not stumble, as the Wise Man said, “When there is too much talk, mistakes are not lacking” (ibid.10:19). He also said of sexual immoderation, “He who keeps the company of harlots loses wealth” (ibid. 29:3); “Do not give your strength to women” (ibid. 31:3); and [Scripture] says of the King, “He should not have many wives” (Devarim 17:17). [Further examples of excessiveness are] striving to multiply possessions and to accumulate money. Of this it is said, “Do not toil to get wealth; of your own understanding, desist” (Mishlei 23:4); and [Scripture] says of the king, [nor shall he greatly multiply for himself silver and gold” [Devarim 17:17]. Whatever we have mentioned above as conducive to the body's well-being and pleasure is, in the end, contemptible, for it brings a man to that which the Creator has warned him against and forbidden him.

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DEUTERONOMY — 17:17 wives

DEUT900 Because it is so easy for powerful people to become greedy, God tried to ensure that the most powerful person in Jewish society, the king, would not succumb to this natural inclination. Therefore, He forbade the king from taking too many wives (physical desire) or having too many horses (material desire). God also commanded the Jewish king to write an "extra" Torah scroll, to bring it with him wherever he went, and also to study it carefully. In this way, the king will be reminded that he must obey the Torah and not grow haughty, which will lead to greediness [this verse, Deuteronomy 17:15-20]. Unfortunately, as is the case with today's most powerful people, i.e., the CEOs of major companies who earn hundreds of millions of dollars yearly while, at the same time reducing the wages or benefits of their workers, all these safeguards did not prevent most Jewish kings in the past from succumbing to their greedy desires.

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