"Whoever Calls Himself King Denies the G-d of Israel and is Liable for Death"

In the holy words delivered by our teacher, the holy Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, after the Maariv (evening) prayer on Thursday of Parshas Vayishev 5780 (2019), the Rav mentioned the importance of the lineage of the House of David.

"Shimon and Yonatan—Yonatan was king for 10 years, but it was forbidden for him to take the kingship."

"It is written in the Rambam (Maimonides) in the 12th Principle of Faith that it is forbidden for any person to take the kingship; he can be a Mashgiach (spiritual supervisor), a Maggid (preacher), but not use the word 'King.' If he takes the title 'King,' then he is a denier of the G-d of Israel."

"Hashem (G-d) made a covenant with David that the kingship belongs only to the House of David. Hashem gave the kingship to the House of David, but not to just any descendant of David—only to the descendants of Solomon. Son after son since King Solomon, only such a person is permitted to call himself king."

"Whoever calls himself king is a denier of the G-d of Israel and is liable for death; therefore, Miriam the Hasmonean was the last [of that line]. Herod married Miriam so that he would have children from the Hasmoneans. All of this is written in Tractate Bava Batra."

"Miriam heard that Herod wanted to marry her—he had already done teshuvah (repentance), he kept the Shabbat. She jumped from the roof [to her death], so that instead of him saying he married into the House of the Hasmoneans, everyone would know he was [originally] a slave."

Toward the end of his words, Rabbi Berland shlit"a added and connected these matters to the days of Hanukkah that are coming to us for good.

"This relates to Hanukkah, for the entire essence of Hanukkah is the jar of pure olive oil—that if a person is like a jar of pure olive oil, even if it is only one jar, he will defeat everyone."

"Whoever guards his holiness, being a jar of pure oil, being here at 5:00 AM—he will win all the wars."