In Parshat Shoftim, Dvarim 17:14-16 we learn about the rules for having a king:
When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and have taken possession of it and settled in it, should you say, “I will set a king over me, like all the surrounding nations,” set over you a king whom the LORD your God chooses. The king you set over you must be one of your own people. You may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Further, he must not acquire many horses for himself; he must not make the people return to Egypt to acquire more horses, since the LORD has told you: You must not go back that way again.
Horses in Biblical times were mainly used for the purpose of war. At the time of the Exodus from Egypt, Pharaoh used horses to chase B’nai Yisrael as we see in Shmot 14:23, “The Egyptians pursued them and came after them, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea.”
Originally, B’nai Yisrael did not use horses to fight when they went out to war. Rather horses were used to fight against us by our enemies as we see is Devora’s Song, Shoftim 5:22. “The hooves of horses hammered, with the gallop, the gallop of the steeds.”
Under King Solomon’s rule, B’nai Yisrael began using horses when they fought their wars. King Solomon imported the horses from Egypt as we see in Melachim I 10:26: “Shlomo amassed chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen.”
The prophets Yishayahu and Zecharya told the nation not to rely on horses and even went as far as to mock them. Since the horse started off as an animal of war, it kept that stigma throughout the TaNaCh.
Today in Israel, the police bring out horses to disrupt protests that are getting out of hand. Recently, the organization “Tnu LaChayot Lichyot”, “Let the Animals Live” petitioned the High Court of Justice against the police’s use of horses as a means of dispersing demonstrations as they feel that they are causing suffering to the animals for no reason.
According to the police, the use of horses is necessary for maintaining public order. Following the petition, the police informed the High Court that it would reduce the working hours of the horses. The police use approximately 70 horses, selected for their intimidating appearance. However, it seems that they are not suited for police work, and often intensify the violence at the protests rather than calming them down.
May we see quieter times where protests are done peacefully without blocking streets and train tracks so that we can all get where we need to go to and where there is no mistreatment of humans or animals.
