We will explore a fascinating category of people in rabbinic law: קרובי מלכות/“Those close to the government", those in relationship with key Gentile officials, perhaps even a monarch, who, in order to function, must be able to blend in with their Gentile surroundings. We know some of these figures from Jewish history as “court Jews,” many of whom used their influence with the Gentile powers to secure important rights and protections for their fellow Jews. How much license should these people have to ignore or suspend normal prohibitions? And what does this tell us about the universalist and particularist impulses that make up Jewish identity more broadly?