Parshat VeZot HaBracha (Dvarim 33:1)
begins with the words:
This is the blessing that Moshe, the
man of God, blessed B’nai Yisrael before his death.
The Netziv, in his commentary HaEmek
Dvar comments that B’nai Yisrael were already blessed by Yaakov Avinu and
Bilam, but this was the greatest blessing of all.
In this blessing (Dvarim 33:5) Moshe
gives the tribes the secret for the kingdom of Israel’s success:
There was a king in Yeshurun, when
the heads of the people gathered, the tribes of Yisrael together.
What is “Yeshurun”?
The Netziv explains that the power
of B’nai Yisrael getting together is called “Yeshurun” as they merit a king
when they join together.
Sifri adds: When Israel are of one
council below, God’s great name is exalted above.
According to Or HaChaim:
In order for a king to be legally
crowned in Israel, he must be approved by a popular assembly, including the
heads of the people. This rule is spelled out in Tosephta Sanhedrin 83, that
only the Supreme Court of 71 judges is authorized to appoint a king. Moshe
referred to this rule when he mentioned the “heads of the people”. When Moshe
added “the tribes of Yisrael together,” he referred to a national assembly of
the people approving of such a choice.
Or HaChaim continues:
The kingdom of Israel will only
endure if the heads of the people assemble together (keep the peace amongst
themselves) not if the leaders of the people are split. If the leaders are
split, the tribes themselves will not be able to maintain their unity. A look
at Jewish history shows that as long as the people were united under David and
Shlomo, the king and the nation were extremely successful. However, as soon as
a split developed, the fortunes of the Jewish people took a turn for the worse.
Rav David Avraham Spector points out
that in the year 1948, when there was an internal fight in Israel and the
nation was divided, Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook wrote:
We should choose what unites us
which is more important than what divides us…In that way we can try to
understand each other and speak together and this will bring peace between us
and will bring us success and glory.
This message is not new but it needs
to be heard especially now. Leadership in Israel will only succeed when we have
unity.
