Shoiftim 2025: Opting In

by devadmin | August 28, 2025 8:32 pm

Raboyseyee and Ladies,

We begin with big mazel tov wishes to our friends Miriam and Judah Perlstein upon the marriage -earlier this week – of the beautiful daughter Daniella to Adam Newman, he the son of Barbara and Craig Newman, the family from Baltimore, Maryland. Having opted in, we wish them many decades of blissful marriage. May they merit to build a beautiful family together.


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Opting In:

A phrasal verb is an idiomatic phrase consisting of a verb and another element, typically either an adverb, as in ‘break down,’ or a preposition. By the way, the heylige Ois did not learn this in elementary school in Boro Park. Limoshol, if you want some company to notify you of updates, you have to ‘OPT IN.’ Most agree that the phrasal verb ‘opt in’ means to choose to do, to participate, or to be involved in something. More below.

We are all familiar with the positive and negative commandments, the ah-says and loi sah-says; we struggle with them daily, especially those on the forbidden list. Ober, did you know that the list of 613 commandments might also include a few that are optional? A few that require us to opt in? Mamish? We shall explore the first of those as it appears in our parsha this week, but first, let us begin here.

And just like that, the summer is just about over, Choidesh Elul is upon us, as is the daily morning blowing of the shofar (aka: the shoifer). For those who go to shul during the week, blowing commenced on the second day of Rosh Choidesh Elul. Do all agree? No! Some begin blowing on the first day. Why is that? Because we Jews cannot agree on anything. The bottom line: The heylige Gemora (Rosh Hashanah 16b) mentions that shofar blowing during the entire month of Elul is a custom, not a biblical commandment. No big sin will be committed if your shul begins on either day. And that being said, all agree that the shofar is not blown on erev (the day preceding) Rosh Hashona. Why? To differentiate between the blowing we do all month which is but a minhag (custom), and a rishus (voluntary) as opposed to the blowing we do on Rosh Hashono which is biblically commanded and a mitzvah. Why taka do we blow it during the month? Seemingly the sounds of the shofar are intended to motivate the people -namely you- to repent. The sounds of the shofar -so we are taught- have a tendency to arouse awareness and inspire fear. Seemingly this arousal is needed to counteract other year-round arousals, if you chap, and to remind you to repent for acting out on them. Gishmak.

 

Speaking of ‘rishus,’ translated as ‘permission is granted,’ or, ‘dealers’ choice,’ and though we have on many an occasion -when Parshas Shoiftim rolls around- reviewed the topic of kingship, this year I wanted to look at kingship from the angle of rishus. And the question is azoy: Were the Yiddin commanded to appoint a king upon entry into the Promised Land? Or, were they but given permission -rishus- to appoint one whenever they so desired? Li’my nafka mina (what’s the difference you ask)? Nu, it’s azoy: If they were so commanded and this commandment is one of the 613 that comprise the complete list -and taka many do include this commandment in the count- why didn’t they do so immediately upon entry? What took them nearly 400 years to appoint their first-ever king? Were they in violation of this commandment? And if it’s not a commandment, but only a rishus -meaning the Yiddin had the choice to either opt in or not, why is kingship and all the rules that come along with it, counted as a commandment? Is the appointment of a king mamish listed in the 613 master- mitzvah list? Of course, this topic is hotly debated and let us begin:

Says the Rambam (Maimonides), perhaps the GOAT of all halachic decisors in his Sefer HaMitzvis, that the appointment of a king is a mitzvas ah-say (positive commandment). It comes in at  #173. He says the same in Hilchos Melachim 1:1: “Israel was commanded to fulfill three mitzvis upon entering the land: to appoint a king, to wipe out Amolake, and to build the Beis HaMikdash.” His bottom line: Appointing a king is a biblical mitzvah.

Similarly, the Sifri (Midrash Halacha on Devarim 17:14) interprets the verse “Soim tosim alecha melech” (“You shall surely set a king over yourself”) as a command. And the Sefer HaChinuch, also lists it as a mitzvah, though a bit lower on the list coming at as mitzvah # 497.

On the flip side, those who say it is not necessarily a mitzvah but is instead optional, or,  a “rishus,” include the Ramban (Nachmanides) in his Commentary on Sefer HaMitzvis, Shoresh 1 and on Devarim 17:14. He argues that the heylige Toirah’s words may be read as permission rather than obligation. The heylige Toirah allows the Yiddin to appoint a king if they want one, but it is not an absolute mitzvah. He emphasizes that the people’s request for a king in Shmuel’s time was criticized, which suggests it was not a mitzvah, otherwise, they would not have been faulted. That’s logical. In other words, the Ramban essentially addresses the Ois’s question and I wish I had seen his comments earlier. In other words: my question is not at all new. For support, he has the Abarbanel who is strongly against monarchy because monarchy leads to corruption and tyranny, and the heylige Toirah only permitted it because people would demand it, not because it is an ideal mitzvah. The Ralbag (Gersonides) agrees: monarchy is a political concession, not a mitzvah.

Now, let’s check out the heylige Gemora (Sanhedrin 20b) which records the following debate: Rav and Shmuel debate whether it is obligatory to appoint a king immediately upon entering the land. The conclusion is that it is a mitzvah, but not mandatory for every generation. The people could remain under the rule of judges (shoiftim) if they so choose. That being said, should they decide on a king, the Gemora adds and emphasizes that a king must be a Jew, from Israel, not a foreigner. Of course, the heylige Toirah has other conditions which we will read below. And now you know.

Know what? That our Sages did not agree with each other! As an aside, though their acronyms sound very much similar, Rambam and Ramban -both GOATS- were not at all related. As well, they lived in different times in different places. Shoin are you confused? You are not alone! It’s mamish fascinating and shows how our rabbis wrestled with the concept.

Shoin, let us chazir: Our parsha, among a shmogesboard of other mitzvis -some old and some new, 41 in total- discusses the commandment that the Yiddin may appoint a king “like all the nations around you.” Ober what’s pshat a commandment if indeed the RBSO specifically stated that the Yiddin “may?” Are these different instructions not mutually exclusive? Either we are commanded to, or we are not!? What’s pshat we are commanded if it’s only that we may? You chap this question? Shoin, to chap how clever our Sages were, let’s first read the relevant pisukim innaveynig:

‏כִּי תָבוֹא אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ, וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּה בָהּ, וְאָמַרְתָּ אָשִׂימָה עָלַי מֶלֶךְ, כְּכָל־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתָי.
‏שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ, אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בּוֹ; מִקֶּרֶב אַחֶיךָ תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ, לֹא־תוּכַל לָתֵת עָלֶיךָ אִישׁ נָכְרִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא־אָחִיךָ הוּא.
‏רַק לֹא־יַרְבֶּה־לּוֹ סוּסִים, וְלֹא־יָשִׁיב אֶת־הָעָם מִצְרַיְמָה לְמַעַן הַרְבּוֹת סוּס; וַה׳ אָמַר לָכֶם לֹא־תֹסִפוּן לָשׁוּב בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה עוֹד.
‏וְלֹא־יַרְבֶּה־לּוֹ נָשִׁים, וְלֹא־יָסוּר לְבָבוֹ; וְכֶסֶף וְזָהָב לֹא־יַרְבֶּה־לּוֹ מְאֹד.
‏וְהָיָה כְּשִׁבְתּוֹ עַל־כִּסֵּא מַמְלַכְתּוֹ, וְכָתַב לוֹ אֶת־מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת עַל־סֵפֶר מִלִּפְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם.
‏וְהָיְתָה עִמּוֹ, וְקָרָא־בוֹ כָּל־יְמֵי חַיָּיו: לְמַעַן יִלְמַד לְיִרְאָה אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקָיו, לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת וְאֶת־הַחֻקִּים הָאֵלֶּה לַעֲשֹׂתָם.
‏לְבִלְתִּי רוּם לְבָבוֹ מֵאֶחָיו, וּלְבִלְתִּי סוּר מִן־הַמִּצְוָה יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול, לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים עַל־מַמְלַכְתּוֹ, הוּא וּבָנָיו בְּקֶרֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל.

“When you come to the land that Hashem your G-d gives you, and you possess it and settle in it, and you say: “I will set a king over myself, like all the nations that are around me,” You shall surely set over yourself a king whom Hashem your God will choose; from among your brothers shall you set a king over yourself; you may not place over yourself a foreign man who is not your brother. Only, he must not acquire many horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt in order to increase horses, since Hashem has said to you: “You shall not return on this way again.” And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart not turn astray; and silver and gold he shall not amass for himself in great abundance. And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this Heylige   Toirah on a scroll, from before the Kohanim, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear Hashem his God, to keep all the words of this Heylige   Toirah and these statutes, to perform them. So that his heart not become haughty over his brothers, and so that he not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left; in order that he may prolong his days over his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.”

Shoin, now you read the entire body of work found in the heylige Toirah about kingship. And what do we know now that we read the pisukim? Not much more! What we do know are the historical facts: We know what did not take place, namely that no king was appointed for hundreds of years after entry into the land. Why not? Who led the Yiddin? As to why not, we shall address that below, but as to who led, it’s azoy: Yehoshua (Joshua) led the Yiddin across the Jordan and was there to help conquer the land. The job was not fully completed during his lifetime. After his death, there was no centralized monarchy. In the heylige Novee (Shoiftim 2:16-19) we read that the people had local leaders called shoftim (judges) raised up by the RBSO whenever the nation needed guidance. They seem to pop into the scene during times of crisis. They acted as military and spiritual leaders. Names you might recall include Osniel, Devorah, Gideon, Samson, and Shmuel. For a full list, check out the image.

What’s pshat that the RBSO raised them up? Taka an excellent question and for the answer, we quote mamish from the Novee (Shoftim 2:16–19) who tells this:  “וַיָּקֶם ה’ שֹׁפְטִים וַיּוֹשִׁיעוּם מִיַּד שֹׁסֵיהם”

“And Hashem raised up judges, and they saved them from the hand of their oppressors.”

What does that mean? Says Rashi that these leaders were not self-appointed politicians or dynastic kings. Rather, when the Yiddin cried out under oppression, the RBSO directly chose and empowered individuals to step into leadership. Not that the Yiddin were necessarily worthy but in the end, the RBSO wasn’t going to abandon them in their times of need.  They weren’t elected leaders. Instead, each was a Heavenly appointment. In plain English: “Hashem raised them up” means He directly selected, empowered, and elevated ordinary people into extraordinary roles as national leaders and redeemers, whenever the Yiddin cried out in distress. Says the Radak and the Metzudas David that “וַיָּקֶם” means Hashem gave them koiach ruchni (spiritual authority) and sometimes koiach gashmi (physical power, charisma, or military prowess) to defeat enemies.  We read in the Novee that it was a time when each person did as he wished; it was -as the Yiddish expression goes- ah-hefker-velt (bedlam). The exact quote from the Novee (Judges 17:6) is this: “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו יַעֲשֶׂה). “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

The bottom line: We know what man is capable of when rules are in place, and we can only imagine what man did when it was totally up to him, without rules. Shreklich! Shoin, it’s Elul, let’s not get into details. How bad was man during those days? Amazingly, a few chapters later, we read these very words again and since we read this kimat verbatim twice in so short a distance, the Novee mistama means to convey that there was some lawlessness. You think? Let’s read the second posik (Shoftim 21:25): “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” This phrase bookends the end of Sefer Shoftim, stressing the lack of central leadership. As an FYI: for some reason, Shoftim was one of the only Novee books we did study in yeshiva. Let’s review some Jewish history.

After Yehoshua’s death (~13th–12th century BCE), Israel had conquered parts of the land, but not fully. Without a single leader like Moishe or Yehoshua, the nation was fragmented into tribes. During that period (~300+ years) leadership was sporadic and controlled by the local tribal leaders (shoftim) we just mentioned.  Between these moments, there was often no national authority. Finally, in the ~11th century BCE, the  Yiddin asked Shmuel HaNovee for a king “to judge us like all the nations” (Shmuel I, chapter 8), which ended the era of chaos and tribal disunity.

How did the Yiddin manage during these years of chaos? Were they observant? Did they follow the RBSO or did they – as Moishe predicted over and again many many times- fall to idolatry and more? Mixed dancing? Did women cover their hair with $8,000 sheitels? Were they wearing tight leggings but covered with a tzinius dress? And the men? Don’t ask! Nu, without a king or centralized government, or police -way before Trump and Law and Order- though the Mishkan (Tabernacle) still existed (in Shiloh most of the time), morality and observance fluctuated; everyone did their own thing. Sometimes idolatry spread, sometimes they were faithful. Each tribe (and even each person) followed their own path until the RBSO would send a shofet to restore order temporarily. The bottom line: for some inexplicable reason, for many centuries’ Yiddin were attracted to avoido zoro (idols).

Why taka didn’t they ask for a king during this time? Ver veyst! Several reasons are suggested in the classical sources. Ershtens (firstly), the people had just entered the land and were not ready for a centralized monarchy; they were still in a tribal, decentralized phase. In other words: not ready for prime time. Some suggest that they were spooked by kingship because the heylige Toirah itself warns that a king could become oppressive if unchecked. As well, we can kler that having survived Paroy, the people were a shtikel hesitant to be another king’s subjects. Or, perhaps the judges were sufficient for leadership. The bottom line: There was no single national ruler, but a combination of tribal, judicial, and priestly governance. Somehow, the system worked for hundreds of years. kingship as described in our parsha was not yet exercised. And I repeat the question: Was it mandated? And where the Yiddin in violation?

Shoin, let’s review some history. By the time of Shmuel the Novee, the people were frustrated with corruption, oppression, and external threats. They approached Shmuel and said, “Appoint for us a king.” Shmuel warned them about the dangers (the king taking their sons -even the yeshiva boys- for army service, daughters for other services, taxes, etc.), but the people insisted. The bottom line: The monarchy began with Shaul, hundreds of years after the heylige Toirah’s initial instructions.

Is the appointment of a king obligatory or not? Shoin, like all other commandments, this one too is not without controversy and disagreement. According to the Rambam, yes, this is an obligation, but says the Ramban that it’s not. Shoin. If it is, why didn’t the Yiddin appoint one upon entry, or when the conditions seemed right? If the Rambam is correct and they were obligated, how could it be the case that none of the Shoiftim or Nivi’im who came along rebuked them and set them straight?

Says the Ramban very clearly, azoy: It’s not a mitzvah until the people express the desire. The heylige Toirah is saying azoy: if you come and say… then you must appoint a proper king. Accordingly, there was no sin in not appointing one earlier, because they hadn’t asked. They had not yet opted in. In contrast, Rambam (who says it’s an absolute mitzvah as soon as Israel settled the land) would indeed have to explain why it took so long — and he does: He holds the mitzvah of a king was only meant to be implemented step by step, after the conquest and settlement were stable (Hilchos Melachim 1:2). Seemingly, the Yiddin were not stable as a group for the first 400 years. Were we ever?

Shoin to better chap what’s going on here, let us introduce a new category of commandment, this one called the rishus. The word רְשׁוּת (rishus) is one of those Toirah/Chazal terms that has layers of meaning depending on the context. For our purposes, רשות = permission. Our Sages contrast חובה (choivah) which means obligation, with רשות (rishus ) which means optional/ voluntary. Choivah: you must do it; Rishus: you may do it, but you’re not required. Limoshol (by way of example):

The heylige Toirah establishes monarchy as a mitzvah, but the people are not forced to appoint a king immediately. They need to opt in when ready. It is one of the only mitzvis in heylige Toirah that is legally binding but practically optional depending on circumstances and timing. It so happens that the heylige Toirah’s instructions about appointing a king is the first clearly optional mitzvah, and also the only national-level one. Its unique status is part of why it took hundreds of years before the Yiddin actually appointed a king. Other optional mitzvis appear later in the heylige Toirah and they include the Nozir, voluntary korbonis (offerings), extra charity, etc. None are national; all are personal or conditional.

This heylige Toirah doesn’t only legislate duties and prohibitions; it also legislates permissions, areas where human choice and initiative are sanctified. In other words, the RBSO built partnership and flexibility into His Heylige Toirah law. Says the Ramban that rishus moments test the Jewish people: Will they choose nobly when not forced?

And the final bottom line: After all this back and forth, it appears that there are not two, but three categories of commandments; thou shall do; thou shalt not do, and thou have permission to do if thou so please: We know them as Mitzvis Ah-say, Mitzvis Loi Sa-say, and Mitzvis Rishus, those we opt into. Of course no one forces us to violate the lo isa-says; seemingly, we opt into those as well.

And we close with this: In the end, the Yiddin appointed 42 kings. How many were good/righteous? ~9–10. How many does the Novee consider bad and failed? ~32–33. Sadly, the majority of Jewish kings did not live up to the heylige Toirah’s instructions found in our parsha. Yikes and oy vey.

A gittin Shabbis!

The Heylige Oisvorfer Ruv

Yitz Grossman

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