The Crowning

These days kings are generally just figureheads, but in the olden days, they were powerful leaders with absolute authority.

At a coronation, the people gathered, and a crown was placed on the monarch’s head, symbolizing the people’s acceptance of the king as their ruler.

There were no elections. Generally the monarchy was transmitted from one generation to the next. Kings died, but the monarchy lived on, as the heir who was next in line assumed the role. And the people usually didn’t have a say.

G-d’s monarchy, however, is different. In the daily ‘Maariv’ (nightime) prayers, we say, “His Kingdom was willingly accepted.” The Jewish nation had just witnessed tremendous miracles, as G-d had taken them out of Egypt, split the sea, and drowned their adversaries. Out of tremendous gratitude and awe, the people proclaimed: “May G-d rule as King forever!” (Exodus 15; 18)

But it didn’t stop there. Each year, on Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year), we again accept and proclaim G-d as our King. As the Talmud states (Rosh Hashana 16a), that G-d says, “Recite before Me verses of kingship, so that you accept Me as your King.”

And it doesn’t stop there. Eventually the entire world will accept G-d as their King. At the end of the daily prayers, three times a day, we express our hope that very soon G-d will “establish His Kingship in the world,” and “G-d will be King over the whole world; on that day, G-d will be One, and His Name will be One.” (Zecharaiah 14; 9)

Rosh Hashana, 5,784 (years since the world’s creation), is about a month away. The coronation of the King of kings approaches. May we very soon see the day, when all nations accept G-d as their King.