With the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II this week, hosts of people gathered around her coffin, waiting in never-ending queues just to get a glimpse of her majesty, even if just her spirit. It was the most watched event in human history.  The “queen of the world” had passed away. People saw her as a symbol of the Monarchy, but also as a mother and a grandmother, the head of a family deeply rooted in history. She was a constant in an ever-changing world who extended way beyond her entitlement. It’s hard to be cynical about this historic moment.

Surely, there are those who do not love what she stood for. Those who see The Crown as a symbol of a dominating power, exploiting other peoples through Imperialism and Colonialism. Even though the funeral was a religious service at a church, the processions and everything in between displayed military power. After all, the queen’s coffin was carried on a gun carriage to Westminster Abbey. It was in England in 1534 that King Henry Vlll, whom the Pope titled “The defender of the faith” for going against the recent Reformation, decided then to usurp the religious authority in his kingdom for himself by starting the Anglican Church. The opposite happened in ancient Israel with the Maccabees of the Hasmonean family, who were religious leaders but seized the kingship after their victories over the Greeks. They retained absolute power that inevitably brought absolute corruption.

So, what would Judaism have to say about royalty today? Jews have a complicated history with Britain, the first country to expel Jews from Western Europe in 1290. On the other hand, the State of Israel came out of the British mandate over Palestine. Shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel, my own family walked through Yemen to arrive at Aden, the British refugee city at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, to then be flown to Israel. Would Jews, who intimately experienced the double-edged sword of the Royal British Empire, still want the kingship of the Messiah that we pray for every day? Would we want it to resemble the British model?  Is it even possible to convince the future generation that it is beneficial?  Perhaps there is a different way to unify the people and create “sacredness of something.”

When the people of Israel demanded a king from the Prophet Samuel, he warned them that the sense of security they hoped to achieve through a Monarchy would cost them dearly. The king, Samuel explained, would want to increase horses, for instance, as a symbol of power and military. Because horses are expensive to keep, the king would increase your burden, take you and your children to serve him, essentially bringing you back to Egypt. Do you want that?

In November 2003, I was in London for a short business trip, and my parents flew from Israel to meet me. As it happened, it was the day the Queen officially opens Parliament. Queen Elizabeth, who favored horses, was leading the parade in her carriage, with rows and rows of stallions. This event, which is steeped in tradition, is reminiscent of the meticulous details required “in the service of the Jewish Temple,” everything majestically prescribed.  As much as I appreciate and love the pageantry, pomp and ceremony, I’m not sure I’d like it to come back this way.

For us, God is the King, and Shabbat is the Queen — no thing and no person in the middle. More than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jewish people.  Long Live Shabbat the Queen!

Shana Tova U’mtuka.

—Rabbi Gadi Capela