Are you indifferent or excited about the coronation? Whether or not you are a royalist, I firmly believe we should all listen with respect to the Prayer for the Royal Family recited every Shabbat morning in synagogue.
It is true that Judaism displays some ambivalence to monarchy.
The Torah prescribed establishing a king (Deuteronomy 17:14-15) and this was one of three commands given to the Israelites on entering the Promised Land (Sanhedrin 20b); yet when the people actually asked the prophet Samuel for a king, he was very upset. God told him: “Listen to the people… for it is not you they have rejected; it is Me they have rejected as king” (1 Samuel 8:7).
The danger of a monarch is their unbridled ambition. God told Samuel to warn the people about this, which he did: “This will be the practice of the king who will rule over you: He will take your sons and appoint them as his charioteers… they will have to plough his fields, reap his harvest and make his weapons…
Charles and Rabbi Mirvis GettyImages-179206650 (1)
King Charles with the Chief Rabbi (Getty Images)
“He will take your daughters as perfumers, cooks and bakers… he will seize your best fields, vineyards and oil groves…
“He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you shall become his slaves, and you will cry out on that day” (1 Samuel 8:11-18).
This is surely one of the greatest condemnations of monarchy ever expressed. The people, however, were unmoved. Saul was appointed, followed by David and Solomon. Kings then ruled in Israel for centuries, all too often acting just as Samuel predicted.
They made mistakes because they failed to heed the constraints that were put on kingship way back in Deuteronomy.
A king was meant to have limited wives and wealth, and to write a copy of the Torah for themselves to carry with them: “And he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this Torah… so that his heart does not become haughty over his brothers” (17:19-20).
When the first Temple was destroyed and the state was lost, the prophet Jeremiah relayed God’s guidance to the survivors: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7).
This pragmatic approach was picked up and formalised in the rabbinic era: “Pray for the welfare of the monarchy [shelomo shel malchut], for were it not for fear of it, people would swallow each other alive” (Ethics of the Sages 3:2).
This is what we now do every Shabbat morning. But why does it say to pray for the welfare “of the monarchy” (shel malchut) and not “of the king” himself (shel melech)?
The 17th-century Polish commentator Tosfot Yom Tov explains that malchut refers to “the sovereign along with their ministers and advisers who lead the country and administer the law of the land”.
Authority is not bound up with the king, but rather it is to be shared by a system of government. Being spread among a group, it becomes less susceptible to the problems Samuel highlighted.
Indeed, the Talmud states that the Davidic line of kings were legally accountable for their actions (Sanhedrin 19a).
King Charles III is not a lone leader, a solitary sovereign with absolute power. His role lies within a constitutional monarchy. He wears the crown, but it is a symbol for the authority shared by those we elect and ask to govern our country.
The then Prince of Wales meets Rabbi Abraham Levy at the 300th anniversary celebration of Bevis Marks in 1701
The then Prince of Wales meets Rabbi Abraham Levy at the 300th anniversary celebration of Bevis Marks
Why, you may ask, would we swallow each other alive without it? These are harsh words. Says the Talmud: “Just as in the sea large fish swallow smaller ones, so too were it not for the fear of authority, those with more power would devour those with less” (Avodah Zarah 4a).
Government establishes the rule of law for everyone so instead of “survival of the fittest” or “might is right”, everyone has rights as a citizen of the state and can expect to be treated fairly and equally.
The 13th-century Spanish commentator Rabbeinu Yonah uncovers an even more comprehensive lesson from the phrase “people would swallow each other alive”:
“This is teaching us that a person should pray for the peace of the whole world and should feel the pain felt by others… they should not make supplications and requests for their needs alone, but rather they should pray for all people, that they may live in peace, because with the welfare of the monarchy comes peace and stability all around.”
Jewish tradition is particular, it applies to our people and our faith alone. But it houses a universal message that is so relevant and important for today.
We must care beyond our own community and share in the common humanity of the world; power should never be placed in the hands of just one person and everyone is accountable.
A wise and just king understands the important role he must play in the betterment of society. May His Majesty serve all of us well and live up to his great calling.
Rabbi Zarum holds the Rabbi Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought at the London School of Jewish Studies
