[Avodah] Love of Israel

[Chana Luntz]

I wrote previously on this topic:

> Note however that this is Yehoshua, ie Navi, being darshened 
> in this way, not Torah (and all the discussions identify 
> kovod hamelech etc as a Torah obligation),

On doing some further research it appears that the Chatam Sofer has this
problem (see teshuva 208 of Orech Chaim).  He states that while there is
an obligation to give kavod to a king, based on a drasha of the Torah,
we don't see anywhere in the Torah that a king has the power to put a
person to death.  And while it is clear that what Yehoshua says must be
a din emes - he has a kasha as to how Yehoshua as a navi is able to be
mechadesh something not found in the Torah.  And his resolution appears
to be based on a Ramban in Vaikra 27:29 (the relevant pasuk is kol
cherem asher yicharam min haadam lo yfadeh mos umas) where the Ramban
says that we deduce from this that a king b'yisroel or sanhedrin gedola
in the presence of all Israel who has the authority to institute
judgments, if they declare something cherem, one who violates this is
guilty of death.  And so, according to the Chatam Sofer, it is via this
mechanism that the statement in Yehoshua that anybody who transgresses
his command shall be put to death draws its validity - ie because all of
Yisroel said to Yehoshua that whoever transgresses your command shall be
put to death, this created a cherem from the Torah, which makes the
transgressor liable from the Torah to be put to death, thus creating the
crime of being mored b'malkus, even if the melech is not a melech from
shevet Yehuda (something the Chatam Sofer states explicitly  - but that
in fact prior to this acceptance by Yisroel of the cherem, somebody who
transgressed a king's command would not have been chayav misa.

Regards

Chana