03-21-2014, 07:11 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-21-2014, 07:14 AM by Rabbi Moshe Weiner.)
With this answer that was sent by Rabbi Moshe Weiner, the leading expert for the Noahide Code, you may find that your outlook is compatible with the actual limited scope of the Talmudic concept that is paraphrased as "the law of the kingdom is the law", as well as the motivation for this principle.
The phrase "the law of the kingdom is the law" is an English translation of the original Talmudic Aramaic phrase, "dina de'malchusa dina".
---------Answer from Rabbi Weiner---------------
For a more complete explanation of what is included in the obligation for "dina de'malchusa dina" (abiding by laws of the land) as it applies within Torah Law, we refer to the books "Sheva Mitzvot HaShem", Vol. 2 (under The Prohibition of Theft, Chapter 14) and Vol. 3 (Laws and Courts, Chapter 15). (The English translation of these Hebrew books is in progress.)
The law that we refer to as "dina de'malchusa dina", as it is mentioned in the Talmud and the major Torah-law codifiers (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Theft, Chapter 5, and Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Chapter 369), is not a law based on a verse in the written Torah, nor is it a law that was expounded upon in the Oral Torah that was received at Mount Sinai. Rather, the Talmudic Sages taught that people should heed – as a law – a certain underlying principle that goes by this name, for the benefit of their society.
First of all, the governmental power of enforcing a society's laws is given to a king, or to a person who is elected by the people of the country by their own free will, in order to govern over them. This power of governance is not rightfully taken by a dictator who rules over the people by force.
The principle called "the law of the kingdom is the law" specifies that there must be certain laws incumbent on a country's inhabitants in order for them to live as a functioning society. Otherwise, every person would do as he pleases, and the whole fabric of the society would fall apart.
The Torah law referred to as “the law of the kingdom is the law” is mainly meant to apply in regard to MONETARY LAWS, which are a group of laws that deal with normal and necessary monetary interactions: (a) between one individual and another, and (b) between an individual and the society at large (for example, the necessity to support necessary governmental functions through taxes).
However, Torah law does not recognize any rightful power of a government to impose laws OF ITS OWN that interfere with the private religious lives of the citizens, by which we mean to say that the king or the elected government have no right to impose a law of their own making which would regulate an individual's personal relationship with G-d.
Within this limited scope, the Rabbinical law of “the law of the kingdom is the law” is a rational law, and therefore is it included for Gentiles as part of the Noahide Code within the scope of the commandment for establishing Dinim (Laws and Courts), since it is for the good of society at large. It was understood by the Talmudic Sages and the major codifiers of Torah Law that not only Jews, but also the Gentiles themselves, have an obligation in G-d's eyes to abide by their government's monetary laws that fall within the scope of the societal necessities described above. This is called Torah-based, because the Talmudic Sages agreed on this within their G'd-given authority to identify modes of conduct that are necessary, whether for the good of the Jewish people or for the good of the world at large.
It is worthwhile to point out that in the section of “Laws and Courts” in the work “Sheva Mitzvot HaShem”, we explained that it is also incumbent on Gentiles to establish courts that set laws which are suited to the needs of the specific country they belong to, and that these courts also have a right to set rules of personal conduct that are needed in order to protect the society. Such laws that are set by the power of the courts are a communal necessity from the perspective of the commandment for “Laws and Courts” within the Noahide Code. This is similar to what is answered above about the obligation to abide by laws that the government (referred to in Torah as “the power of the king”) establishes as reasonable necessities.
The phrase "the law of the kingdom is the law" is an English translation of the original Talmudic Aramaic phrase, "dina de'malchusa dina".
---------Answer from Rabbi Weiner---------------
For a more complete explanation of what is included in the obligation for "dina de'malchusa dina" (abiding by laws of the land) as it applies within Torah Law, we refer to the books "Sheva Mitzvot HaShem", Vol. 2 (under The Prohibition of Theft, Chapter 14) and Vol. 3 (Laws and Courts, Chapter 15). (The English translation of these Hebrew books is in progress.)
The law that we refer to as "dina de'malchusa dina", as it is mentioned in the Talmud and the major Torah-law codifiers (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Theft, Chapter 5, and Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Chapter 369), is not a law based on a verse in the written Torah, nor is it a law that was expounded upon in the Oral Torah that was received at Mount Sinai. Rather, the Talmudic Sages taught that people should heed – as a law – a certain underlying principle that goes by this name, for the benefit of their society.
First of all, the governmental power of enforcing a society's laws is given to a king, or to a person who is elected by the people of the country by their own free will, in order to govern over them. This power of governance is not rightfully taken by a dictator who rules over the people by force.
The principle called "the law of the kingdom is the law" specifies that there must be certain laws incumbent on a country's inhabitants in order for them to live as a functioning society. Otherwise, every person would do as he pleases, and the whole fabric of the society would fall apart.
The Torah law referred to as “the law of the kingdom is the law” is mainly meant to apply in regard to MONETARY LAWS, which are a group of laws that deal with normal and necessary monetary interactions: (a) between one individual and another, and (b) between an individual and the society at large (for example, the necessity to support necessary governmental functions through taxes).
However, Torah law does not recognize any rightful power of a government to impose laws OF ITS OWN that interfere with the private religious lives of the citizens, by which we mean to say that the king or the elected government have no right to impose a law of their own making which would regulate an individual's personal relationship with G-d.
Within this limited scope, the Rabbinical law of “the law of the kingdom is the law” is a rational law, and therefore is it included for Gentiles as part of the Noahide Code within the scope of the commandment for establishing Dinim (Laws and Courts), since it is for the good of society at large. It was understood by the Talmudic Sages and the major codifiers of Torah Law that not only Jews, but also the Gentiles themselves, have an obligation in G-d's eyes to abide by their government's monetary laws that fall within the scope of the societal necessities described above. This is called Torah-based, because the Talmudic Sages agreed on this within their G'd-given authority to identify modes of conduct that are necessary, whether for the good of the Jewish people or for the good of the world at large.
It is worthwhile to point out that in the section of “Laws and Courts” in the work “Sheva Mitzvot HaShem”, we explained that it is also incumbent on Gentiles to establish courts that set laws which are suited to the needs of the specific country they belong to, and that these courts also have a right to set rules of personal conduct that are needed in order to protect the society. Such laws that are set by the power of the courts are a communal necessity from the perspective of the commandment for “Laws and Courts” within the Noahide Code. This is similar to what is answered above about the obligation to abide by laws that the government (referred to in Torah as “the power of the king”) establishes as reasonable necessities.