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Carrying a Personal Torah - Parashat Shoftim 5778, August 14, 2018

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Welcome back to school, MHA-FYOS Community! Baruch She’hechiyanu VeKiyemanu VeHigiyanu Ba’zeman Ha’ze.

After a full week of teacher in-service training, we began classes this past Wednesday. There is so much enthusiasm in the building as we welcomed our returning students, as well as 35 new students. We anticipate an outstanding year!

One of the many topics presented in this week’s parasha, Parashat Shoftim, is the law of the Jewish king. The Torah presents an ambivalent view of the king. On one hand, this king is authorized by Hashem:
When you come to the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you, and possess it, and settle in it, and you will say, ‘I will set a king over myself, like all of the nations that are around me.’ You shall surely set over yourself a king whom Hashem, your G-d, shall choose; from among your brethren shall you set a king over yourself; you cannot place over yourself a foreign man, who is not your brother. (Devarim 17:14-15)

On the other hand, the Torah constrains the king:
              Only he (the king) shall not have too many horses for himself, so that he will not return the people to Egypt in order to increase horses … (Devarim 17:16)

               And he (the king) shall not have too many wives, so that his heart not turn astray, and he should not greatly increase silver and gold for himself … (Devarim 17:17)

After describing the prohibition on the king to procure “too many horses” and to marry “too many wives”, the Torah commands the king to write for himself two copies of the Torah – one to be placed in his storehouse and one to be carried with him at all times. By carrying and learning from this Torah, Hashem expects the king to learn to fear Hashem and to guard the words of the Torah. Parenthetically, in 2013, I saw, in the reserve room of the Jewish Collection at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, an eight-inch-tall Sefer Torah written by a member of the Jewish community of Cochin, India. It had been placed within a small traveling case and was intended to be given to the King Mashiach to carry on his person – may he come speedily and in our days.

Hashem expects that possessing and learning from this Torah will help promote humility in the Jewish monarch:
              …so that his heart does not become haughty over his brethren and not turn from the commandment right or left, so that he will prolong years over his kingdom, he and his sons amid Israel. (Devarim 17:20)
While our students do not have the status of kings, they are the future leaders of the Jewish People. Under the guidance of their teachers, our students are metaphorically writing and carrying their own, personal Sifrei Torah. Our students will possess these sefarim for their entire lives taking them with them wherever they go. Through the process of writing their personal sifrei Torah, our students are refining their character traits, developing advanced critical thinking skills and acquiring the knowledge and tools to teach Torah to others. They will become the next generation of Jewish leaders.


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