{"id":50474,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-170\/"},"modified":"2022-09-29T08:29:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T05:29:29","slug":"wall-170","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-170\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Deuteronomy-17"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"170","date":"20260423","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"50643","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Deuteronomy 17 - Judy Hammond          ","post_title":"Deuteronomy 17 - Judy 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the posts for today's chapter that explore the question:\r\n\r\nWhat authority should a human ruler have? 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","post_title":"When Is A Witness Not A Witness?","slug":"when-is-a-witness-not-a-witness","old_id":"108260","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah.  Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When there\u2019s only one of them\u2026\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watch any courtroom drama in film and television and the crescendo usually comes from the one dramatic witness on the stand. Halacha treats witnesses differently in criminal cases. \u201cA person shall be put to death only on the word of two or three witnesses; no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness\u201d (verse 6). The death penalty is severe and the Torah requires a court to be absolutely sure before meting out such a punishment. A single witness is not enough. Circumstantial evidence is also not enough. You need two witnesses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Talmud learns a few rules from this verse. The fact that the verse emphasizes \u201con the word\u201d means that a person must be warned by two witnesses that their action is murder punishable by death. The addition of \u201con the testimony of\u201d also means that a court must hear direct testimony from these witnesses and cannot rely on an interpreter (Makkot 6b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why does the verse say \"two or three\"? Why not just two? The plain meaning is that the Torah means two or more witnesses. The Talmud explains that the Torah is setting the parameters for false witnesses. \u201cJust as three witnesses can render the two witnesses conspiring witnesses, so too, the two witnesses can render the three witnesses conspiring witnesses\u201d (Makkot 5b). The Talmud in Sanhedrin further explains that \u201cthree witnesses\u201d means that if a group of three is deemed to be false witnesses, then the third member of the group cannot try to get out of their punishment by saying that normally only two witnesses are needed, so his testimony is superfluous (Sanhedrin 9a).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why does the verse end with \u201cno one shall be put to death by the testimony of one witness\u201d? The verse opened with the directive that one may only be put to death with two or three witnesses! The Talmud explains that this means that the two witnesses must view the crime together from the same vantage point. Someone cannot be put to death based on the testimony of two witnesses who witnessed the crime from different locations. Because the verse is only talking about capital punishments here, the concern about the two witnesses from different vantage points does not apply to monetary cases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":79215,"alt":"","title":"zech3-accuser","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser.jpg","width":1920,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"When Is A Witness Not A Witness?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When there\u2019s only one of them\u2026","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":79215,"alt":"","title":"zech3-accuser","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser.jpg","width":1920,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech3-accuser-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"414","name":"Law","old_id":"814"},{"term_id":"646","name":"Court","old_id":"1046"}]},{"order":4,"id":"108258","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Divine Wrongs Of Kings  ","post_title":"The Divine Wrongs Of Kings","slug":"the-divine-wrongs-of-kings-2","old_id":"108258","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":101758,"post_title":"Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam","slug":"naomi-bromberg-bar-yam","old_id":"101758","first_name":"Naomi ","last_name":"Bromberg Bar-Yam ","description":"Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam is a social worker and advocate in maternal and child health. She explores her work and life through Torah drashot, rituals and children\u2019s stories.","short_description":"Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam is a social worker and advocate in maternal and child health. She explores her work and life through Torah drashot, rituals and children\u2019s stories.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":101760,"alt":"","title":"-62028435af471--62028435af472Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg.jpg","width":361,"height":449,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":449,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":449,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":449,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":449,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":449,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/62028435af471-62028435af472Naomi-Bromberg-Bar-Yam.jpg-338x420.jpg","home_baner-width":338,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"More than what he may do, the text focuses on what a king may not do\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plan A: the children of Israel are ruled by God through God\u2019s laws and vision for human society. The leaders, prophets like Moses, elders and priests, guide the people in achieving this. In this way, the people serve God, by representing God on earth through ritual, ethics and their behavior toward one another and the stranger.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anticipating the unexpected is crucial to a successful outcome, hence Plan B. When the people enter and establish themselves in the land, they will want a king \u201cas do all the nations about [them]\u201d (17:14).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our chapter, Moses lays out what kingship looks like for the people of Israel:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God will choose the king from among the people. No foreign rulers;<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The king must not have too many horses, too many wives, or too much gold;<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The king may not go back to Egypt for said horses;<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each king must have a copy of \u201cthis Teaching\u201d (the Torah or Deuteronomy depending on which commentary you read) which he should read his whole life to guide his actions;<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The king shall not hold himself above his people;<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the king should not deviate from the Teaching to the right to or the left.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spoiler Alert: When Israel does have kings, each of these rules is violated in multiple ways.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The children of Israel will want a king, \u201cas do all the nations about\u201d them. Yet, this model is very different from kingship in neighboring nations. This passage says little about what kings DO, rather what they may NOT do. Prophets, elders and priests are, each in a different way, intermediaries between God and the people and guides.\u00a0 What is the role of a human king where there is the Ultimate King?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tension between the vision of kingship in our chapter and the desire of the nation to have a king \u201cas do all the nations about\u201d is central to the story of the Early Prophets. The books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings describe the people of Israel figuring out how to be a sovereign nation surrounded by neighbors and foreign political powers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The people\u2019s pleas for a king arise well before the first king of Israel, Judges 8:22-23 (stay tuned). And the roles, rights and responsibilities of kings, prophets, advisors\/elders and priests permeate the narrative of the rest of the Bible, Israel\u2019s first sovereignty in the land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":99829,"alt":"","title":"1chron28-king throne","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne.png","width":1280,"height":1217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-300x285.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":285,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-768x730.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":730,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-1024x974.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":974,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-1200x1141.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1141,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-442x420.png","home_baner-width":442,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Divine Wrongs Of Kings","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"More than what he may do, the text focuses on what a king may not do\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":99829,"alt":"","title":"1chron28-king throne","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne.png","width":1280,"height":1217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-300x285.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":285,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-768x730.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":730,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-1024x974.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":974,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-1200x1141.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1141,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1chron28-king-throne-442x420.png","home_baner-width":442,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"414","name":"Law","old_id":"814"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":5,"id":"108256","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Ours Is (Not?) To Reason Why   ","post_title":"Ours Is (Not?) To Reason Why","slug":"ours-is-not-to-reason-why","old_id":"108256","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Women, horses, mitzvot - and the downfall of Solomon\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The end of Deuteronomy 17 contains five verses that are referred to as the four <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mitzvot hamelech<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the commandments regarding an Israelite king: three negative prescriptions and one positive requirement. Included are:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He shall not keep many horses or send people back to Egypt to add to his horses, since God has warned you, \u201cYou must not go back that way again.\u201d And he shall not have many wives, lest his heart go astray (verses 16-17).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At least one view in the Talmud utilizes these two commandments as an abject lesson in not seeking understandings for the mitzvot, commandments of the Torah:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rabbi Yitz\u1e25ak says: For what reason were the rationales of Torah not revealed? Because the rationales of two verses were revealed, and the greatest in the world, King Solomon, failed in those matters. It is written: \u201cAnd he\u00a0 shall not have many wives, lest his heart go astray\u2026\u201dSolomon said: I will add many, but I will not turn away, And later, it is written: (I Kings 11:4) \u201cFor it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And it is also written: \u201c\u2026He shall not keep many horses or send people back to Egypt to add to his horses\u2026\u201d Solomon said: I will accumulate many, but I will not return. And it is written: (ibid. 10:29) \u201cAnd a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">implying that Solomon had permanent Israelite agents in Egypt administering his equine needs<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> - Sanhedrin 21b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">R. Yitzchak fears that unless one adopts an anti-intellectual stance vis-\u00e0-vis the commandments, man\u2019s great ability to rationalize and justify will render the mitzvot moot.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But other voices in the Talmud assert that understanding a mitzvah is not only appropriate, but that it ought to be pursued in order to properly fulfill the commandments:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With regard to a widow, whether she is poor or whether she is wealthy, one may not take collateral from her, as it is stated: \u201cAnd you may not take the garment of a widow as collateral\u201d (Deuteronomy 24:17). The Sages taught: \u2026 Rabbi Shimon says: With regard to a wealthy widow, one may take collateral from her (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">since logically she doesn\u2019t need it to be returned to her each evening<\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But with regard to a poor widow, one may not take collateral from her, because you are obligated to return it to her, And you will thereby give her a bad name among her neighbors\u2026 (Bava Metzia 115a).<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A means by which both of these views can be reconciled might entail a commitment to fulfill God\u2019s commandments even if we are unable to understand their underlying reasons, recognizing that the Torah is eternal, but our reasoning powers, of even the smartest among us, are most definitely not, given our various biases and other limitations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81411,"alt":"","title":"ps22-why","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-300x169.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-768x432.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-1024x576.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-1200x675.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-747x420.png","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Ours Is (Not?) To Reason Why","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Women, horses, mitzvot - and the downfall of Solomon","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":81411,"alt":"","title":"ps22-why","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-300x169.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-768x432.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-1024x576.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-1200x675.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-why-747x420.png","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"411","name":"mitzvah","old_id":"811"},{"term_id":"627","name":"Talmud","old_id":"1027"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"}]},{"order":6,"id":"50854","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Do We Need A Human Ruler?        ","post_title":"Do We Need A Human Ruler?","slug":"do-we-need-a-human-ruler","old_id":"50854","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":48616,"post_title":"Yair Bernstein","slug":"yair-bernstein","old_id":"48616","first_name":"Yair ","last_name":"Bernstein ","description":"Yair Bernstein currently serves as a Shaliach of the World Zionist Organization to a school in Chicago, where he teaches, together with his wife, Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He holds an M.A. in Bible Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem","short_description":"Yair Bernstein currently serves as a Shaliach of the World Zionist Organization to a school in Chicago.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":48617,"alt":"","title":"Yair Bernstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921.jpg","width":248,"height":256,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921.jpg","medium_large-width":248,"medium_large-height":256,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921.jpg","large-width":248,"large-height":256,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921.jpg","1536x1536-width":248,"1536x1536-height":256,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921.jpg","2048x2048-width":248,"2048x2048-height":256,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921.jpg","post_full_size-width":248,"post_full_size-height":256,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Yair-Bernstein-e1549021062921.jpg","home_baner-width":248,"home_baner-height":256}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The ambiguities of the text, and how one word can change worlds","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I\u2019m asked questions like \u201cwhat does Judaism say about [insert subject]\u201d I get frustrated. Judaism is too complex to be taught while standing on one foot. There is no one Jewish answer to anything!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is true even within one chapter, such as Deut 17. If one were to ask \u201cwhat is chapter 17\u2019s perception of kingship? Does it present it as a positive or a negative? Is kingship the best kind of leadership, based on chapter 17?\u201d, I would not know what to answer.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The laws of kingship appear in verses 14-20. Many commentators proudly focus on verses 18-20 where we learn that even a king is not above the law. This was, of course, a groundbreaking idea 2600 years ago. Just before that, in verses 16-17, we learn about the importance of moderation to a king. \u201cDon\u2019t have too many wives\u201d, \u201cdon\u2019t have too many horses\u201d. Again, another revolutionary idea back then. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the truth is, that I don\u2019t understand the law on the most basic level. Is a king a necessity or a compromise? Meaning is the law REQUIRING us to have a king or is the law creating guidelines IN CASE we ask for a king?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The center of this confusion comes from the first word of this law the word is \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u05db\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d - <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ki<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This word is the opening clause to many biblical laws. The problem is that it has two meanings: One is \u201cif\u201d and one is \u201cwhen\u201d. So the first verse of the law can be read in two very distinct ways. If we read \u201cif\u201d then the law states \u201cIf you enter the land [...] and [if you] say I will set a king over me...\u201d. If we read \u201cwhen\u201d then the law states \u201cwhen [or: after] you enter the land [...] you will [or: should] say I will set a king over me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first option makes it sound like a king is an option but not a necessity. The second option sounds like a king is a requirement. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is not just a hypothetical legal question. This changes the way we understand stories that echo this law and our own history. For example, how do we interpret Samuel\u2019s anger toward the people after they request a king in chapter 8 of the first book of Samuel? If the law requires a king, then his anger should be understood as coming from a self-promoting agenda. But if the law only allows a king to be elected if one is asked for, then his anger comes from his true belief that the people of Israel have only one God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t know what the right answer is here. But I do know that many times, one word can change worlds.<br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: King David, by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (il Guercino) c. 1768. Inscription reads: \u201cGlorious things are spoken of you, O city of God\u201d (Ps 87:3 ).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50866,"alt":"","title":"dt17-KDavid","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","width":453,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid-227x300.jpg","medium-width":227,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","medium_large-width":453,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","large-width":453,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","1536x1536-width":453,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","2048x2048-width":453,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","post_full_size-width":453,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid-318x420.jpg","home_baner-width":318,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Limits of Power I","tile_main_caption":"Do We Need A Human Ruler?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The ambiguities of the text, and how one word can change worlds","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50866,"alt":"","title":"dt17-KDavid","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","width":453,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid-227x300.jpg","medium-width":227,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","medium_large-width":453,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","large-width":453,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","1536x1536-width":453,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","2048x2048-width":453,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid.jpg","post_full_size-width":453,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-KDavid-318x420.jpg","home_baner-width":318,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"},{"term_id":"839","name":"Samuel","old_id":"1239"}]},{"order":7,"id":"50870","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Unsupreme Ruler       ","post_title":"The Unsupreme Ruler","slug":"the-unsupreme-ruler","old_id":"50870","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33993,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","width":204,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-256x300.png","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","medium_large-width":204,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","large-width":204,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","1536x1536-width":204,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","2048x2048-width":204,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","post_full_size-width":204,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","home_baner-width":204,"home_baner-height":199}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"One law to rule them all. The rest is commentary","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In perhaps one of the most striking shifts in the vector of power, government, and rightful authority, Deuteronomy 17 records what over the centuries transformed what the very notion of government can mean. Like all ancient societies, ancient Israel assumed that monarchy was synonymous with government. In moments of fear, a strong leader was needed to rally the nation. In times of war, a warrior was needed to lead the troops. As late as the Eighteenth Century, many literate people assumed that only a strong central government ruled by a monarch could possibly function to maintain order and fight crime.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what is that subtle shift Deuteronomy introduces? Yes, you may have your sovereign. But that monarch is not supreme. Above the crown is the law: \u201cWhen the monarch is seated on the royal throne, have a copy of this Teaching written on a scroll by the Levitical priests. Let it remain with the monarch and let the monarch read in it all every day while alive in order to learn to revere the Lord God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching as well as these laws (17: 18-19).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each monarch of Israel must have their own personal copy of the Torah, and it must remain nearby. Not only proximity, but familiarity with its contents is required, so that the outcome is fidelity, obedience, and humility. The state is not the monarch. The goal is not the monarch\u2019s whims or desires. Everyone in ancient Israel was to be governed by the same laws, rules, and teachings. There is to be one law for the lofty and the low, the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And with that subtle intervention, the rule of law is born. If even the king or queen is answerable to the law, then the law itself, with its core concepts of justice and equity, become the goal of government, and its yardstick.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One law to rule them all. The rest is commentary.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>image: Gustave Dore, the prohpet Amos chastizing King Amaziah<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50874,"alt":"","title":"dt17-Amos-Amaziah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/gif","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","width":400,"height":479,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah-150x150.gif","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah-251x300.gif","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":479,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","large-width":400,"large-height":479,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":479,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":479,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":479,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah-351x420.gif","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Limits of Power II","tile_main_caption":"The Unsupreme Ruler","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"One law to rule them all. The rest is commentary","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50874,"alt":"","title":"dt17-Amos-Amaziah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/gif","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","width":400,"height":479,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah-150x150.gif","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah-251x300.gif","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":479,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","large-width":400,"large-height":479,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":479,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":479,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah.gif","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":479,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-Amos-Amaziah-351x420.gif","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"414","name":"Law","old_id":"814"},{"term_id":"423","name":"Politics","old_id":"823"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":8,"id":"50847","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Roots of Kingship in Israel        ","post_title":"Roots Of Kingship In Israel","slug":"roots-of-kingship-in-israel","old_id":"50847","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":50595,"post_title":"Sam Blumberg","slug":"sam-blumberg","old_id":"50595","first_name":"Sam ","last_name":"Blumberg ","description":"Sam Blumberg is a Jewish educator and rabbinical student at Hebrew College in Newton, MA. A graduate of the Pardes Educators Program and former middle school Jewish Studies teacher, Sam currently serves as Student Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Brookline, MA and Rabbinic Intern at Congregation Betenu in Amherst, NH. He lives in Waltham, MA with his wife and two young children.","short_description":"Sam Blumberg is a Jewish educator and rabbinical student at Hebrew College in Newton, MA.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":50596,"alt":"","title":"sam blumberg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg.jpg","width":297,"height":353,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg-252x300.jpg","medium-width":252,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg.jpg","medium_large-width":297,"medium_large-height":353,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg.jpg","large-width":297,"large-height":353,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg.jpg","1536x1536-width":297,"1536x1536-height":353,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg.jpg","2048x2048-width":297,"2048x2048-height":353,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg.jpg","post_full_size-width":297,"post_full_size-height":353,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sam-blumberg.jpg","home_baner-width":297,"home_baner-height":353}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And the importance of humility and the rule of law","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Judaism, we begin our blessings with the words: \u201cBlessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The traditional understanding presents God as our Ruler, the One who is at all times exercising authority and making all the things that happen, happen. So in Deuteronomy 17:15 we might be surprised to learn that if after conquering and settling the land of Israel the Israelites desire to set a flesh-and-blood ruler over themselves like the nations that surround them, they have the divine permission to do so.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, there are parameters: the ruler (assumed to be male) must be an Israelite, may not have too many horses, too many wives, too much gold or silver. He must keep a copy of the Torah with him, to read from and to remain humble, because after all, all of that ruling can go to one\u2019s head!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we are to make the parallel between the (earthly) ruler and the (heavenly) Ruler, perhaps these instructions can give us some insight into God\u2019s own way of thinking about how it feels to be the Ultimate Sovereign. Perhaps God is sharing with us that being looked up to can be frightening, so much so that you want to jump on your horse and get as far away as possible. Letting the day-in and day-out adoration of the people intoxicate you can lead you astray, and can make you forget your ultimate goals. To remain humble, God says, you must keep your fundamental values by your side at all times\u2014 not just in your head and not just in one place, but they must be with you, physically, and you must be reminded of them every day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today\u2019s chapter encourages us to ask ourselves: What are the teachings that I carry and that carry me, keeping me from straying left and right and helping me to remain humble?<br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=370600\">crown (Denmark) Ikiwaner<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50848,"alt":"","title":"dt17-crown","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown.jpg","width":1280,"height":1034,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-300x242.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":242,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-768x620.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":620,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-1024x827.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":827,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1034,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1034,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-1200x969.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":969,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-520x420.jpg","home_baner-width":520,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Limits of Power III","tile_main_caption":"Roots Of Kingship In Israel","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And the importance of humility and the rule of law","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50848,"alt":"","title":"dt17-crown","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown.jpg","width":1280,"height":1034,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-300x242.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":242,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-768x620.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":620,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-1024x827.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":827,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1034,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1034,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-1200x969.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":969,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-crown-520x420.jpg","home_baner-width":520,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"643","name":"Humility","old_id":"1043"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":9,"id":"50933","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"To Be Different - Like Everybody Else     ","post_title":"To Be Different - Like Everybody Else","slug":"to-be-different-like-everybody-else","old_id":"50933","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer.  Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Judaism is an argument for the limitation, secularisation and transformation of power","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From a Jewish perspective, is having a king a good thing or a bad thing? It turns out, to be almost unanswerable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the one hand, the Torah does say, \u201cset over you a king.\u201d This is a positive command. Maimonides counts it among the 613. On the other hand, of no other command anywhere does it say that that it is to be acted on when the people say that they want to be \u201clike all the surrounding nations.\u201d The Torah doesn\u2019t tell us to be like everyone else. The word <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kadosh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201choly\u201d, means, roughly, to be set apart, singular, distinctive, unique. Jews are supposed to have the courage to be different, to be <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but not entirely <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the surrounding world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If having a king is a good thing, why does God say that it means that the people are rejecting Him? If it is a bad thing, why does God tell Samuel to give the people what they want even if it is not what God would wish them to want?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Judaism is not an argument for powerlessness\u2026.Instead, Judaism is an argument for the limitation, secularisation and transformation of power.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limitation<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Israel\u2019s kings were the only rulers in the ancient world without the power to legislate. For us, the laws that matter come from God, not from human beings. To be sure, in Jewish law, kings may issue temporary regulations for the better ordering of society, but so may rabbis, courts, or local councils.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Secularisation<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: in Judaism, kings were not high priests and high priests were not kings. Jews were the first people to create a \u201cseparation of powers,\u201d a doctrine normally attributed to Montesquieu in the eighteenth century. When some of the Hasmonean rulers sought to combine the two offices, the Talmud records the objection of the sages: \u201cLet the royal crown be sufficient for you; leave the priestly crown to the descendants of Aaron.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transformation<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: fundamental to Judaism is the idea of servant leadership. There is a wonderful statement of it in our chapter. The king must have his own <em>sefer Torah<\/em>, \u201cand he shall read from it all the days of his life \u2026<\/span> <em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not considering himself superior to his kinsfolk<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or straying from the commandments to the right or to the left\u201d (17:19-20).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Humility is the essence of royalty, because to lead is to serve.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From:\u00a0<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To Lead is to Serve (Covenant &amp; Conversation, Shoftim 5778)<\/span><\/em><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Limits of Power IV","tile_main_caption":"To Be Different - Like Everybody Else","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Judaism is an argument for the limitation, secularisation and transformation of power","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"354","name":"Rabbi Sacks","old_id":"754"},{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"},{"term_id":"503","name":"Power","old_id":"903"}]},{"order":10,"id":"50844","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Judiciary \u2013 Then and Now         ","post_title":"The Judiciary \u2013 Then And Now","slug":"the-judiciary-then-and-now","old_id":"50844","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Parallels in Jewish, Israeli and American systems","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the middle of our chapter, we encounter a set of verses that served as the basis for establishing the basic judicial system of Rabbinic Judaism: <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a case is too baffling for you to decide\u2026you shall promptly repair to the place that the Lord your God will have chosen, and appear before the levitical priests, or the judge in charge at the time, and present your problem. When they have announced to you the verdict in the case, you shall carry out the verdict that is announced to you from that place that the Lord chose, observing scrupulously all their instructions to you\u2026Should a man act presumptuously and disregard the priest\u2026or the judge, that man shall die\u2026 (17:8-13). <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biblical injunction to put to death anyone who \u201cpresumptuously\u201d (<em>be-zadon<\/em>, i.e. intentionally, willfully) disregards and acts in violation of a legitimate verdict serves as the basis for the Rabbinic Sages\u2019 discussion of the <em>zaqen mamre<\/em>\u2019 (the \u201crebellious elder\u201d), an ordained rabbinic sage who \u201crebels against (i.e. personally rejects) a halakhic decision of the majority of the members of the Sanhedrin (the Rabbinic \u201cHigh Court\u201d). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Mishnah (Sanhedrin 11:2, see also Sanhedrin 86b-89a and Maimonides, <em>Mishneh Torah, Mamrim,<\/em> Chapters 3-4) details the extensive and exhaustive judicial process for ultimately executing such a \u201crebellious elder\u201d. First there was recourse to a Bet Din (Law Court) situated at the entrance to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. If found guilty, the rebellious elder could appeal to a higher court at the entrance to the Temple Court. A final appeal was possible to the \u201cBet Din Ha-Gadol\u201d (i.e. the full Sanhedrin) meeting in the Temple\u2019s <em>Lishqat Ha-Gazit<\/em> (\u201cHall of Hewn Stones\u201d). <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, even after having exhausted all possible appeals, the rebellious elder who continued to openly express his own minority opinion was punished only if he falsely claimed that his own view was the generally accepted halakhah and instructed people to act according to his individual opinion that had been decisively rejected by the Sanhedrin. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is similar in structure and practice to the judicial systems in both the United States and Israel. The overall structure of the Israel judicial system consists of a Supreme Court, consisting of fifteen judges. The Israeli Supreme Court oversees courts that have limited jurisdiction and even lower courts that deal with specific matters such as traffic, family, juvenile and labor law. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the extensive discussions of halakhic issues preserved in Talmudic literature, \u201cminority opinions\u201d (<em>de\u2019ot yahid,<\/em> i.e. the views of specific named Sages) are frequently recorded. Similarly, \u201cdissenting opinions\u201d, which differ from the collective decision agreed upon by the majority of judges, are fully recorded in the decisions of both the US and Israeli Supreme Courts. Then and now our legal systems have found a way to ensure the communal agreement of \u201cmajority rule\u201d, while preserving the \u201cminority rights\u201d of individual expression.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Image: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Supreme_Court_of_Israel#cite_note-1<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50845,"alt":"","title":"dt17-supreme court","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","width":1019,"height":854,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-300x251.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":251,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-768x644.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":644,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","large-width":1019,"large-height":854,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","1536x1536-width":1019,"1536x1536-height":854,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","2048x2048-width":1019,"2048x2048-height":854,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","post_full_size-width":1019,"post_full_size-height":854,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-501x420.png","home_baner-width":501,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Judiciary \u2013 Then And Now","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Parallels in Jewish, Israeli and American systems","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50845,"alt":"","title":"dt17-supreme court","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","width":1019,"height":854,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-300x251.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":251,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-768x644.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":644,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","large-width":1019,"large-height":854,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","1536x1536-width":1019,"1536x1536-height":854,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","2048x2048-width":1019,"2048x2048-height":854,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court.png","post_full_size-width":1019,"post_full_size-height":854,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-supreme-court-501x420.png","home_baner-width":501,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"539","name":"Israel","old_id":"939"},{"term_id":"646","name":"Court","old_id":"1046"},{"term_id":"781","name":"America","old_id":"1181"},{"term_id":"837","name":"Judges","old_id":"1237"}]},{"order":11,"id":"50830","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Bible In The Bar: Nobody Should Get Stoned?         ","post_title":"Bible In The Bar: Nobody Should Get Stoned?","slug":"bible-in-the-bar-nobody-should-get-stoned","old_id":"50830","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lht3qnqLIts","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Bible in the Bar","tile_main_caption":"Deuteronomy 17: Nobody Should Get Stoned?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Adam Mintz and special guest Prof. Nathaniel Berman","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lht3qnqLIts","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":12,"id":"50850","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Apostate        ","post_title":"The Apostate","slug":"the-apostate","old_id":"50850","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines.  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Thus says the Lord!\u201d.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Redeem me from rabbis with long black beards,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dressed in long black coats and black skullcaps,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Holding their black books and scrolls inscribed in black ink<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With long lists of black prohibitions.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweet Venus of the sleek blonde hair and hazel eyes,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grant me Tuscany green and Mediterranean blue.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lift me out of Jewish autumn and gray twilight; let me bask<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In your unending June sun.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why do they call me Jacob? I am Julianus;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why do they call me Isaac? I am Hadrianus;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why do they call me Abraham? I am Aurelius.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Venus, make my hooked nose straight,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My curly dark hair make yellow and smooth,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My clouded brown eyes bluer and clearer than your seas.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cancel this incision of circumcision<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maiming my maleness, deforming my manhood.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make my body more muscular and younger than Adonis;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let me show Cupid<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am a full man. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not recite the psalms of David, chant me Ovid\u2019s words;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not repeat the laws of Moses, sing me Virgil\u2019s verse.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My lady Venus, your sisters Minerva and Diana<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are winking their eyes and flirting with me.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My lady Venus, your brothers Mars and Vulcan<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are calling out to me, to seize the spear,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To raise the sword, to bend the bow,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To join their games of war and love. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My mistress Venus, queen of Rome,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I sacrifice on your altar wild boars.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let us spice our mead with the blood of young sows<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And feast on pork and cheese. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daughter of summer sky and ocean spray,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To you I lift four goblets of wine and swear:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNext year in Rome!<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next year in Rome!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If I forget you,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May my right hand lose its cunning,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If I do not set you,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">O Venus,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Above my chiefest joy.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p>image:\u00a0<span class=\"mw-mmv-source-author\"><span class=\"mw-mmv-author\">Shawn Lipowski:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Aphrodite of Milos (<a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Venus de Milo\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Venus_de_Milo\">Venus de Milo<\/a>) at the\u00a0Louvre\/ wikipedia.\u00a0<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50852,"alt":"","title":"dt17-venus","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus.jpg","width":800,"height":1067,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus-225x300.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus-768x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus-768x1024.jpg","large-width":768,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1067,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1067,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1067,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt17-venus-315x420.jpg","home_baner-width":315,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 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Sources of Authority in Ancient Judaism\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Joshua Kulp: How did ancient Jews learn how to behave? <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Deuteronomy 17","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"17","chapter_main_number":"170","date":"20260423","wall_id":"170"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"108236","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points To Ponder: Deuteronomy 17    ","post_title":"Points To Ponder: Deuteronomy 17","slug":"points-to-ponder-deuteronomy-17","old_id":"108236","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"170","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"<ol>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Priest, Levite, judge<\/em>. Who are the judges in the highest court in the land? Those who are responsible for Torah, teaching and purity, The positions of priest, Levite and judge are mentioned together in verses 9 and 12.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Deterrence.<\/em> One of the most important tools for the stability of the juridical institutions. Or in the words of the verse: \u201call the people will hear and be afraid and will not act presumptuously again\u201d (verse 13).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Who chooses<\/em>? Who chooses the king - God or the people? In verse 15 you\u2019ll find two possibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>When power gets out of whack<\/em>. The instruction <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lo yarbeh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201che shall not have too many (wives, horses)\u201d is not an absolute limit, but more of a general instruction to moderate the power and the acquisitiveness of the king (verses 16-17).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Does this remind you of anyone<\/em>? If the law of the king here reminds you of anyone, it\u2019s not a coincidence. 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