Shmuel says: "The law of the land is the law."
This maxim is also found in Gittin 10b, Bava Kama 113-ab, and Bava Batra 54b-55a.
(ב) רַבִּי חֲנִינָא סְגַן הַכֹּהֲנִים אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתְפַּלֵּל בִּשְׁלוֹמָהּ שֶׁל מַלְכוּת, שֱׁאִלְמָלֵא מוֹרָאָהּ, אִישׁ אֶת רֵעֵהוּ חַיִּים בְּלָעוֹ.
(2) Rabbi Chanina, the Deputy High Priest, says: Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, people would swallow each other alive.
ואמר רב יהודה שלשה דברים מקצרים ימיו ושנותיו של אדם מי שנותנין לו ס"ת לקרות ואינו קורא כוס של ברכה לברך ואינו מברך והמנהיג עצמו ברבנות ס"ת לקרות ואינו קורא דכתיב (דברים ל, כ) כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך כוס של ברכה לברך ואינו מברך דכתיב (בראשית יב, ג) ואברכה מברכיך והמנהיג עצמו ברבנות דא"ר חמא בר חנינא מפני מה מת יוסף קודם לאחיו מפני שהנהיג עצמו ברבנות:
R. Judah said: Three things shorten a man’s days and years: being given a Sefer Torah to read and refusing to read it; being given a cup for benediction and refusing to say it; and taking on airs of authority.
To be given a Sefer Torah to read from and refuse, as it is written: For this is your life and the length of your days (Deut. 30:20). To be given a cup for benediction and refuse, as it is written (Gen. 12:3): I will bless them that bless you. To assume airs of authority: as R. Hama bar Hanina said: why did Joseph die before his brothers? Because he took on an air of authority.
- What do you think the Rabbis meant by "putting on the airs of authority"?
- Why is that equated with refusing to read from the Torah scroll or to bless a cup of wine?
(15) you shall be free to set a king over yourself, one chosen by the LORD your God. Be sure to set as king over yourself one of your own people; you must not set a foreigner over you, one who is not your kinsman. (16) Moreover, he shall not keep many horses or send people back to Egypt to add to his horses, since the LORD has warned you, “You must not go back that way again.” (17) And he shall not have many wives, lest his heart go astray; nor shall he amass silver and gold to excess. (18) When he is seated on his royal throne, he shall have a copy of this Teaching written for him on a scroll by the levitical priests. (19) Let it remain with him and let him read in it all his life, so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God, to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching as well as these laws. (20) Thus he will not act haughtily toward his fellows or deviate from the Instruction to the right or to the left, to the end that he and his descendants may reign long in the midst of Israel.
שלשה הקב"ה בוכה עליהן בכל יום על שאפשר לעסוק בתורה ואינו עוסק ועל שאי אפשר לעסוק בתורה ועוסק ועל פרנס המתגאה על הצבור
There are three about whom the Holy One, blessed be He, weeps every day: About one who can study the Torah and does not study it, and about one who cannot study the Torah, and does study it, and over a leader who holds himself superior than the community (i.e. who is boastful / exalts himself).
(טו) וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע פַּרְעֹה֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה וַיְבַקֵּ֖שׁ לַהֲרֹ֣ג אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיִּבְרַ֤ח מֹשֶׁה֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב בְּאֶֽרֶץ־מִדְיָ֖ן וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב עַֽל־הַבְּאֵֽר׃ (טז) וּלְכֹהֵ֥ן מִדְיָ֖ן שֶׁ֣בַע בָּנ֑וֹת וַתָּבֹ֣אנָה וַתִּדְלֶ֗נָה וַתְּמַלֶּ֙אנָה֙ אֶת־הָ֣רְהָטִ֔ים לְהַשְׁק֖וֹת צֹ֥אן אֲבִיהֶֽן׃ (יז) וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ הָרֹעִ֖ים וַיְגָרְשׁ֑וּם וַיָּ֤קָם מֹשֶׁה֙ וַיּ֣וֹשִׁעָ֔ן וַיַּ֖שְׁקְ אֶת־צֹאנָֽם׃
(15) Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. (16) Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. (17) And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
(ה) ...ובִמְקוֹם שֶׁאֵין אֲנָשִׁים, הִשְׁתַּדֵּל לִהְיוֹת אִישׁ:
(5) ...In a place where there is no man, strive to be a man.
(13) Next day, Moses sat as magistrate among the people, while the people stood about Moses from morning until evening. (14) But when Moses’ father-in-law saw how much he had to do for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you act alone, while all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” (15) Moses replied to his father-in-law, “It is because the people come to me to inquire of God. (16) When they have a dispute, it comes before me, and I decide between one person and another, and I make known the laws and teachings of God.” (17) But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing you are doing is not right; (18) you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. (19) Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You represent the people before God: you bring the disputes before God, (20) and enjoin upon them the laws and the teachings, and make known to them the way they are to go and the practices they are to follow. (21) You shall also seek out from among all the people capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and (22) let them judge the people at all times. Have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them decide every minor dispute themselves. Make it easier for yourself by letting them share the burden with you. (23) If you do this—and God so commands you—you will be able to bear up; and all these people too will go home unwearied.” (24) Moses heeded his father-in-law and did just as he had said. (25) Moses chose capable men out of all Israel, and appointed them heads over the people—chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens; (26) and they judged the people at all times: the difficult matters they would bring to Moses, and all the minor matters they would decide themselves. (27) Then Moses bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way to his own land.
"The Heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers" (Deut 29:9). Even though I appointed over you heads, elders, and officers, all of you are equal before Me, for the verse concludes, "All are the people of Israel." -Tanchuma Nitzvaim 2
(א) בן זומא אומר:איזהו חכם? הלומד מכל אדם, שנאמר: (תהלים קיט צט): "מכל מלמדי השכלתי כי עדותיך שיחה לי".איזהו גבור? הכובש את יצרו , שנאמר (משלי טז לב): "טוב ארך אפים מגבור ומשל ברוחו מלכד עיר".איזהו עשיר? השמח בחלקו, שנאמר: (תהלים קכח ב): "יגיע כפיך כי תאכל אשריך וטוב לך".אשריך, בעולם הזה .וטוב לך, לעולם הבא.איזהו מכֻבד? המכבד את הבריות, שנאמר: (שמואל א ב ל): "כי מכבדי אכבד ובזי יקלו".
(1) Ben Zoma says: Who is the wise one? He who learns from all men, as it says, "I have acquired understanding from all my teachers" (Psalms 119:99). Who is the mighty one? He who conquers his desire, as it says, "slowness to anger is better than a mighty person." (Proverbs 16:32). Who is the rich one? He who is happy with his lot, as it says, "When you eat [from] the work of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be well with you" (Psalms 128:2). "You will be happy" in this world, and "it will be well with you" in the world to come. Who is honored? He who honors the created beings, as it says, "For, those who honor Me, I will honor; and those who despise me will be held in little esteem" (I Samuel 2:30).
"Shemai said: Shun authority." Just what does this mean? That a man should not on his own place a crown upon his head. But others may do so." -Avot D'Rabbi Natan 11
אמר רבי יצחק אין מעמידין פרנס על הצבור אלא אם כן נמלכים בצבור
R. Isaac said : "We must not appoint a leader over the community without first consulting them"
(1) On the first day of the second month, in the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying: (2) Take a census of the whole Israelite community by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head. (3) You and Aaron shall record them by their groups, from the age of twenty years up, all those in Israel who are able to bear arms. (4) Associated with you shall be a man from each tribe, each one the head of his ancestral house.
רבי יהודה נשיאה ורבנן חד אמר דור לפי פרנס וחד אמר פרנס לפי דורו
R. Yehudah HaNasi and the Rabbis disagreed on how to interpret this verse. One says: 'A generation parallels that of its leader.' And one says: 'A leader parallels that of his generation'
Put another way: The character of a generation is determined by its leader. OR The character of its leader is determined by the generation.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks- Power vs. Influence, 8/20/2012
THERE ARE TWO FORMS or dimensions of leadership. One is power, the other, influence. Often we confuse the two. After all, those who have power often have influence, and those who have influence have a certain kind of power. In fact, however, the two are quite different, even opposites.
We can see this by a simple thought-experiment. Imagine you have total power, and then you decide to share it with nine others. You now have one-tenth of the power with which you began. Imagine, by contrast, that you have a certain measure of influence, and now you share it with nine others. How much do you have left? Not less. In fact, more. Initially there was only one of you; now there are ten. Your influence has spread. Power operates by division, influence by multiplication. With power, the more we share, the less we have. With influence, the more we share, the more we have.
So deep is the difference that the Torah allocates them to two distinct leadership roles: king and prophet. Kings had power. They could levy taxes, conscript people to serve in the army, and decide when and against whom to wage war. They could impose non-judicial punishments to preserve social order. Hobbes famously called kingship a “Leviathan” and defined it in terms of power. The very nature of the social contract, he argued, was the transfer of power from individuals to a central authority. Without this, there could be no government, no defence of a country and no safeguard against lawlessness and anarchy.
Prophets, by contrast, had no power at all. They commanded no armies. They levied no taxes. They spoke G-d’s word, but had no means of enforcing it. All they had was influence – but what influence! To this day, Elijah’s fight against corruption, Amos’ call to social justice, Isaiah’s vision of the end of days, are still capable of moving us by the sheer force of their inspiration. Who, today, is swayed by the lives of Ahab or Jehoshaphat or Jehu? When a king dies, his power ends. When a prophet dies, his influence begins.