It turns out, the tradition has quite a bit to say on the subject, and it might surprise you.
We find ourselves diving into Devarim Rabbah, specifically section 5, which grapples with the verse in Deuteronomy (17:14): "When you will come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall take possession of it, and you shall live in it, and you will say: I will install a king over me, like all the nations that are around me.” It sounds straightforward. Permission to establish a monarchy once settled in the Promised Land. But like so much in our tradition, the surface is just the beginning.
The passage kicks off with a halakhic (legal) question: What happens when the king of Israel faces a legal issue? Can he be brought before a court? The Sages, in their infinite wisdom, lay down some pretty strict rules. A king can't judge others, and others can't judge him. He can't testify, and others can't testify against him. It seems like a recipe for unchecked power, doesn't it?
So, why this special treatment? Rabbi Yirmeya offers a compelling reason. He points to King David's words in Psalm 17:2: “Let my judgment emerge from before You.” The idea is that no human can truly judge a king; only God is fit to do so. A heavy burden for the king, and a powerful statement about the limits of earthly authority.
But here's where it gets really interesting. The Rabbis take a step back and reveal God's initial preference: "My children, I had thought that you would be free from the rule of kings.”
Free from the rule of kings? Where does that come from?
They find support in the prophet Jeremiah (2:24), comparing Israel to "a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness." Just as the wild donkey roams free, without fear of man, God envisioned a people unburdened by earthly rulers. A truly radical idea!
So, what went wrong? Why did Israel desire a king in the first place?
Jeremiah continues, "at its soul's desire it inhales wind." And here, "wind" isn't just a breeze. The Rabbis connect it to kingdoms, drawing a parallel from Daniel 7:2, where the four winds represent the four kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. It seems the allure of power, of a centralized state like the nations around them, was too strong to resist. They desired the "wind" of kingdoms.
God, it seems, anticipated this. "And if you should say that I do not know that you will ultimately forsake Me [by appointing a king], I already cautioned you through Moses." God knew that the people would ultimately request a flesh-and-blood king, and so He commanded Moses that, if they did, the king should be one of their own, not a foreigner. "From among your brethren you shall install a king over you; you may not install over you a foreign man" (Deuteronomy 17:15).
So, what are we left with? A complex picture. God, in a way, relents to the people's desire for a king, but not without a clear warning and a specific instruction: Choose from among yourselves. Perhaps a reminder that even in monarchy, the king remains one of the people, accountable (ultimately) to God, and bound to the well-being of the community.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it? About the nature of leadership, the temptations of power, and the enduring tension between divine will and human desire. It's a story that resonates even today, in a world still grappling with questions of authority and the responsibilities that come with it.