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Shabbat, 22nd August 2020 / 2nd Ellul 5780
Shoftim / Pirkei-Avot: Chapter 6

Dear Member,

 

Please see below our weekly e-newsletter.

 

Shacharit: Sunday & Public Holidays – 8.30am in Shul and on Zoom.

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Shabbat, 5th September, Shacharit at 10:00am.
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In the following weeks please see the website for future times of services.

 

We appreciate that due to the lock-down those of you who have had a Yahrzeit and especially those who have suffered a bereavement have not had the opportunity of saying Kaddish.

 

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Shabbat Shalom,

 

Cranbrook US

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News and Views

 

One of the commandments in this week’s Torah portion is about the appointing of a king. The Torah gives us various conditions regarding his appointment. The first is that he is chosen by G-d, and the second is that he must be someone from amongst the Jewish people - which our commentators explain as being appointed by the people. Both of these requirements need to be met for a king to be appointed by the Jewish people. A king is not a king if he is appointed by G-d without the agreement of his people, and at the same time, a king appointed by the people but not by the Almighty, is also not a king. The reasoning for this is that if a king is only a man of the people, he is likely to be swayed by the needs of the people. He may be pushed and pulled in various directions which may not be in either his or the nation’s best interests. He will be swayed by the politics of the day, by those parties which carry more weight and have greater seniority. It is for this reason that he needs to be chosen by the Almighty.

 

At the same time, his connection to G-d cannot be at the expense of the popularity that he holds with the masses. He needs to be chosen from amongst them by his people. If he lacks popularity and connection with his people, then he will not be able to gather their support when he needs it, and he won’t be able to rule effectively as a result. 

 

He also needs to remember that he is one of the people, not above them. 

 

The appointment of a king may give him heady ideas that he is above the law, and that he is able to commit whatever crimes he wishes because the laws which apply to the people also apply to him. He is no better or worse than them. It is probable that this is one of the reasons that he must write a Torah scroll and carry it around with him wherever he goes, in order to remember the fact that the laws which apply to every single Jewish human being also apply to Him. He is not above the law. 

 

In our history, we see kings (like Ahab from the Kingdom of Israel, or Menashe from the Kingdom of Yehuda) who believed themselves to be beyond the law, and this brought both themselves and their people down. The acts of our kings creates a new status quo of what is acceptable - “surely if a king can act in an immoral way, why can’t I?” creates a society where standards and morals get thrown to the crocodiles.

 

We can see two powerful leadership lessons from here. The leader is powerful not only in terms of the things that he does, but also in terms of the things that he doesn’t do. His power comes, not from his edicts, or his decisions, but from the way in which he maintains a status quo of what is acceptable. He becomes a personal example to those with whom he has close contact, and this creates a ripple effect from his advisors to their families, and from their families out into the wider community and country.

 

Leaders also need to have deep humility, to know at core that even though they are above the nation because they are chosen on some level by G-d in this position, they are nonetheless connected to their people. A lack of connection to those who the King rules makes him ineffective. He is a man of the people and at the same time a man above them.

 

I wish you all a good and safe Shabbos

 

Rabbi Steven, Siobhan, Maya and Talia.

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Condolences to:

 

Kevin Shine, Lisa Shine and Nicole Callaghan on the loss of their father, Michael Shine.

 

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