Distilling Sovereignty

Jewish law, which is very flexible, would have to find answers to these questions. The Mishna, I believe, lays out in some detail the relation between the king, the priests and the judges, and I assume that would be the starting point for further deliberation. The notion of a covenant between the Jews and God, if not amongst the Jews themselves (that's the notion that turns into republican modernity) is unobjectionable, as far as I can see. A hereditary priesthood is also fine; rebuilding the Temple might also be a very good idea, but that and the question of sacrifices would be open for discussion. (I think the Talmud already abolishes sacrifice; that decision could be revised, of course, but it seems unlikely.) I think you could have a more serious discourse around these points than around "democracy," "human rights," etc. The Bible's ambivalence to monarchy would have to be addressed--but that's always been a problem for Christian monarchies as well. It's a bigger question of the relation between the sovereign center and what I've started calling the "permanent center."