The Institution of Monarchy in the Torah
One of the institutions of governance in Israel is the monarchy, which the Torah commands the Jewish people to establish upon entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 17:14–20).
In this week’s parsha, the Torah delineates the commandments specific to a king. Uniquely, the king must write (or commission) a Torah scroll for himself, in addition to the scroll that every Jew must write (Deuteronomy 17:18). This personal Torah was to remain with him constantly, ensuring that he would study and not stray.
Alongside this positive command, the Torah sets three prohibitions for the king:
1. He may not amass excessive silver and gold.
2. He may not accumulate many horses.
3. He may not marry many wives.
The Symbolism of the Throne
The Shem Mishmuel (Parshas Shoftim, 5677) notes that these three prohibitions are bound up with the word kisei (throne):
1) Kesef (silver, wealth) begins with the letter chof.
2) Susim (horses) begins with samech.
3) Isha (wife) begins with aleph. Together, they spell kisei.
The lesson: for a king to be worthy of his throne — the very symbol of his leadership — he must overcome temptations in these three areas.
Three Temptations: Intellect, Soul, and Body
Why these three in particular? The Shem Mishmuel explains that they correspond to the three dimensions of the human being:
1) Money is associated with intellect, since acquiring wealth requires strategic acumen and planning.
2) Horses were the status symbol of kingship and military might, representing glory, which stems from the soul.
3) Women correspond to the body and its base desires.
Another approach ties them to the Mishnah in Avos (4:21): “Jealousy, lust, and honor drive a person from the world.”
1) The desire for money stems from jealousy — the poor are jealous of the rich, and the rich crave yet more wealth.
2) Horses reflect the pursuit of honor and glory.
3) The desire for wives represents lust.
Thus, the Torah warns the king against the three most destructive human drives.
Melech: Brain, Heart, and Liver
A further parallel emerges from the very word melech (king). Chazal explain that its three letters are initials for three faculties:
1) Mem — Mo’ach (brain): the seat of intellect, which is connected with jealousy and the pursuit of wealth. Animals, lacking intellect, do not envy each other; envy is rooted in the human mind.
2) Lamed — Lev (heart): the seat of emotions and the soul, from which the drive for honor and glory emerges.
3) Chof — Kaved (liver): associated with blood and the body, corresponding to physical lusts and desires.
For the king to rule properly, his mo’ach (mind) must govern his lev (heart), and together they must control the kaved (body). This hierarchy is emphasized in Tanya (ch. 12), where the mind’s rulership over the heart is the foundation of self-mastery.
The Torah as the King’s Anchor
How does a king maintain control over these three powerful drives? Through his Torah scroll.
The Torah itself is likened to G-d’s throne: “The heavens are My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet” (Isaiah 66:1).
The Alter Rebbe (Torah Or, beginning) explains: Torah is rooted in shamayim (heaven), yet transcends it. Shamayim itself is composed of aish (fire) and mayim (water)—symbols of chesed and gevurah. But Torah is higher than these finite attributes. God “lowered” Torah into this world so that it could be accessible to us—just as one lowers oneself to sit upon a throne.
Thus, when a king makes Torah the centerpiece of his rule, his throne becomes aligned with G-d’s throne, giving him strength to withstand the allure of wealth, power, and lust.
Three Dimensions of Torah: Counteracting the Three Temptations
Just as the king’s three temptations parallel money, glory, and lust, so too the Torah contains three dimensions that neutralize them.
1. Torah and Intellect (Countering Wealth)
Torah study reshapes human intellect. As the Tanya (ch. 5) explains, when one studies Torah, the divine wisdom is ingested and becomes one with the person, like food that is digested and integrated into the body.
When one is imbued with this divine intellect, it curbs the desire for material acquisitions, for one realizes that the only true acquisition is Torah. All other forms of knowledge, when compared to Torah, are empty and vacuous. As King Solomon declared: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
This helps us understand a striking statement in the Talmud: the word zaken, usually translated as “an old person,” actually refers to a Torah scholar. The Talmud explains that the word zaken is an acronym for zeh shekanah chochmah—“this is one who has acquired wisdom” (Kiddushin 32b). Now, it is clear how the words “this is one who has acquired” (zeh shekanah) are hinted at in the word zaken, but where in the word is there any reference to chochmah—wisdom? The answer is profound: when the Talmud uses the expression “he has acquired,” it is self-evident that the acquisition in question refers to wisdom, and that the only true wisdom is Torah. Thus, even without the letters of “chochmah” or “Torah” appearing explicitly in the word zaken, it is understood that genuine acquisition—where something becomes inseparably bound with a person—can only mean Torah.
Once a person realizes that the only possession of true value is Torah, they no longer crave to acquire things that do not truly belong to them. Hence, Torah counteracts the insatiable appetite for wealth.
2. Torah and the Soul (Countering Honor)
The Psalmist declares: “So that my kavod (glory) may sing to You” (Psalms 30:13). The commentators explain that kavod refers to the soul. Yet the soul’s glory is often suppressed, leading people to seek external honor instead.
Torah has the power to reveal the inner glory of the soul, allowing the king—and every Jew—to recognize true honor in divine service, not in outward power.
3. Torah and the Body (Countering Lust)
The Talmud (Kiddushin 30b) teaches: “If this repulsive one (the yetzer hara) confronts you, drag him into the beis midrash. If he is like stone, he will melt.” Torah study subdues improper physical desires by infusing even the body with holiness.
Moshiach: The Ideal King
The ultimate model of this integration is Moshiach. Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 11–12) writes that Moshiach will:
1) Be steeped in Torah study, teaching all of Israel, from Moses to the simplest Jew.
2) Possess the loftiest soul, revealing that soul’s power in every Jew through the study of the Torah’s essence.
3) Wage the “wars of God”. — not only military battles, but the spiritual battle against the yetzer hara and the forces of evil.
Chassidic sources expand: Moshiach embodies the three dimensions of Torah — refining the mind through divine wisdom, revealing the soul’s inner glory, and sanctifying the body by eradicating lust and evil.