During the times of King Chizkiya, Yeshayahu the Prophet was involved in a fascinating controversy with the king which can help us understand the purpose of the monarchy. Chizkiya would not go to Yeshayahu, because he felt it was beneath the dignity of a king to do so. He felt that it was only proper that Yeshayahu come to see him, just as Eliyahu, a prophet, went to visit King Achav. Yeshayahu, however, felt that in his role as a prophet -- the king should come to him, and not vice versa. He thought that he was no different then Elisha the Prophet who received a visit from King Yehoram, son of Achav. The matter ended when G-d brought suffering upon Chizkiya, and told Yeshayahu to visit the sick king. Based on this episode, Rav Hamnuna explained the pasuk of, "Who is like the smart one and who knows how to compromise?" as meaning, "Who is like G-d, who knows how to bring two Tzadikim to a compromise!" (Brachot 10a)

This story requires analysis: How is it that two men whom the Talmud calls, "Tzadikim" involved themselves in an argument regarding honor and prestige -- "Who will go to whom?" And, if in fact, their argument was so petty, why did G-d involve Himself to bring about an acceptable solution? Furthermore, why did G-d create this situation, as opposed to causing Yeshayahu to take ill and receive Chizkiya as a visitor?

Rav Kook, zt"l, explains in Ein Aya"h, that the Jewish people require Torah and a monarchy. Torah is required to fulfill the spiritual needs of the people; it educates the nation about its eternal destiny and its intended way of life. The purpose of the monarchy is to provide the nation with its physical needs, dealing with the national and economic issues. Only through the combination of these two aspects in a harmonious manner can the Jewish people achieve glory, reaching its goal and purpose in this world. Emphasis on either extreme will only bring disaster. Focusing on the monarchy will cause a state of mind where the material is important and the spiritual ignored, and vice versa. There must be an equal balance of the two, and without such equilibrium, the nation is in a state of danger: "If there is no flour there is no Torah; if there is no Torah there is no flour." (Pirkei Avot 3:24)

Yeshayahu the Prophet was in charge of the spiritual welfare and religious future of the nation. By refusing to travel to Chizkiya, he expressed his preference for eternal, spiritual values over the contemporary issues of the state. On the other hand, Chizkiya, responsible for the physical needs of the nation, refused to go to Yeshayahu, because he was afraid that would be seen as a degradation of the value of the state and the monarchy, which ensure the material needs for the survival of the nation. This was not a dispute over honor and prestige, but a dispute over which value to give precedence to -- Torah or the monarchy.

The truth, however, is that Torah and the monarchy have to meet, since they need to be interwoven -- the monarchy needs to be directed by the Torah. To illustrate this, G-d forms a compromise between the two. To the casual viewer, the prophet must show honor to the king in order to strengthen the value of the state, as the Rambam writes, "Even the prophet rises up before the king, and bows down [before him]." (Melachim 2:5) Therefore, Yeshayahu is the one who goes to Chizkiya. However, one who understands the matter deeply will see that in truth it is the king who submits to the prophet, since the king is the one who lies sick and suffers. This teaches us that the policy of the king must be based on the foundation of the Torah. The monarchy must be humble and submissive before the prophet.

"When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah." (Devarim 17:18) The king is obligated to write two Sifrei Torah. One, as any other person of Yisrael, and the second, as the representative of the monarchy to know and remember that the all matters of the government -- its rules and laws -- must draw from the Sefer Torah that is with the king.

This is the meaning of Shmuel's disapproval and anger when the people asked for a king, to fulfill what is said, "You shall surely set over yourself a king." Many commentators deal with the question, why was Shmuel angry with them for wanting to fulfill this noble mitzva? However, Shmuel well understood that although they were interested in monarchy, they were interested in one detached from prophecy and eternal values. This appears to be the understanding of the Rambam, who writes (Melachim 1:2): "Since establishing a king is a mitzva, why did Hashem not want so when they asked Shmuel for a king? Because they asked out of complaint, because they were no longer interested in Shmuel." Shmuel the Prophet, however, only wanted a monarchy which draws its strength from the spiritual.

Now that we have returned, thank G-d, to our land, and we have established our own government, it is our responsibility to enlighten it with the light of Torah and faith, to fulfill our destiny -- "You shall be to me a kingdom of ministers and a holy nation." (Shemot 19:6)