King Agrippas

Parshat שופטים has the Halachot related to a king. One of the laws is that a king must not come from another nation, but must be a Jew who is מקרב אחיך, “From the midst of your brothers.” The Gemara in סוטה says that when King Agrippas read this Pasuk, he began to cry. Other Jews comforted him and said, אחינו אתה, “You are our brother.” Rashi wrote that they said this because his mother was Jewish. There is an opinion in the Gemara that strongly reprimanded these people for giving undo flattery to an unworthy king. They assumed that both of the parents of Agrippas were not Jewish. And this was the reason they felt he was unfit to be king. The conclusion of this story teaches that one can be king if only his mother was Jewish. He would then qualify as מקרב אחיך, “From the midst of your brothers.” This an interesting Halacha related to kings.