[Avodah] dina demalchuta

[Eli Turkel]

> 1- The power of civil law to define minhag hasokherim,
> 2- the power of taxation
> 3- the responsibility to maintain a safe and orderly society.

I would expand #1 to define civil law as minhag hamokom not just sohkerim.
Thus, according to poskim if one rents an apartment for things not
written in the contract it follows civil law since it is assumed that
is what the two sides meant and not what is in CM. Similarly for many
other financial transactions.

<<Not quite. What's taken for granted is that the proper taxes (whatever
they might be) belong to the king. I've never seen *anywhere* mention of
an obligation to seek him out and hand his property over, but if his men
come asking for it and one deliberately hides it one's getting into the
question of where the line lies between oshek and gezel. Remember that
gezel nochri is assur d'oraisa.>>

Since the law in the US is that everyone who has sufficient income
is required to file an income tax form then that is also required by
halacha. Similarly a store is required to give the state its taxes on
items purchased. This is not seeking out the government to hand over
property. One is not to hide taxes owed and wait for the tax collector
to show up at the door.

Similarly under #3 above one is required to obey (reasonable) traffic laws
even though there is not a policeman there requesting it. There was a
story with RAL eons ago who insisted that his driver go within the speed
limit while in the Sinai desert

-- 
Eli Turkel