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Ask JTF for Sunday, October 24, 2010

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imaknick:
does the talit have to be white with blue or black stripes?  because i have seen them with rainbow stripes, and I also have seen one which was all black with white stripes.

Secularbeliever:
I had a discussion with a friend of mine who is Israeli yesterday and we got on the subject of guns and governments.  I explained, to his surprise, how Jefferson and some of the founding fathers wanted people to have guns because he wanted the government to be afraid of the people.  As Jefferson put it "when the government is afraid of the people there is liberty, when the people are afraid of the government there is tyranny".  Also his famous quote "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants" also indicated that he felt that people must fight with the government on occasion to keep the government in check.

How does that philosophy square with or not square with Torah law?  If Israel is ruled by a Monarchy who keeps the King in line?  Is it just G-d and the prophets who G-d speaks through?  My friend (who is quite Orthodox) pointed out that during the Jewish monarchies in Biblical Israel that prophets were often threatened by Kings who did not appreciate their opinions.  What is the mechnism to keep Jewish Kings who would abuse their power in line? 

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