Bava Basra 003: Herod

[Kollel Iyun Hadaf]

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Bava Basra 003: Herod

David Goldman asked:

1) I don't understand why the Sanhedrin ruled that Herod was not eligible to be 
a king because a king must be "achicha." Herod had the din of an Eved Knaani, 
and also even if he had been a regular Jew he would not have a had the din of a 
king anyway since the halacha applies only to a king who is anointed by a navi 
or a descendant of such a king, and even the Hashmonaim did not have a din of 
melech.

So why would this subject have even arisen where he in any case was simply the 
appointed leader of the official ruler of Eretz Yisroel which was Rome. 

2) How do we understand that he was a slave if he married Miriam who was from 
the Chashmonaim? Presumably he would have known that no one could marry a 
bas-kohen unless they were proper Jews. 

David Goldman, USA
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The Kollel replies:

Hello there and thanks for your interesting questions. I am not discussing 
whether or not the Chashmonaim had the status of kings, but I will try to 
answer your questions. 

1) There are different aspects to discuss here. Appointment of a king indeed 
requires a descendant of David Hamelech. This of course does not apply to other 
appointments. The restriction of appointing Geirim applies to any position as 
the Rambam rules in Hilchos Melachim 1:4. I don’t really think that the 
Sanhedrin had a meeting regarding the status of Herod, and decided to nix him. 
Herod realized though that the Chachamim will never accept him as a king, or 
even as a leader without the status of a king, for the reason I mentioned 
above. This would mean that if halachic questions came to the Sanhedrin in 
which Herod’s status was a factor, his status would be considered illegal. This 
could also mean that they might try to convince the Romans to replace him.

2) Herod probably viewed himself as a freed slave who is permitted to marry a 
Bas Choen. See Rambam Isurei Bi'ah (19:11). The Chachamim treated him as a 
full-fledged slave. This could be dependant on the question if a slave who the 
owner was Mafkir requires a Get Shichrur or not (see Gitin 40a).

All the best,
Y. Landy


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