[Avodah] Love of Israel

[Chana Luntz]

RMB writes:

> When a malekh tells you to violate an asei de'Oraisa, 
> wouldn't divrei haRav vedivrei hatalmid tell you to ignore 
> the king? Or is that only where there the violation is of a lav?
> 
> Because if it includes a command to violate an asei... 
> Listening to the king would be expressing kavod, no? So if 
> kavod hamelekh is grounds for violating issurim, then when 
> would divrei haRav ever apply to a melekh?
> 

I think that the only way to reconcile the sources is to say that
listening to a king is not in fact an aspect of the halachic form of
kavod.  Or at least, listening to him might be, but following what he
says if it violates halacha is not.  After all, Eliyahu HaNavi, from
whom we learn the dinim of showing kavod to a melech, spent quite a bit
of time telling Achav off and not doing what Achav wished (what is
running away called?).  So certainly if you take the view that one is
required to show kavod to a melech rasha ie that the kavod that Eliyahu
showed was not a once off incident, then this would seem to follow.

And I think it can be explained very logically - because if something is
wrong, doing what the king says only compounds the wrong and hence
brings the king into greater ultimate disrespect, ie it is at root not
real kavod. But doing something (like dressing in a certain way or
speaking in a respectful way or going to greet him or run before him)
does demonstrate respect and increases the respect that others will have
of him.  And hence it is these kinds of things that seem to be cited as
(possibly) permissible to do even where it involves some sort of
violation of the Torah (such as shaving on Rosh Hashana, going on a boat
to greet him beyond the techum even when one holds that the techum is
d'orisa)

> Tir'u baTov!
> -mi

Shabbat Shalom

Chana