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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DEUT899 (Continued from [[LEV108]] Leviticus 11:29 unclean 809-11). The permitted. There are also three ways of [partaking of] the permitted things left to our discretion. The first [way] is partaking [only] of food that is not consumed for pleasure, [food] without which one could not live or continue to exist. The second [way] is partaking of permitted food in a [more] liberal fashion, aiming for moderation in pleasure without extravagance or profligacy-- for example, by meeting [basic] needs with good bread and finely prepared dishes, by drinking good wine in moderation. The same applies to dress, living accommodations, and other needs. The third [way] is overindulging in permitted pleasures purely for the sake of luxury. This leads one to forbidden pleasures and keeps him from performing the duties he owes God, as it says: “Lest he quaff and forget that which is decreed” (Mishlei 31:5). You should practice abstinence from the permitted pleasures, my brother, to the best of your ability, so that you come to regard them as in the same class with the pleasures that are forbidden to you. Otherwise, you may forsake the Torah and neglect your duty. You know what the Creator, may He be exalted, commanded the king when He said: “He should not have many wives” (Devarim 17:17); “Only he should not have many horses” (ibid. 17:16); and as it says (Nechemyah 13:26): “Did not Shelomo, King of Israel, sin on account of these?... The foreign women caused even him to sin”-- this despite his powerful intellect, vast knowledge, and great stature.

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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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DEUT903 Another, important manifestation of the sanctity of the individual over the group in both [i.e., Jewish and American] ideologies is the overpowering emphasis that they both put on the rule of law. Kings, presidents, military leaders, and even individual judges do not determine the rules; There is a law by which even they must abide. (Deuteronomy 17:18-20, 2 Samuel 11-12, and 1 Kings 21. Compare also the talmudic story of the confrontation between Simeon Ben Shetah and King Alexander Yanai in B. Sanhedrin 19a-b). Thus in a poignant passage the Torah requires the King to own a copy of the Torah, to keep it nearby, and to “read it all his life.... Thus he will not act haughtily toward his fellows or deviate from the Instruction to the right or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20) Similarly, to ensure that judges are not lured into thinking that they are the source of the law, they are advised by the Mishnah not to judge cases on their own. As Rabbi Ishmael, son of Rabbi Yose, said, “Do not judge by yourself, for there is only One who [appropriately] judges by Himself.” M. Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 4:10. Insistence that the law must govern has engendered great effort in both systems to extend it to cover every contingency. Jewish law became, as the Talmud put it, a veritable sea, and American law is now even more extensive. The United States may well be the only nation in the world that has centered its civilization around law as much as the Jews have. (So claims Konvitz (1980) Judaism and the American Idea, New York: Schocken., 53-55; the quotation is from p. 55).

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DEUT904 See [[LEV492]] Leviticus 19:15 rich HIRSH 34-5 ft. 7

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DEUT905 In addition to the general commandment for every Jew to write a personal Torah, the Torah [Deuteronomy 31:19] commands the Jewish king to write his own Torah. In an unusual departure, the Torah text itself explains why the king must write this "extra" Torah. It says the king should read it always, in order to ensure that he will keep all its laws, despite his natural desire to think of himself as "above the law." This unusual commandment (elaborated upon by the commentators) runs contrary to the laws of government in our century or any century, even in democratic Western democracies. While history has amply demonstrated that kings and leaders of nations have always lived by a set of rules different from that of the people they govern, presidents and heads of democratic governments today still retain special status when it comes to adherence to the laws of the land. In the United States, the concept of executive privilege allows the president to ignore many laws or bypass other statutes. His ability to pardon any criminal and declare emergency powers when he sees the need runs contrary to democratic principles and attests to his special status before the law. In the state of Israel, as in many other countries, members of the Knesset have immunity from prosecution for breaking state laws, and diplomatic immunity for foreign diplomats gives them the right to commit crimes without retribution. These concepts are accepted virtually all over the world. And, yet, contrary to this norm, the Torah stresses that no one, not even the king, can be above the Law. All must conform.

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DEUT906 ... the Holy One blessed be He has commanded the king "It shall be with him and he shall study it all the days of his life, so that he learns to fear the Eternal his God" [this verse]. From here you are taught that learning [how to] fear [sin] can only be accomplished through uninterrupted study. Examine the way the verse is worded – "so that he learns to fear" – rather than "so that he fears." This is so, because fear of this kind is not something that is naturally grasped. On the contrary, it is far removed from one ['s grasp], due to the physical nature of the senses, and it can only be acquired through learning. And, "learning to fear" can only be achieved through intense, uninterrupted devotion to [the study of] the Torah and its ways. This means that one should reflect upon and delve into this matter all the time – when at home, went on the road, when lying down, and when arising - until the truthfulness of this matter is established in his mind, namely, the truth that the Divine Presence is everywhere and that we are actually standing before Him every moment and every hour. Then one will truly fear Him. This is what David HaMelech prayed for when he said (Tehillim 86:11): "Teach me, O Eternal, Your way, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name."

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DEUT907 This teaches us that study leads to fear; fear, to heeding; heeding, to doing (Sifrei)

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DEUT908 See [[NUM190]] Numbers 15:39 remember DUTIES 777-9

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DEUT909 Arrogance supported by power can pose a serious threat to the welfare of mankind. An ordinary arrogant individual can be isolated by society and thus neutralized. Such treatment is ineffective in the case of arrogant kings and tyrants. The Bible enjoined the kings of Israel to place a copy of the Pentateuch in their libraries. It was hoped that its precepts would exercise a moderating influence upon them. The king was to study the Bible to the end "so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law… that his heart may not be moved by arrogance to lift him up above his brethren" [this and following verses].

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