THE ROLE OF MONARCHY IN JUDAISM
Rabbi Dunner examines the intriguing requirement to appoint a monarch over the Jewish nation.
What exactly is a ‘king’ in Torah terms, and why would the Jewish nation ever need one?
The verses that deal with this mitzva are more than a little ambiguous, leading to a Talmudic dispute as to whether the appointment of a king is mandatory, or voluntary.
Rabbi Dunner looks at the Gemara in Sanhedrin that records the dispute, and then looks at interpretations presented by two titans of Torah commentary – Abarbanel and Ohr Hachaim.
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(For the SoundCloud audio, scroll down) Few revolutions have shouted louder about equality – or practiced it more selectively – than the French Revolution. As Alexis de Tocqueville later observed... Read More