By A. Lang. Few people realize that it was not John Locke, whose ideas Mr. Jefferson embodied in the Declaration of Independence, who first articulated government by consent. It is implicit in the laws of Israel.
It has been said, that land is the basis of political power. The state is sovereign because land escheats to it. Land cannot become ownerless; follow the chain of title and it always will end with the state. For this reason, the people in their corporate capacity exercise sovereignty in this country.
It was written before the Magna Charta (Or Zeruah citing Rabbi Eliezer M’mitz), that in ancient Israel, the right to the land belonged to the people, not to an individual sovereign or to a collective sovereign such as the people in their corporate capacity. Ownerless land did not escheat to a sovereign. The land fundamentally belonged to the people individually. And not only did the people hold their land in their own name and not under the tenure of their government, but the people held the land in complete equality.
Note carefully. The loss of land has been the source of disenfranchisement, oppression and revolution throughout the ages and the laws of ancient Israel provided immunity from social injustice from the very beginning. If a citizen needs to borrow money for his livelihood, he does not pay interest. If he cannot pay back due to poverty, the loan is forgiven in the seventh year. And if one loses his land for whatever reason, it is returned during Jubilee.
Government by consent is both a constitutional and a functional necessary because there is no earthly sovereign power over Israelite land. Government simply does not hold title to the land and therefore has no inherent power to tax or legislate. The decisive power of the purse intrinsically remains with the people.
Ownership of land spread equally among the population is the greatest political blessing and bull work for liberty that a nation can have and it was known in Ancient Israel.
Interesting how Lakewooders talk about 4th of July but were mostly silent on the day of Yom Atzmaut. Our avos never davened to Live in America and our hearts should not be here. Our hearts and minds should be in our holy land -Eretz Yisrael.
This is the last “stanzia” before mashiach, and it’s a medinah shel chesed-display the stars & stripes.
It’s not that interesting, I think you know the answer, you just want to create an angry back-and-forth.
There is a concept of government among the Nations, it is one of the sheva mitzvos bnei Noach. There are reasons to be against the concept of the modern State of Israel. I’m not calling for their downfall, but there is less of a reason to celebrate it’s existence.
The 2 of you are pitiful, ungrateful fools. If your heart is in Israel, your body should be there too or are you reluctant to give up the good life you enjoy in this country you disparage. Number 2……don’t be quick to call for the downfall of Israel. You will have no where to run if things turn for the worse here in the US.
Great insightful article!!!
don’t you mean bulwark?