10 Jun WHEN THE PRESIDENT IS MOCKED, THE TORAH SPEAKS

Last week, we
witnessed a
disgraceful barrage
of insults directed at
President Trump by
Elon Musk. While the
president is known for never remaining
silent in the face of personal attacks, this
time he chose a more restrained and
measured response. But even as mere
observers, we too have a halachic
responsibility. We are not permitted to speak
negatively about the president—even in
private, as we will see from the following
examples. This applies even to a king who is
not favorable to the Jewish people—how
much more so when we are dealing with

President Trump, who has been strongly pro-
Jewish and has done much for our national

interests. All the more so must we show the
highest level of hakarat hatov—gratitude—
even if one disagrees with certain policies.
The story of Bava Ben Buta is highly
relevant when discussing the halachic
obligation not to speak negatively about a
ruler—even when that ruler is unjust or
wicked.
The Gemara (Baba Batra 3b-4a) tells the
story:
King Herod (Hordus), who ruled during the
late Second Temple period, was a cruel and
violent monarch. The Gemara recounts how
he murdered all the sages of his time, sparing
only Bava ben Buta—a leading Tanna—
whom he viciously blinded. One day, while
in disguise, Hordus approached the blind
Bava ben Buta and attempted to provoke
him into speaking negatively about the king.
“See, Rabbi, what this evil slave Hordus has
done—you should curse him!” Hordus
urged.
But Bava Ben Buta, unaware that he was
speaking to Hordus, refused to say anything
negative, instead he quoted a pasuk: “Do not
curse the king, not even in your thoughts.”
(Kohelet 10:20).
Hordus objected, “He is not a king—he rules
illegally!”
Bava ben Buta replied, “Even if he were
only a wealthy man, I would not curse him,
as it is written: ‘Do not curse a rich person in
your bedchamber.’ And even if he were
merely a communal leader, I still would not
curse him, as it is written: ‘You shall not
curse a leader among your people.’”

Hordus kept pressing him in
different ways, but Bava Ben
Buta remained firm and
respectful. When Hordus
eventually revealed his
identity and regret over his
actions, he asked Bava Ben
Buta for advice on how to
repent. Bava Ben Buta told
him to restore the honor of the
Jewish people by rebuilding
the Beit HaMikdash, which
Hordus then did—building it
with incredible beauty.
This story highlights the
critical importance of
showing respect to a king—not only by
refraining from public curses or insults, but
even in private. The obligation extends so far
that one must be careful not to harbor a curse
against the king even in his own thoughts.
The Torah emphasizes the importance of
respecting authority, even when the
leadership is wicked. The pasuk states:
“Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon,
and He commanded them regarding the
Children of Israel and regarding Pharaoh, the
king of Egypt” (Shemot 6:13).
Chazal explain this command as an
instruction to show honor to the monarchy—
even to Pharaoh (Mechilta Bo, ch. 13).
The Chatam Sofer learns from this that it is
a Torah obligation to honor a king. Pharaoh
was as evil a king as one can imagine, and
yet Hashem still commanded Moshe and
Aharon to show him honor.
Similarly, Chazal taught: “One must always
maintain a reverence for the monarchy,” as
it says: “All your servants shall come down
to me and bow before me…” (Shemot 11:8).
The pasuk could have said, “You [Pharaoh]
will come down to me,” but it was worded
more respectfully to teach us the importance
of honoring the king (Zevachim 102a;
Menachot 98a).
In another Midrashic teaching, Moshe and
Aaron say: “Lest He strike us with plague or
sword” (Shemot 5:3) uses the plural “us”
instead of directly warning Pharaoh “lest He
strike you.”
This too is interpreted to teach that one is
obligated to speak respectfully to the
monarchy, even under threat (Shemot
Rabbah 5:15).
We also learn that respect for authority must
be expressed through active gestures. For
example, the prophet Eliyahu ran before the
wicked King Achav, escorting him all the
way to his palace, as it says: “And the hand
of Hashem was upon Eliyahu, and he girded
his loins and ran before Achav until the

entrance of Yizre’el” (Melachim I 18:46).
Similarly, Yosef shaved and groomed
himself before appearing before Pharaoh, in
order to show proper respect for the king, as
it says: “So Yosef shaved and changed his
clothes, and he came to Pharaoh” (Bereishit
41:14, Rashi).
These sources demonstrate how deeply
embedded the value of honoring kingship is
within Torah—even when the leader is
immoral or oppressive.
This applies even when there is no threat of
harm from the king. When Yosef came to
visit his father Yaakov on his deathbed, he
“strengthened himself and sat up” to show
honor to Yosef. Rashi explains that this was
out of respect for the king. From this we
learn several things: first, that honor must be
shown even when there is no fear of the
king—as Yaakov had no reason to fear his
son; Second, even though Yosef was not
technically the king but only second to
Pharaoh, he was treated as a king—teaching
us that anyone in a position of authority is
regarded as a king in this regard and deserves
to be honored accordingly. and finally, that
even a father is required to rise for his son if
his son is a king.
The question must be asked: Why is this idea
so important to the Torah? The Maharsha
offers a profound insight:
“It is fitting to show honor even to the
wicked kings of old, as mentioned… for we
say in Berachot (Perek Haro’eh) that earthly
kingship is a reflection of the heavenly
kingship. One who disgraces them is, in
essence, disgracing the honor of Hashem.”
This teaches us that a king serves as a
reflection of Hashem’s sovereignty in the
world. In other words, Hashem rules over
the world through these kings—they are, so
to speak, His extended hand. If so, we can
understand why the Torah is so concerned
that we show respect to these leaders: by
honoring them, we are ultimately honoring
Hashem, who appointed them as His
messengers.