the king's sefer torah

According to the Targum Yonasan, the sefer torah of the melech was given to him by the zekeinim – it was not written by the king himself.  The simply pshat in the pesukim is not like that, as the Rambam writes in Hil Melachim (ch 3):

 בעת שישב המלך על כסא מלכותו. כותב לו ספר תורה לעצמו יתר על הספר שהניחו לו אבותיו. ומגיהו מספר העזרה על פי בית דין של שבעים ואחד. אם לא הניחו לו אבותיו או שנאבד כותב שני ספרי תורה. אחד מניחו בבית גנזיו שהוא מצווה בו ככל אחד מישראל. והשני לא יזוז מלפניו. אלא בעת שיכנס לבית הכסא. או לבית המרחץ. או למקום שאין ראוי לקריאה. יוצא למלחמה והוא עמו. נכנס והוא עמו. יושב בדין והוא עמו. מיסב והוא כנגדו שנאמר והיתה עמו וקרא בו כל ימי חייו:

And in Hil Sefer Torah (ch 7) he writes as well: 

 והמלך מצוה עליו לכתוב ספר תורה אחד לעצמו לשם המלך יתר על ספר שיהיה לו כשהוא הדיוט שנאמר והיה כשבתו על כסא ממלכתו וכתב לו וגו'. ומגיהין אותו מספר העזרה ע"פ בית דין הגדול. זה שהיה לו כשהוא הדיוט מניחו בבית גנזיו. וזה שכתב או שנכתב לו אחר שמלך יהיה עמו תמיד. ואם יצא למלחמה ספר תורה עמו. נכנס והוא עמו. יושב בדין והוא עמו. מיסב והוא כנגדו שנאמר והיתה עמו וקרא בו כל ימי חייו: 

 

There are minute differences between the Rambam's words (why he repeats the halacha in two places is itself worth asking) but I don't know if there is any substantive change.  What bothers me is this din that the sefer torah of the melech has to be checked against the sefer in the azarah by B”D of 71.  The Ralbag explains pshat in the pasuk “v’kasav lo… al pi hakohanim ha’levi’im” as referring to this copying of the azarah text, which was considered the most exact, the “master copy” against which all other texts were judged.   But if it’s just a matter of ensuring the accuracy of the text, why is this halacha limited to a melech – shouldn’t every individual strive to copy the most accurate text possible, as efshar l’vareir?  And why does this process of proofing the text require a B”D of 71?  I haven’t looked into any meforshim yet, just scratching my head and wondering. 

Another difference between the extra Torah of the king and that of the individual: while an individual has to ideally write his own sefer from scratch and cannot inherit or buy one, the same rules don’t apply to the king’s sefer (see KS”M to Melachim 3:1 who learns that it’s the first sefer that the king is allowed to inherit, against the pashtus of the gemara.)  R’ Reuvain Katz suggests derech derush that the idea here is that simply imitating the past, inheriting a sefer Torah from one’s parents, will not solve the problems or satisfy the needs of the present and future.  Nor can an individual buy a sefer Torah, adopting or acquiring his hashkafos and derecho from the outside.  Each individual must forge his/her own unique path.  Not so the king.  The second sefer of the king represents the national trust of Klal Yisrael.  Rulers come and go, but the core mission of Am Yisrael represented by that sefer remains constant and unchanged.  That sefer can be passed on from father to son, from one generation to the next.  The Targum Yonasan’s idea of this sefer being given to the king by the zekeinim and the Rambam’s halacha that the B”D of 71 is involved in the process fits beautifully with this concept. 

I was wondering what type of lishma is needed for the king's sefer.  The Meiri already indicates that the king doesn’t have to do the writing himself.  Whether you need a formal shlichus, or maybe it suffices to have just a tzivuy to write like the din of “kasav lah” by get, or maybe even that is not required, is debatable.  What if the sofer writes a sefer for whoever’s in charge – is that enough, or does he have to have in mind the particular individual, e.g. “Shlomo ben David haMelech?”  Does “lishma” mean that the sefer has to be written for the office of the king, or does it mean it has to be written for the sake of the individual who occupies that office?  Based on R’ Reuvain’s Katz’s derush, I’m inclined to say that the lishma here is for the office, not the individual, but I’m just speculating.

Based on a Shem m'Shmuel maybe there is yet another dimension to the writing of this second sefer “lifnei hakohanim ha’levi’im” and using specifically the text from the azarah.  The Shem m’Shmuel contrasts the king with the shofeit: the latter just as well as the former could administer justice and lead the nation into battle.  What was the difference between them?  In a nutshell, the shofeit was limited to setting domestic policy.  Even when waging war, the shofeit’s role was limited to protecting against attack by hostile enemies. In contrast, the king and only the king had a foreign policy.  The king could project the power and authority of Am Yisrael outward and proactively expand the borders of Eretz Yisrael.  Parshas Re’eh ends with the mitzvah of aliya la’regel, coming to the azarah, drawing Klal Yisrael inward and rebuilding internal unity.  The parsha of the melech (see Ba’al haTurim who connects the earlier parsha of the shofeit with the regalim) is the flipside: it projects the azarah outward.  Instead of drawing the Jewish people to Yerushalayim, to the Mikdash, for inspiration, the king could bring the same Torah that inspired the kohanim and levi’im in the azarah out to the world, to the people.

Update -- my wife's cousin, R' Avraham Wagner, suggested another approach derech derush: there are two types of halachic judgment: that of beis din, and that of the Melech. The judgment of beis din requires a plurality, burden of proof, etc., while the king judges alone, without need for eidim and hasra'ah. Perhaps these two systems are represented by the two sifrei Torah; one in which he is equal to all of klal Yisrael, signifying the legal system instituted by Moshe al pi haDibbur. This may be left to him by his father. But the second, the Torah in which he must read all the days of his life, which is always with him, represents the king's unique judicial authority. This must be written specifically for him, because his own personality will inevitably color his judgment, and he needs to take that into account. And, lacking the checks and balances inherent in the regular system, this ST must undergo, at the outset, the highest possible level of scrutiny, to ensure no mistakes which can later wreak havoc.

On a practical level, we can all take a limud from this. We all try to act in accordance with halacha and the ratzon Hashem. To this end, we study, discuss with our betters and peers, and introspect, seeking clarity and correctness to the highest possible degree. However, we all incorporate a "melech " as well; there are times when we act instinctively, emotionally, or intuitively, without prior rational investigation. We need to be aware of this reality, so we can shape and guide it before the fact, in order that the results of our melech also follow the dictates of pas'shegen Oraysa hada.