26 Aug SHOFTIM: AND IT SHALL BE WHEN HE SITS (K’SHIVTO)

In Parshas Shoftim,
the Torah introduces
us to the concept of a
Jewish Monarchy.
“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 the nations that
are around me.’” [Devorim 17:14]. The
Torah says, “Yes you are allowed to
establish a monarchy. It is a mitzvah to
have a king.” However, there are
restrictions: He may not have an
excessive number of wives. He may not
have too many horses. He should not
take too much silver and gold for himself.
And there are also positive
commandments: “And it shall be when
he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he
shall write for himself two copies of this
Torah in a scroll from before the
Kohanim, the Levites” [Devorim 17:18].
Every Jew must write a Sefer Torah. The
king needs to write a second Sefer Torah
which he keeps with himself at all times.
The Torah introduces the mitzvah to

write this (second) Sefer Torah with the
expression “And it shall be when he sits
(k’Shivto) on the throne of his kingdom.”
The Medrash in Esther Rabbah makes a
very interesting comment. There are two
ways of saying “And when he will sit on
his throne.” It could say “v’haya
k’Shivto” or it could say “v’haya
b’Shivto.” The Medrash makes a
distinction regarding the implications of
each term. By the nations of the world,
the pasuk says, “k‘sheves haMelech
Achashverosh al kisei malchuso…”
[Esther 1:2] using a letter “Chaf” as the
prefix. However, when we speak about
Jewish kings in the Book of Shoftim
[11:26], the pasuk says “b‘sheves
Yisrael…” using the letter “Beis” as the
prefix. The Gemara explains the
distinction: By the nations of the world,
the “Chaf” is used because their
monarchies are not permanent. By kings
of the Jewish nation, as long as there was
a Klal Yisrael, the monarchy remained.
Therefore, the prefix “Beis” is used,
which has a connotation of a permanent
monarchy.

If that is the case, this pasuk in our
parsha presents a problem. It is speaking
about a Jewish king and yet it uses the
prefix “Chof” – v’haya k’Shivto al kisei
mamlachto! This seems to violate the
rule mentioned in Esther Rabbah.
I saw a thought in the name of the Gerer
Rebbe, the Chidushei HaRi”m, and I saw
a similar thought in the name of the
Techeiles Mordechai from Rav Sholom
Mordechai haKohen Schwadron (the
Brizhaner Rav). The reason the Torah
uses the expression “And it will be
k‘shivto…” here is because the Torah is
speaking about the initial ascension of
the Jewish king onto his throne.
Normally, when a king first assumes his
throne, he is all inspired and “pumped”
to do good for the people. He wants to
make sure the people are taken care of.
He wants to make sure to improve the
economy. He wants to make sure that
human rights are preserved in his
country. All the sincere and idealistic
ideas of good government are always
present when one starts something.
Every president starts his administration
with these grand ideas and grand plans
to provide “a chicken in every pot and
two cars in every garage and universal
health care” etc., etc., etc.
Those plans are made “v’haya
k’shivto…” (when he first ascends the
throne). But we all know that with the
passage of time, it rapidly becomes
“same old, same old.” People become
jaded; they become turned off; they
get cynical. People sort of devolve

into a run of the mill, go-through-the-
motions type of administration.

The challenge always is for a king to
maintain throughout his monarchy
that same feeling of freshness,
enthusiasm, and humility that he had
the day he sat on the throne for the first
time. This is what the Torah wants to
hint at here, says the Brizhaner Rav.
All the plans and good intentions that
a king has when he assumes the throne
(k’shivto al kisei malchuso) should
remain with him for the rest of his
reign.
This idea is a very beautiful vort to
say at a Sheva Brochos. At a Sheva
Brochos, the Chassan and Kallah are
in their first week of marriage. They
are so sensitive and so caring and so
loving towards each other. They each
have the greatest of intentions to make
this a perfect marriage. But

unfortunately, as we know, like with
everything else in life – things do not
remain the way they were at the start of
an endeavor. Honeymoons are called
honeymoons because they only last for a
certain amount of time, unfortunately.
A groom is compared to a king. This is
a wonderful homiletic lesson from the
pasuk in our parsha. That enthusiasm
and that idealism and that commitment
to be a good husband and to take care of
the spouse and to respect and honor her
should remain constant throughout the
marriage as it was “k’shivto…” when he
first ascended to the role of a groom
(who is compared to a king).”
Rav Pam once offered a beautiful
thought. We say “V’Erastich lee l’olam”
[Hoshea 2:21] (And I will betroth you to
me forever). Erusin [betrothal] is a
temporary stage. It is the period between
Kiddushin [halachic engagement] and
Nisuin [halachic marriage]. In Talmudic
times, it lasted for 6 to 12 months, but it
was always meant to be a temporary
situation. So what then, asked Rav Pam,
does the pasuk mean when it says, “I will
betroth you to me forever“? If it is
forever it is not Eirusin and if it is Eirusin
it is not forever?
Rav Pam said the same type of concept.
When someone goes ahead and makes
Eirusin, he has all the good intentions
and the love and compassion in the
world, but it is only “Eirusin” – a
temporary stage. However, that type of
“I will betroth you to me” should really
be forever.
It should be “v’haya k’shivto“. Every
day they should be in your eyes as if it
were a new experience. It is a challenge.
But if we had that enthusiasm, if we
were able to channel it into our learning,
into our marriages, and into our lives,
then in fact, we would be much more
successful in all areas of life.