While recognizing that a leader was needed, the Torah limits the power of the king. It is interesting to note that this passage was the basis for the constitutional limits on the president of the US.
Tag: Law
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Be A Part of the Community
The Torah stresses that we are a part of the community. The fact that even someone who lives off charity is required to tithe is important. We are all responsible for the upkeep of the community.
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Punishment in the Torah
In the view of the Torah a thief has to repay his victim for what he has stolen. Just sitting in jail is not enough. He caused damage to the victim and until the victim has forgiven him, he is not forgiven.
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Taking God’s Name in Vain
The most common understanding of the Commandment of not taking God’s Name in vain is that we should not swear falsely. Another understanding is that we should not do commit a crime in His Name.
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You Are Responsible
פרשת כי תצא / י”א באלול תשפ”ב
The Torah admonishes us not to blame the father for the son’s sins and not to blame the son for the father’s sins. This underscores a major concept that we are responsible for our own actions. Not to blame others.
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Seeking a Just Society
פרשת שופטים / ו’ באלול תשפ”ב
The Torah states “Justice, Justice you will seek.” Note that it does not say “you will do justice only that you will seek it. This means that while we are imperfect humans and will make mistakes, we will do our best to bring justice.
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A God-Fearing Society
פרשת ואתחנן – י”ד באב תשפ”ב
Moses stresses that what we consider civil laws are really religiously basted law. That if the basis of law in a society is not God then the laws will break down and the results will be a dictatorship or anarchy, as we see from the difference in the results of the American and French Revolutions.
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Why The Temple was Destroyed
פרשת דברים / ח’ באב תשפ”ב
The Talmud states that the Temple was destroyed because the Jews kept the letter of the law. This is understood that they were more worried about the minutia of the law and forgot about the spirit that the law was to imbue.
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Jewish Law & Order
פרשת נשא / י’ בסיון תשפ”ב
In this week’s portion we find that the penalty of theft is that the thief has to make the victim whole. He also has to compensate the victim for pain and suffering due to the theft. If the thief cannot make the victim whole financially then we sell him into slavery until the victim is made whole.
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Don’t Judge the Judges
פרשת במדבר / ב’ בסיון תשפ”ב – מ”ו בעומר
The Book of Ruth begins the story with the statement “In the days when the Judges judged. The Hebrew, though, can be read as “In the days when the Judges were judged.” The meaning is clear. Every decision that the Judges made was criticized. In a society in which the legal authorities are constantly challenged will lose its cohesiveness. We must realize that the law has to be objective, not open to our whims.