THE KING’S HEART

“A king’s heart in the hand of the Lord is streams of water. To wherever He wishes He turns it.” (Proverbs 21:1)

King Solomon reveals in this verse that the heart – the desires, decisions and actions – of a king is in the hand of Hashem like “streams of water.” Metzudot David explains that just as people can direct the flow of water in a river using furrows and canals, so Hashem can direct the heart of a leader. Rabbeinu Yona seems to wonder why Solomon stated that the heart of a leader is in Hashem’s hand more than any other individual. He answers: “Since the masses are dependent on him; and Hashem has granted him the power of life and death; to do evil and to do good; God guards his heart so that he will not turn aside. Rather, he will only do what Hashem has decreed. Therefore it is proper to fear God and not the wrath of the king; and to beseech Hashem for mercy, to turn towards Him and lift one’s eyes to Him, because it is He who directs the heart of the king however He desires just as a person directs streams of water in whatever direction he desires.”

The Malbim is bothered by the fact that this verse seems to contradict the foundational principle of freedom of choice. God grants mankind the freedom to make moral choices with all of the resultant consequences.  He does not interfere in this realm of human existence (see Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva chapter 5). He explains, “Although it is true that the heart of an individual person is in his own control and he possesses freedom of choice, this is not so regarding a king. This is because the success of the masses is dependent on the choices of the king, so that if he chooses evil he can destroy many people. Therefore this ‘communal’ heart is in the hand of Hashem, such that in matters of public concern he is deprived of freedom of choice.   He [Solomon] compares this to streams of water that descend from high mountains and deep sources, ultimately gathering into a raging river. From the river flows numerous tributaries. The welfare of the masses is dependent on these streams, so that if they are not directed properly towards settled areas they will flow into the wilderness and achieve nothing, or into towns built in lowlands and valleys and wreak havoc.” Similarly, if God does not direct the heart of the king, the results of his decisions can be catastrophic, leading to war and destruction.

This concept raises many thorny philosophical problems: if God directs the hearts of kings and leaders, why does He allow them to cause such untold misery and destruction? Was he directing the hearts of Stalin, Hitler and Mao Zedong? In the case of Pharaoh, He “allowed” him to persecute the Hebrews for many years before taking control of his heart during the last five plagues, as the Torah states (for example, Shmot 9:12), “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not heed them, as the Lord had spoken to Moshe.” Why did Hashem permit him to oppress the Children of Israel in the first instance? It is difficult to comprehend this principle in its entirety but this is certain – God uses leaders as His instruments to bring about His desires and often the leaders he chooses are the last we would expect to be “Divine agents.”

Take Achashverosh, king of Persia, as an example. He was a drunk, a glutton and a womaniser (consider his search for a new queen after Vashti was executed – he slept with a different woman every night for some four years!) He readily agreed to sell out his Jewish subjects to Haman for 10 000 talents of silver. And yet, it was precisely this boorish king who executed Haman and his sons and granted the Jews the right to defend themselves against Haman’s forces and to establish the festival of Purim. In our era, we have a similar person – Donald Trump, the former US President and current Republican Presidential Candidate who survived an assassination attempt last weekend. Trump is an arrogant, know-it-all, womanising egomaniac.  And yet he was the only American President who had the guts to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Surprisingly, many Orthodox Jews in America celebrated the Trump Administration – not because of the man but because of his achievements on behalf of Jews and Israel.

Another example is Cyrus, the king of Persia who conquered Babylon. The prophet Isaiah (45:1) calls him God’s “anointed one.” The book of Ezra (1:1) opens by telling us that “Hashem aroused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom – and in writing as well, saying: Thus said Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has Hashem, God of heaven given to me and He has commanded me to build Him a Temple in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” How unusual that a dictator from Persia would champion the case of Israel to rebuild their Temple! He was the Lord Balfour of his time, the one who looked favourably on the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.

And then there is Herod the Great. He started his career as a slave in the house of the Hasmonian Kings (see Bava Batra 3b-4a and the writings of Josephus Flavius). He rebelled against his masters and killed them, leaving one woman alive. She committed suicide but that did not stop him from preserving her body and using it for purposes of necrophilia. He hated the sages because they denied his right to reign as king of Judea, so he had them executed. He was completely paranoid. He saw conspiracies against him everywhere he looked. He killed his own family members. He was a cruel and twisted tyrant. And yet, in a rare moment of repentance and at the behest of the sage Bava ben Buta, he decided to renovate the Second Temple which had fallen into disrepair. He spared no expense and made it into such a magnificent structure that the sages (Sukkah 51b) said, “Whoever did not see the Temple [of Herod], never saw a beautiful building in their life!” It is at the remnants of the Western Wall of that selfsame Temple where Jews pray to this day. How many of them pause for a moment to consider that it was built by Herod the not-so-great?

Our parsha tells the story of a king, Balak of Moab, and his plan to harm the Nation of Israel. He hires Bilaam, a renowned master of the occult, to curse the Israelites. But, as Solomon said, the hearts of kings are in the hands of God and ultimately, Balaam’s curses are transformed into blessings and Balak’s plans are scuppered. It is not always easy to see how God directs leaders and regulates the course of history. Yet His hand is ever present, guiding the world to its inexorable conclusion – the coming of Mashiach and a time when all will recognise His power and sovereignty. May it be speedily in our days!   

Lee, Chani Merryl and Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!    

Rabbi Liebenberg

Link to Rabbi’s YouTube message for Shabbat: https://youtu.be/wI7wL6nwkq4?si=0kOW1WRxrUxDFa4k

FAST OF THE 17^TH OF TAMMUZ – TUESDAY 23 JULY

The fast begins at 06:27 and concludes at 18:21. Shacharit (beginning with Selichot) is at 06:30 and Mincha at 17:30. For more information, please see our Three Weeks of Mourning Leaflet which will be sent out early next week.