Mar. 4th, 2010

cellio: (talmud)
While some wars are obligatory, such as that against Amalek or one in self-defense, the mishna teaches that the king may lead forth in a voluntary war only on the permission of a court of 71 judges. He may force his way through private property (the g'mara says for strategic purposes), and he receives first choice of the spoils. The g'mara adds that royal treasures must be given to the king but all other spoils are divided, half to the king and half to the people. (20b)

The text does not here define "royal treasures". (I assume we're talking about gold, gems, etc, as opposed to spoils such as cloth, food stores, or livestock.)

(Aside: how is it that Firefox's spelling checker knows "Sanhedrin" (with or without capitalization) but does not know "mishna" (with or without a final "h")?)

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