Dual Identity
We have a public and private persona. Torah too has two parallel identities; its revealed and concealed teachings. To nurture both of our personas we must avail ourselves of both dimensions of Torah.
Four Institutions of Leadership
This week’s parsha discusses four institutions of leadership in Israel: The judiciary, the monarchy, the priesthood and the institution of prophecy.
It is interesting and instructive that the first of the institutions to be discussed in this week’s parsha is the judiciary (which was responsible for both interpreting the law and legislating new laws). This was to underscore that all the institutions of power were under the jurisdiction of the laws of Torah as they have been transmitted by the rabbis/judges. No position of power exists that can counter the authority vested in the Torah.
A monarch cannot claim that he is above the law. A prophet who communicates G-d’s message to the nation may not meddle in matters of Jewish law. He certainly has no right to change them. And if he does change the laws— in the name of G-d—he is guilty of a heinous crime! It goes without saying that the priests who served in the Holy temple were bound by the laws of the Torah. Indeed, the seat of the Sanhedrin—the Supreme Court—was in the Temple itself. One of their primary functions was to oversee the daily operations of the Temple.
Two Torah Scrolls for the King
This explains why the Torah commands a king to have two Torah Scrolls: one which he stores with his treasures and one that he takes with him wherever he goes. The Torah that he carries with him, wherever he went, was intended for him to be forever cognizant of the subordinate role he played vis a vis the Torah. In the Torah’s own words:
“He should read from it all the days of his life so that he may learn to fear G-d, his G-d, to carefully guard the observances of all the words of this Torah and its statutes. And that his heart will not be arrogant over his brothers, and he will never veer away from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, in order that he will reign for a long time over his kingdom—he and his sons—among Israel.”
However, the question that arises here is why did the king need two Torah scrolls? If the other Torah was to be hidden away where it was inaccessible to him, what purpose did it serve? How did the concealed Torah serve to influence the king in his decisions?
Public and Private Persona
The truth is that the king needed two Torah scrolls because the king served two roles; he had two personas:
A king was the most public figure. He was the ultimate role model. His actions were watched by multitudes and he had to conduct himself in a manner that reflected his public position. In his public role he was not permitted to forgo some of the honor he was entitled to by the Torah. For him to denigrate himself was an abrogation of the Torah.
Torah dictates that a king behaves as a king by asserting his power and prestige, even as he follows all of the laws of the Torah as any commoner is required to do. The Torah assigned even more restrictions to the monarch than it did to all of his subjects.
But the king also had a private persona. A king also had a “secret” identity. In the depths of his heart and soul, the king was supposed to be a humble man, who possessed qualities of which nobody was aware.
So while the king had to keep some of his inner spiritual self under wraps to accommodate his public role and persona, he had to always remember that he had another Torah hidden in his treasures. This means he had concealed within him a different and higher standard of devotion to G-d and to His teachings; one that nobody could see.
A Living Paradox
Moshiach is the ultimate king who epitomizes the dual role that a king was supposed to embody. Moshiach is a living paradox.
On the one hand, there is no person on earth that ever lived that has the fame and power that will be possessed by Moshiach.
On the other hand, Moshiach is the most private person whose inner persona is known to none. Moshiach—like his forebear, Moses—is known for his humility even as he is the most honored and acclaimed leaders.
And since we all have a spark of Moshiach in us, it behooves us to develop these two identities: A public identity so that we can serve as role models to inspire others, even as we retain a private identity that involves our intimate relationship with G-d. This relationship we need not share with anyone else.
The message of this week’s parsha to us is thus: Both of these personas must be guided by the Torah.
The Two Parallel Dimensions of Torah
Torah itself also possesses two dimensions; the exoteric or revealed aspects of Torah such as the Talmud, and the esoteric or hidden aspects of Torah such as the teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidus.
Although both dimensions of Torah must serve in concert to affect both of our personas, public and private, there is a difference in focus and emphasis between them.
To nurture our public persona, our emphasis must be on following the laws of the Torah. The most disqualifying factor for a Jewish leader is his lack of fidelity to the practice of the Mitzvos-Commandments.
If this is true of any leader it is even more so for the ultimate leader, the Moshiach. His public role must be adherence to Jewish law. As Maimonides rules that to be presumed Moshiach one must be immersed in Torah and total commitment to its laws.
The rationale behind this notion that he cannot be Moshiach if he does not exemplify total devotion to the commandments is that the Messianic Age is highlighted by the fact that we will be able to observe all the commandments uncompromisingly. How then can the leader who will usher in this age not be known for his fidelity to the Mitzvos?
However, a leader must also cultivate and nurture his private persona. It goes without saying that one cannot nurture the recesses of our soul if we do not adhere to G- d’s revealed will.
But, just as importantly, and perhaps more essentially, the inner persona of a leader, particularly Moshiach, has to be nourished by his mastery of the inner, spiritual dimension of Torah.
Since we are all leaders in our own lives and in addition we all possess a spark of Moshiach, we must dedicate ourselves to enhancing both of our personas, with both dimensions of Torah: the revealed and the hidden.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shoftim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
