English translation — ויגש ג

Talk 3<pg>206</pg>

A.

In the haftarah of our parshah¹

: "And My servant David shall be king over them, and one shepherd shall be for all of them..

And they shall dwell on the land etc. forever, and David My servant shall be their prince forever."

And one must examine the reason for the differences between the two verses:

(a)

"king" or "prince",

(b)

"upon them" or "to them",

(c)

"and My servant David" or "and David My servant".

(d)

In the second verse it adds "forever"

[And although simply the reason is that it comes in continuation of the beginning of the verse "and they shall dwell etc. forever",

nevertheless it is understood,

that this novelty

(that there will be a prince forever)

belongs specifically to the title "prince",

therefore it did not use here the title "king"

(as in the previous verse)

but rather "prince"].

2.

And this will be understood by prefacing an explanation of the words of the Gemara²

: "Said Rav Yehuda said Rav: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will establish for them another David

[who is destined to reign over them.

Rashi]

as it is said³

and they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king whom I will raise up for them,

I raised up⁴

is not said, but rather I will raise up⁵.

Said Rav Pappa to Abaye: But is it not written: And David My servant shall be prince to them forever,

(and he answers)

Like Caesar and the deputy of Caesar."

And in Rashi's commentary: "Like Caesar and the deputy of Caesar — a king and second to him,

so the new David is king as it is written: and David their king whom I will raise up,

and King David is second to him as it is written: prince to them and it is not written king."

And we need to understand: a)

What is the intention of Rav that "the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future coronate for them a different David" — that the King Messiah is called "David"

(and it is not King David)

or that the King Messiah is called "David"

(David the King Messiah)

only because he is from the seed of David?

b)

What is the difficulty of R. Pappa "but it is written 'and David My servant shall be a prince to them forever',"

behold simply "David" here does not refer to King David⁶

but rather to the King Messiah

(as the commentators explain on the verse⁷),

who is also called "David"

(because he is from the seed of David),

and he is the "different David" that the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future coronate over Israel⁸?

<pg>207</pg>

3)

In Rashi's words "and King David second to him as it is written prince to them and not written king",

and behold it is explicit in the verse before this

(as above)

"and My servant David king over them",

behold that also David is called "king"

(also)

in the future to come⁹

[And simply,

in the two verses it speaks about a person

("David")

one¹⁰].

4)

Why would the King Messiah need a "second to him",

deputy to the king

(half a Caesar),

which we do not find thus

(written)

by the kings of the house of David¹¹?

[And superficially we do not find in halacha a matter of "second to the king".

And to note that for the High Priest there is a deputy High Priest¹²,

but we do not find such a thing regarding a king¹³.

It is understood that it is possible that the king will appoint a "second to him",

but we do not find in halacha that there is a special authority for the second to the king beyond the other ministers of the king¹⁴].

Also one can be precise in the language of the Talmud "such as Caesar and half-Caesar": why did it use the term "Caesar" which is the name of the kings of Rome¹⁵

— and it did not say

(in the Holy Language,

and in the language of Scripture¹⁶)

"king¹⁷

and second to the king"?

3.

And perhaps one could say that the intention of Chazal is not according to its simple meaning,

that there will then be two separate men who will lead Israel,

for also according to the words of the Gemara, what it says "and David My servant shall be a prince to them" refers to the King Moshiach

(and not King David),

for also Moshiach is called by the name "David"

(as above),

rather, in the King Moshiach himself there will be two categories,

"Caesar and the half-Caesar"

(as will be explained at length below).

And the explanation of the words of the Gemara "In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will establish for them another David etc. and it is written 'and David My servant shall be a prince to them'" is: In the King Moshiach there will be a primary innovation regarding the kings of the House of David

(and even regarding King David himself),

and therefore he is called "another David",

for in this matter he is not similar to the first David¹⁸.

And on this the Gemara asks: "But it is written: 'And My servant David shall be a prince to them'",

behold that even in the future the King Messiah is similar to the first David

(and therefore is called by the name of King David)?

And on this it answers: "Like Caesar and the half of Caesar",

that in the King Messiah there will be two levels,

of "Caesar and the half of Caesar": from the aspect of the novelty in the kingship of the King Messiah relative to David, he is called "Caesar"

(and he is "a different David"),

and from the aspect of his virtue as "a king from the house of David" he is called "the half of Caesar".

And it can be said,

that this is the difference between the two &lt;pg&gt;208&lt;/pg&gt;

Scriptures "And My servant David shall be king over them..

and David My servant shall be a prince to them",

the two titles "king" and "prince",

they are the two matters of "Caesar and the deputy Caesar"&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

that will be in the King Messiah.

And this is what is said "And David My servant shall be a prince to them forever",

for although the level of the king is greater than the level of the prince

(as the distinction between Caesar and the deputy Caesar),

nevertheless the princedom is not nullified relative to the level of kingship,

and on the contrary,

specifically regarding "prince" it is said "And David My servant shall be a prince to them forever"

(as below section 5).

And with this we can explain the difference between the two verses — "And My servant David" or "And David My servant": In the first verse that speaks of the level of the King Messiah as "Caesar"

(king),

that in this he is not related to the first David

[and only that he is called by his name "David",

"a different David"],

the verse says "And My servant David",

for in this phrasing the emphasis is on "My servant"

(except that the "servant" is called by the name "David"),

and this is because this level comes to him

(not because he is "David",

but)

because he is "My servant"; but the level of the King Messiah as "prince" relates to King David&lt;sup&gt;*19&lt;/sup&gt;,

therefore it is said "And David My servant shall be a prince to them".

And based on this we can explain what Rashi said "And King David second to him as it is written a prince to them and not written king",

even though it is explicit "And My servant David a king over them" — because the two matters of "Caesar and half-Caesar"

(king and prince)

will be in that same person,

King Moshiach; except that the first verse refers to the level of Moshiach as "Caesar",

"king"

(and in this he is not related to King David as above),

and the verse "And David My servant a prince to them" refers to his level as "half-Caesar",

"as it is written a prince to them and not written king".

4.

Explanation of the matter:

In defining the role and activity of King Moshiach, the Rambam explains two matters:

a)

"He will compel all of Israel" to walk in the way of the Torah and the commandments,

"He will wage the wars of the Lord",

He will build the Holy Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel and repair the entire world to serve the Lord²⁰

[And also after "his kingdom is established and all Israel gathers to him, they will all be genealogically traced by him through the Holy Spirit that rests upon him"²¹]

— and this is the matter of the king of Israel in general,

and as the Rambam wrote²²

that every king "his goal and thought shall be to uplift the true religion and to fill the world with righteousness and to break the arm of the wicked and to wage the wars of the Lord, for they do not appoint a king initially except to execute justice and wars."

b)

"That king who will stand from the seed of David, will be wiser than Solomon and a great prophet etc. And therefore he will teach all the people and instruct them in the way of the L-rd, and all the nations will come to hear him etc."²³,

And through him "knowledge and wisdom and truth will increase, as it is said²⁴

for the earth will be filled with knowledge of the L-rd"²³,

from these words it is understood,

that what is said "at that time etc. the occupation of the entire world will be..

to know the L-rd alone..

Israel will be great sages and know hidden things and attain knowledge of their Creator etc. filled²⁴

the earth with knowledge of the L-rd as waters cover the sea"²⁵,

all this will be through King Mashiach,

who "will teach all the people"²⁶.

And it can be said,

that after this matter he will be called<pg>209</pg>

Moshiach by the name "Nasi",

in the manner that we find in the language of the Sages,

that the head of the Sanhedrin "is the one whom the Sages call Nasi in every place and he is the one who stands in place of Moshe Rabbeinu"²⁷,

and in a similar manner it can be said,

that this that Moshiach is called "Nasi" is because he "will teach all the people and instruct them in the way of HaShem"²⁸.

And based on this, one can explain the difference in the language of the verse,

"king over them" and "Nasi to them": the conduct of kingship is in a manner of exaltation above the people,

that the king must be exalted and separated from the people,

and this is "king over them",

that he is above them; but not so the influence of the Nasi,

to teach the people and instruct them in the way of HaShem,

is in a manner of closeness to them,

that he strives that the people understand and absorb his words,

therefore, although from the aspect of his greatness he is called "Nasi"

(from the term exaltation),

behold the description of his relationship to the people is "

(Nasi)

to them",

because his influence as Nasi is in a manner of closeness.

[And therefore the quality of the Nasi is called

(in the Gemara)

"Pilgei Kaisar",

since the influence of the Nasi is not in a manner of loftiness like a king

(Caesar)].

5.

And behold, there is a fundamental difference between the two above matters:

The action of the King Messiah in the first matter,

the conduct of his kingship,

is in a way of innovation,

not according to nature.

For through him there will be a fundamental innovation in the entire world,

and as explained at length in the Rambam there²⁰

that "he will perfect the entire world to serve G-d together",

that "they will all return to the true religion and will not rob nor destroy"²⁹,

until "at that time there will be neither famine nor war nor envy nor competition etc. and the entire occupation of the world will be only to know G-d"²⁵.

That is to say,

even though the Rambam ruled²⁹

that "he will not nullify anything from the custom of the world" and "there will be no innovation in the work of creation, but the world will follow its custom",

nevertheless,

this is that the laws of nature of creation will not be nullified,

but it is understood that this that the entire world will serve G-d together and there will be no wars etc. and their occupation will be only to know G-d,

this is an innovation in the conduct of the world,

which we have never found such a thing³⁰.

But not so his influence as Nasi,

this that Mashiach "will teach all the people and instruct them in the way of G-d",

even though included in this are also "hidden matters etc."^*30

(as above),

nevertheless this is not an actual innovation,

for<pg>210</pg>

In Torah it is impossible to be a novelty

(true),

as the ruling of the Rambam³¹

that this Torah "has no change nor diminution nor addition"³².

And one may say,

that this matter is hinted at in the language of the Gemara "Caesar and half Caesar":

Explained in Tosafos³³

regarding the root of the name "Caesar" that it is after one Roman king "whose mother died in childbirth and her belly was split open and they found him alive..

and he was called Caesar in the Roman language and it is the language of cut in Hebrew

[i.e., a birth in the manner of "yotzei dofen"]

And after his name all the kings after him were called Caesar".

And this is the hint in that Moshiach is called by the name "Caesar" — a king born in the manner of "yotzei dofen",

not according to the nature that the Holy One, blessed be He, established the order of birth

(through the womb)³⁴

— to indicate,

that the kingship of King Moshiach

(his activity in the world³⁵)

will be in a manner of renewal,

not according to the nature of the world,

"yotzei dofen" in a superior sense

(unlike that Moshiach is a "nasi",

there is no renewal in him

(so much),

and from this aspect he is only in the category of "plagei Caesar"^*35).

But,

Although the main innovation of the King Messiah is in the matter of kingship,

Nevertheless,

There is an advantage in the matter of presidency over the matter of kingship.

And simply: the need for the matter of kingship is

(as above from Rambam)

In order "to raise up the true religion and fill the world with righteousness and break the arm of the wicked and fight the wars of G-d",

And from this it is understood,

That after Moshiach "will perfect the entire world to serve G-d together",

"And the occupation of the entire world will be only to know G-d alone",

Behold there is no need

(so much)

In the activity of Moshiach as King³⁶,

And the main role of the King Messiah will be to teach the people and instruct them in the way of G-d.

And this is also the reason that specifically regarding the matter of the presidency it is said "And David My servant shall be a prince to them forever",

for the main aspect of the eternity of the kingdom of Mashiach is not in the activity of the governance of his kingdom,

but rather in his influence as a prince^*36,

which is "he will teach the entire people and instruct them in the way of G-d"³⁷.

(From the talk of the eve of Shabbat Parshat,

5748; discourse "And My servant David"

(the second)

5742)