Israel: Torah Law or Secular Law?
What kind of state is Israel meant to be — a halachic theocracy, or a secular democracy with Jewish values? Long before the founding of the State, Rabbis Yitzchak Herzog and Chaim Ozer Grodzinski debated this very question. Surprisingly, it was the ultra-Orthodox Grodzinski who favored allowing secular law, while the Zionist Herzog objected. This essay explores a forgotten halachic precedent, the role of the King in Torah law, and why the clash between divine justice and human law still shapes Israel today.
