Every Jew is obligated to write a Torah scroll for himself. There is one Jew, however, who is obligated to write an additional Torah. It is not the High Priest (Cohen Gadol), nor the Chief Justice of the Sanhedrin. It is the king, ruler of his people and leader of society, who must write a second Torah during his reign.
What is the significance of these two Torah scrolls, that of the individual and that of the king?
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook explained that the people of Israel accepted the Torah at Sinai on two levels. The first level was acceptance of Torah for each individual, as part of the collective. The second level was acceptance of the Torah as a nation in control of its own political life.
Unfortunately, observing the Torah on the national level is far more difficult than the individual's observance of the Torah. The Torah and its mitzvot were given to refine mankind. The process of purifying an entire nation, with all its political exigencies, is far more complicated than the purification of the individual.
"The individual approaches simple issues of human morality informed by a natural sense of justice; but mankind has not yet arrived at a consensus on the ethical imperatives governing affairs of state. Thus, the evil inclination in collective, political man is many times stronger than the evil inclination of the individual. As a result, all conceptions of good and evil, justice and iniquity, are totally lost amidst political turmoil in the bubbling caldron of state, which rages like a stormy sea."
The power of the messianic king is to achieve fulfillment of the Torah's ethical teachings in the political realm. We read about the foundation of the messianic dynasty in the Book of Ruth, which concludes with the lineage of David, king of Israel. For this reason, we read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot: to remind ourselves of the second level of acceptance of Torah at Sinai, on the collective, political level.
"We must not allow the inclination towards factionalism, the threat of which is strongest at the inception of a political movement, to deter us from justice and truth, from love of man - both the collective and the individual - from love for Israel, and from the duty of sanctity unique to Israel. We are obligated not only to be holy individuals, but also, and especially, to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
[Based on Celebration of the Soul, pp. 234-5; Ma'amarei HaRiya pp. 173-4]
What is the significance of these two Torah scrolls, that of the individual and that of the king?
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook explained that the people of Israel accepted the Torah at Sinai on two levels. The first level was acceptance of Torah for each individual, as part of the collective. The second level was acceptance of the Torah as a nation in control of its own political life.
Unfortunately, observing the Torah on the national level is far more difficult than the individual's observance of the Torah. The Torah and its mitzvot were given to refine mankind. The process of purifying an entire nation, with all its political exigencies, is far more complicated than the purification of the individual.
"The individual approaches simple issues of human morality informed by a natural sense of justice; but mankind has not yet arrived at a consensus on the ethical imperatives governing affairs of state. Thus, the evil inclination in collective, political man is many times stronger than the evil inclination of the individual. As a result, all conceptions of good and evil, justice and iniquity, are totally lost amidst political turmoil in the bubbling caldron of state, which rages like a stormy sea."
The power of the messianic king is to achieve fulfillment of the Torah's ethical teachings in the political realm. We read about the foundation of the messianic dynasty in the Book of Ruth, which concludes with the lineage of David, king of Israel. For this reason, we read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot: to remind ourselves of the second level of acceptance of Torah at Sinai, on the collective, political level.
"We must not allow the inclination towards factionalism, the threat of which is strongest at the inception of a political movement, to deter us from justice and truth, from love of man - both the collective and the individual - from love for Israel, and from the duty of sanctity unique to Israel. We are obligated not only to be holy individuals, but also, and especially, to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
[Based on Celebration of the Soul, pp. 234-5; Ma'amarei HaRiya pp. 173-4]