Word Prompt – KING – Hillel Fuld

In Shoftim, the Torah lays out the commandments for a king. There is a heavily debated question of whether we have a Torah commandment to appoint a king or if the Torah is just teaching us the laws in case we want a king. 

We know that a king cannot have too many horses, wives, or money so that he doesn’t become egotistical or conceited. 

In addition to the king in the Torah, we also use the theme of monarchy when describing our relationship with G-d. 

We famously refer to G-d as our father and our king, two identities that are usually somewhat mutually exclusive.

A father is more loving and a king is more authoritative. With G-d, He has the unique position of being both our father and our king. 

That means that He loves us like a father loves his child, but He is also our king and He expects us to follow His rules – aka the Torah – and when we don’t, we are punished like a king disciplines his people.