To Be a King

Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas Hatorah (www.bircas.org)

In Parashas Shoftim, Moshe Rabbeinu exhorts the people to uphold justice, stressing the importance of establishing a society run according to the Torah: “Judges and officers shall be appointed for yourselves in all of your [city] gates (meaning, entrances).” (Devarim 16:18) Competent judges, an effective police force, and firm leadership are needed to fully enforce Torah law and maintain peace.

Rav Chaim Vital asks, what is the Torah implying when it says that the judges and officers should be for “yourselves”? Whom else would they be for?

He answers that these words are applicable to each individual member of the Jewish nation. Every Jew must appoint “judges” over his own personal “gates”—the eyes, ears, brain, heart, and mouth. These gateways can be sources of great benefit, or they can be used for the greatest evils. The mouth can talk to Hashem and utter holy words of Torah, but it can also speak hurtful words. Eyes can look at the Torah, but also at inappropriate images. Hearts can be filled with love or hatred. We need to control the use of our faculties, using them only with the integrity and nobility that Hashem demands of us. This can only happen if we are effective judges over what is allowed in.

Rav Gedalia Schorr adds that a person needs to be an “officer” over himself at times. We must force ourselves to comply with Hashem’s will. This is accomplished by finding a method of discipline that will help us maximize our potential. We might even have to penalize ourselves so that we will be pushed to grow and perform the Divine service in the way that we should. When we apply these principles, we are acting like responsible leaders of our own spiritual “kingdom.”

The Sefer HaKuzari contains a dialog on religion between a king and a rav. At one point (3:5), the king asks the rav what the definition of a servant of Hashem is. The rav replies that a servant of Hashem is someone who has complete control over his thoughts, feelings, and actions.

The king, feeling that his question remained unanswered, says, “I asked you about one who serves Hashem, not one who has self-control!”

The rav replies, “They are one and the same. Only one who has complete control over all his thoughts, feelings, and actions can truly serve Hashem. It is the only way that he can use his entire being to serve Him, without being influenced by anything else.”

While we all surely agree that self-discipline is an important part of mitzvah observance, it is obvious that the Kuzari places it at the very center of a Jew’s service of Hashem.

In Avos (6:1), Rabi Meir presents a long list of things that a person who learns Torah for Hashem’s sake is privileged to receive. One of these is that his Torah learning will give him kingship and dominion. This obviously is not to be taken literally, as many great men who clearly learned Torah in this way never became world leaders. They didn’t even want any recognition. Rather, Rabi Meir is telling us that learning Torah in the proper way enables us to achieve total self-control. Through complete dedication to Torah, we can develop into beings with total dominion over our own bodies.

Parashas Shoftim also deals with the appointment of a king over the nation. Unlimited authority concentrated in the hands of one man instills respect and fear into the populace. This serves to keep the people in check. But what about the king? What constrains him? To ensure that a Jewish king remains completely dedicated to Torah, he must have a Torah scroll with him at all times. The constant presence of the Torah reminds him of Hashem and his obligation to subjugate himself to His service. It is because the king is not beholden to anyone that his self-control is crucial. The Torah scroll is a focus for the king, to ensure that he only does what is right in Hashem’s eyes when ruling the people.

Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv embodied so many of the greatest character traits that all Jews aspire to. One of his most notable ones was his incredible self-control. His entire being was consecrated to the study of Torah. He would wake up no later than three a.m. and learn, standing if necessary to prevent himself from falling asleep. When people came to ask him questions, he would make eye contact for as long as the person was talking to him. As soon as he determined that the person was finished, he turned back to his sefer. Even his minutest movements were calculated.

It is said that when Rav Elyashiv was young, he went to hear the legendary chazzan (cantor) R’ Yossele Rosenblatt, reasoning that it would boost his fear of Heaven. As he arrived at the door, he asked himself, “Why am I really going? To get more fear of Hashem? Isn’t it obvious that I can do that more effectively by learning Gemara?” He immediately turned around and went back to learn, missing what would end up being his only chance of hearing the legendary chazzan. He said later that he was zocheh to a greater level of help from Hashem in his learning from that point on.

May we be zocheh to become judges over ourselves and grow in self-control!

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