Our services, our liturgy has a lot to say about G-d as King, or if you prefer Ruler or Sovereign. We sing Adonai Melech, Adonai Malach, Adonai Yimloch L’olam va’ed. God rules, God ruled, God will rule forever and ever. Our standard fomulaic blessing begins, “Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha’olam. Many translations of that but let’s use Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the Universe for now. We talk about Rosh Hashanah as the coronation of the King (or Ruler or Sovereign).  

Aleinu, a prayer that is attributed to the Talmudic rabbi, Rav in the third century, was often banned because it was deemed threatening to emperors and kings. It may have been written even earlier and part of the Second Temple ritual. It expresses our hope that one day God will rule the world. Universal or holier than thou?  

Tomorrow in Great Britain, something will happen that most of us have never seen, the coronation of a British sovereign. It hasn’t happened in 71 years. The first event my mother saw on television was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.  

So, what do we as Jews, not even living in any of the British countries do about this? In fact, I am enough of an American history scholar to know we left Great Britain so we didn’t have to serve a king.  

I often talk about some of this around the 4th of July, American Independence Day but it bears repeating in this circumstance as well. 

Like much in Judaism it isn’t cleat. 

Psalm 146 teaches us that we should “Put no trust in the powerful, in mortals who cannot save. Their breath depats and they return to dust and tha is the end of their grand designs.” 

Jews have prayed for their earthly rulers since the days of the exile. Jeremiah taught us  

“And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the LORD in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7) 

In Pirke Avot we are taught, “Be wary pf the authorities! They do not befriend anyone unless it serves their own needs. They appear as a friend what it is to their advantage, but do not stand by a person in an hour of need.” (Pirke Avot 2: 3 ) And yet, in the next chapter we learn: “Pray for the welfare of the government for if people did not fear it, they would swallow each other alive.” (Pirke Avot 3:2) 

England has not always been kind to the Jewish people. I 1290, King Edward the First, decreed with the Edict of Expulsion that all Jews needed to be expelled by All Saints Day, November First of that year.  

Jews eventually found their way back. If you want to read a LONG article, the one on Wikipedia is surprisingly good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_England

Wherever Jews have lived, they have prayed for their country and their leaders. The Open Siddur Project posts this prayer for Queen Elizabeth. https://opensiddur.org/prayers/collective-welfare/nations/united-kingdom/prayer-for-the-royal-family-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-1962/ 

 It is very similar to the prayer in the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain 1977 prayer book which we read in shul after the prayer for the United States.  

Both begin reminding us that G-d is the King of Kings. “May the supreme King of kings in his mercy preserve the Queen in life, guard her and deliver her from all trouble and sorrow.” and then continues in much the same vain as our prayer in Siddur Sim Shalom for the Country (page 148) 

Recently I had the opportunity to attend an Interfaith Congressional Breakfast hosted by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and moderated by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The congressman began by quoting the letter of George Washington the Jews of Newport RI in August of 1790: For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance…” x https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135  

I appreciate the fact that the congressman believes in this message and that he would call people together to work for religious tolerance. As the ADL says, “There is no place for hate.” It was a powerful meeting, even if the solutions to reducing hate crimes may be beyond our grasp. 

Next week I will be delivering the invocation at the Kane Country board meeting. I will be using a prayer out of that Great Britain prayer book, for Interfaith Meetings and for Committee meetings. Somehow it seems very appropriate.  

But what about the coronation? King Charles wanted to make sure that the religious diversity of Great Britain was represented. Yet, there was a problem. The service and the parade from Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace were on Shabbat. This would cause a problem for the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis. The Jerusalem Post had a fascinating article: 

Some things that intrigued me…the rabbi’s sense of humor to start: 

“I think if the Messiah comes at the time of the coronation, it will be on the back page. Nothing is going to get in the way of this, every tiny detail; and we welcome the fact that the inclusion of other faiths in this event is a feature of the coronation. It was not a feature in the previous one – just the church; after all, the essence of the coronation is a religious service in Westminster Abbey.” 

While there are potential halachic issues of being in a church, Mirvis maintains it is the right thing to do. He and the palace staff have even worked out some of the thornier issues of Shabbat observance. He and his wife will be sleeping at the one of London’s palaces. They will be having kosher coronation chicken (Simon and I will be too, served on my grandmother’s Wedgewood with tea!).  

The members of eight faiths will be greeted outside Westminister at the end of the religious service and offer a blessing—without microphones to not put the rabbi in a compromising position. He and his wife will present presents to the new King for Shabbat. Valerie Mirvis baked biscuits and the Jewish community have planted a grove of trees. 

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-741809 

So yes, since Great Britain is a ally of the United States, we will be praying for Great Britain and the new King this weekend. And yes, the next time I am asked to do something for the betterment of the Jewish people, for Elgin, for Illinois or the world, I will work like Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to do it so it matches my level of religious observance. As he said…it is the right thing to do. 

And I’ll be singing a new Adon Olam. The Coronation one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0NOkqo7-0