Published March 18, 2010
I always wondered if it is crooked people who go into politics and choose positions of leadership or if it is the position itself that makes people corrupt. I have even told my children that they could become anything they want to be when they “grow up” but I don’t recommend becoming President, Prime Minister or any other type of leader. To me at least, it seems that these positions are not the best for “a good Jewish girl or boy”. They seem to invite foul behaviour.
Learning this week’s Torah portion has given me insight into this question.
In the list of all the different types of offerings - KORBANOT - we are told about specific offerings to be brought if “an individual commits an inadvertent sin”. Chapter 4 starts off describing which types of offerings are brought for inadvertent sins done by different types of people. Firstly, it talks about “IM/if” the Kohen Gadol sins (4:1-12), then “IM/if” the nation sins (4:13-21), then “ASHER HANASI YECHETA - when the leader - the King - sins (4:22-26) and then “IM NEFESH ACHAT - a commoner” sins (4:27-30).
When looking closely at these verses we see that the wording for a King sinning is different then the other people. For all the other people it says “IM/if” the
person sins but for the King it says ASHER/when. The Zohar states that the verse doesn’t say “if” the King sins but rather takes it as a given that the King is bound to sin because it is very common for this to happen. Because of his high position, the King is lead to haughtiness and this leads him to sin. R’ Neta of Chelm found another hint to this idea in our verse (22) where it says “A-SHER N-ASI Y-ECHETA”, the first letter of each of these words taken together forms the word ANI - me. He puts himself at the center of the universe ANI V’AFSI OD and so allows himself to do things that he shouldn’t do.
The Torah tries to counter this phenomenon by reminding the King that he is held responsible even for those things that he does by accident. He is not the
ruler of the world; there is someone above him. He can’t just do whatever he wants. He is accountable to G-d. This message is brought home to him when he must bring this offering for his sin.
Bringing the Korban works on his character. As Rashi brings down on this verse. ASHER - ASHREI HADOR SHEHANASI SHELO NOTEIN LEV L’HAVI KAPARA AL SHIG’GATO - KAL VACHOMER, SHEMITCHARET AL Z’DONO. Blessed is the generation whose leader brings an atonement offering for his inadvertent sins, and how much more so, if he is able to show remorse for sins that he did intentionally.
David, who was a true King, was able to acknowledge his sin right away when it was brought to his attention - “CHATATI LASHEM - I have sinned to G-d” (Shmuel Bet 12:13), whereas Sha’ul was not as forthcoming. If all our leaders would learn the lesson of this portion we would really be blessed.
This Texan “King” recipe is usually not kosher - I adapted it to make it kosher and with less cholestrol.
KOSHER KING RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE
1 chicken
4 tsp. lime juice
1/4 cup of olive oil & 4 Tbsp oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
half an onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced (or canned tomatoes)
1/4 cup green chilis, diced or to taste
4 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 cup chicken broth
2Tbsp. of flour
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4cup rice milk
3 cup of parve cream
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
10 corn tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil chicken, cool, debone and shred. Saute chicken ( about 15 minutes) in the olive oil on medium, with 2 tsp. of lime juice and 2 tsp. of chili powder and salt to taste. Set aside. Should yield about 3 cups. Saute onions and peppers for about 10 minutes. Add garlic, flour, cumin, pepper and 2 tsp. chili powder, and cook for another minute. Add the chicken broth and cook on low for a few minutes until mixture is thickened. Stir in the rice milk, tomatoes and green chilis and simmer covered for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Uncover the pot, and add the parve cream, 2 tsp of lime juice and cup of cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.
Preheat the oven to175C (350F))
Warm the tortillas (you can do this by adding a bit of oil on an iron skillet and then cooking the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side).
Ladle cup of the sauce onto the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan. Layer half the tortillas along the bottom of the pan (on top of the sauce). If needed, rip some of the tortillas into pieces to fill any gaps. Add half the chicken, half the remaining sauce, half the remaining cilantro. Repeat the layering. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling.
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