The king of ancient Israel was not an absolute monarch. By tradition, the King was required to obey the laws of the Torah, which includes both religious laws and 'secular' laws. Rabbinic political theory describes authority as being split between three powers: the "Crown of Kingship" (keter malkhut), the "Crown of Priesthood" (keter kehuna), and the "Crown of Torah" (keter torah). According to this theory, institutional power was shared between this triumvirate of monarch, priest, and prophet.
The ministers of the king were not allowed to listen to the king if he commanded to break any laws.
However, the king had certain rights that the average citizen did not have, such as being allowed to create a thoroughfare through private property.
The king could be tried by the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of Israel. This right originally applied to all kings of Israel, but was limited to kings of the house of King David when King Yanai of the house of Hasmoneans intimidated the Sanhedrin.
The king had certain laws that he had to follow over and above the rest of the nation, such as having to always have a Torah scroll with him, and having limits on the amount of money and horses he was allowed to have.
The Jewish hope for a Messiah is that a king arise from the house of David who, while ruling over the people of Israel, will follow the laws of the Torah and build its institutions.
Air Culebra, established in 1998, is a small Puerto Rican airline company that flies out of the island of Culebra, in Puerto Rico, and the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, in San Juan.
Using small, propeller engine airplanes, the airline flies charter flights all around the Caribbean, and to The Bahamas as well. From The Bahamas, it flies to the eastern part of the mainland United States.
Air Culebra also performs regularly scheduled passenger seat's airline duties with flights between Culebra, San Juan, Vieques and Fajardo, all in Puerto Rico.
The elven ports of Mithlond or the Grey Havens was an Elvish port on the Gulf of Lune in the northwest of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth.
It was founded at the beginning of the Second Age by the surviving Elves of Beleriand, those who chose to remain on Middle-earth after the wars against Morgoth. It was afterwards used by the Elves to leave Middle-earth for Valinor. The Grey Havens was part of Lindon, the kingdom directly ruled by Gil-galad, last High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth.
According to the map of Middle-earth Mithlond's anchorage is divided into the Harlond (the "south-haven") and the Forlond ("north-haven") which occupy the southern and northern banks, respectively, of the River Lune.
Because of its cultural and spiritual importance to the Elves, Mithlond in time became the primary Elvish settlement west of the Misty Mountains prior to the establishment of Eregion and, later, of Imladris. Even after the death of Gil-galad, and the Elves dwindled in numbers by the year, Mithlond remained a focal point of the history in the northern part of Middle-earth.
Círdan the Shipwright was the master of the Havens since its founding; Galdor of the Havens, his messenger, was among Mithlond's known inhabitants.
Aside from Elves, Gimli the dwarf, Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins also went to Valinor from the Grey Havens, and a family tradition held that Samwise Gamgee (having been himself a Ring-bearer, albeit briefly) did likewise, in the year 1484 of the Shire Reckoning. (Fourth Age 61) It is unclear just what the fate of the Elves of Middle-earth was in the early Fourth Age and how long Círdan or his remaining folk dwelled at the Havens and continued to build the great ships that carried the Elves to the Blessed Realm.
Leo Niehorster (February 8, 1947 - ) is the webmaster of World War II Armed Forces Orders of Battle and Organizations and the author of several books on World War II. Niehorster has a Ph.D., from Columbia University, in History. He has his masters and bachelor's degrees in business administration and is currently the financial controller of SV-Odin.
Niehorster was born in The Hague, the Netherlands. He has also lived in Peru, England, Mexico, and the United States. He was in the US Army's 130th Engineer Brigade, at Hanau, Germany, from 1968 - 1972.