והיה כשבתו על כסא ממלכתו וכתב לו את משנה התורה הזאת על ספר מלפני הכהנים הלוים ... (יז-יח)
The Torah commands Klal Yisroel with a unique mitzvah: to appoint a king, a ruler, to see to the needs of the people. The king has a number of requirements, including writing a Sefer Torah "מלפני הכהנים הלוים", that he will read from exclusively. What is the meaning of these last words of the posuk? Chazal deduce from here (see Yerushalmi Sanhedrin and Rambam) that the king must transcribe his Torah from the one that was in the עזרה while under the scrutiny of the Sanhedrin of 71. Why was this crucial? The simple understanding would be that the validity and correctness of that scroll was impeccable and could be relied on for its accuracy.
R’ Moshe Shternbuch shlita explains this idea on a deeper level. A king has the power to influence the masses. Sinister people from other factions of Klal Yisroel, with ulterior motives may, chas v’shalom, seek to alter some of the Torah’s wording, thereby changing the word of Hashem to fit their agenda. They will try to convince the king, who in turn will influence the rest of the nation negatively. Thus, the Torah commanded that his special Sefer Torah must be written "מלפני הכהנים", according to the original unadulterated text, not deviating even one iota.
In fact, years later, wicked people hid the Sifrei Torah and Klal Yisroel precipitously spiraled downward spiritually. Until Yoshiyahu Hamelech located an old Sefer Torah in his palace. When found, it was inexplicably open to the tochacha. The shock of that heavenly message spurred him on to effect a positive transformation in Klal Yisroel.
This machshava reminds us that there are no reasons to “reinvent the wheel” looking for new unexplored avenues in Yiddishkeit. Each person should adhere to the mesora that his forbears persevered against all odds, and by following that legacy we will be matzliach not only in our עבודת ה', but in having our very own progeny follow suit, בסייעתא דשמיא!
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