Q&A: The Law of the Kingdom
The Law of the Kingdom
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Are things that most of the public commonly violate the law about forbidden משום "the law of the kingdom" (for example: not paying tax on a small, one-time job, or driving a bit faster than the legal speed limit)? Does this depend on the dispute among the medieval authorities (Rishonim) regarding the reason for "the law of the kingdom"?
Thank you in advance
Answer
I already wrote here in the past that in my opinion, no. The definition of "the law of the kingdom" is whatever binds a citizen who is not committed to Jewish law. And whatever a reasonable, normative citizen cuts corners on, one may cut corners on. I don’t see what this could depend on.
Discussion on Answer
I think grounding it in ownership of the land is an anachronism, a relic of a bygone era. But even if you insist on seeing that as a view relevant to our times, that still doesn’t mean one must obey every directive. What the reasonable person does is what I am obligated to do. The question is not what the source of the king’s authority is, but what its scope is.
Hello Rabbi.
A. Thank you very much for the answer, and sorry that I didn’t find what had been written previously.
B. What I meant was that according to Ran and those who follow his view—that the obligation comes from the fact that the land belongs to the king—logically one would be obligated in all the laws; but according to the medieval authorities (Rishonim) who hold that the obligation stems from the consent of the community, one could exempt cases that the public did not accept upon itself. (Although according to Ran, in any case, "the law of the kingdom" does not apply in the Land of Israel.)