My husband's parents were visiting England in the early
1950's at the time that the British were busy preparing for
the coronation of their queen. Wherever one went throughout
the country, one saw a frenzy of activity related to the
upcoming spectacular event.
During the `current events' segment of their school day,
young students focused on that day's developments. Children
received china cups bearing a picture of the new queen.
Tourists made the rounds of gift shops to buy commemorative
souvenirs of the event to give to their relatives and friends
at home. Despite high security measures, clusters of people
lingered in the vicinity of the palace, hoping to catch a
glimpse of the `royals.'
Cities spruced up their parks and gardens; the streets were a
little cleaner and banners flew from buildings. Even the most
blase members of the populace were buzzing with excitement.
Dignitaries were studying the protocols.
Of course, this was just the preliminary stage. The pomp
surrounding the actual coronation ceremony itself was even
more elaborate. And all of this was just for the coronation
of a flesh-and-blood ruler who is nothing more than a
figurehead. I don't mean to detract from the queen. She does
her job well -- gives speeches, sends out letters, and, of
course, gets dressed up and makes appearances at all kinds of
public ceremonies. But today's Queen of England does not have
the tremendous "Off With Their Heads" power of her
predecessors.
Right now, we -- the Jewish people -- are about to
participate in the coronation of the King of all kings. We
have the month of Elul to prepare for the special moment when
we crown the King. Hopefully, we are ready.
But how does one get ready for a coronoation? The best way is
to feel intimately involved with the King. In that way, we
will want to crown Him our King. The nations of the
world have rulers; we have a true Monarch. A ruler exerts
power by force. Hashem is our King because we want to
be His subjects.
However, even with the best of intentions, we women rush off
to shul on the morning of the first day of Rosh
Hashona and if someone were able to read our minds, this is
what he would learn: Wow. It's three minutes to 7. Boruch
Hashem I got here in time for `HaMelech!' Hmmm. I wonder if I
should have put a little more water into the pot roast before
I left the house.
Good news, ladies. This year we are saved from that specific
scenario because the first day of Rosh Hashona falls on
Shabbos.
Now let's give some thought to what some more appropriate
thoughts might be, even if this were a "cooking Yom Tov." How
about, Boruch Hashem, I got here in time for `Hamelech!' I
am about to declare that the King of all kings sits upon a
lofty throne and I subject myself to His power. Am I worthy
of standing here before the newly coronated King of the
Universe?
I think our davening will be just a little better if
we focus on the King before Whom we stand, and forget about
1) the food that is, anyway, sitting on the blech,
bubbling away with/out our concern, 2) whether or not the
supply of diapers will last for a two- day Yom Tov, 3) if our
guests, who are davening at a different shul,
will arrive at our house before or after we return, 4)
whether or not the kids will accidentally eat the papaya that
you bought for the new fruit for tonight, since you forgot to
tell the babysitter that it was off limits, 5) if you made
enough salad to go with the fish course and, since you will
decide you didn't, if you will have enough time after
shul to rectify that terrible problem, and finally, 6)
if your feet, which are already being pinched a little by
your new shoes, are going to make it through five hours of
davening which includes the longest standing mussaf
shemone esrei of the year.
Tell me. Suppose you were invited to the palace for the
coronation of a flesh-and-blood king, and if you were
considered important enough -- you might be allowed the
privilege of filing past him and maybe nodding for a brief
second or two -- what would you do in that time? Would you
focus on the king, or would you think, Oy, vey! I forgot
to give Yankel the towels for him and the boys to use when
they kneel down for Oleinu in Mussaf?
While we are at it, we might also focus on the fact that the
first day of Rosh Hashona is also the first of the Asseres
Yemei Tshuva. The Rosh Hashona shmone esrei is
different from the weekday, Shabbos and even Rosh Chodesh
one. All next week, we are supposed to slow down and
concentrate on what we are saying. That way, hopefully, we
will notice and say all of the little insertions and changes.
Why not start that slow-down-and-concentrate process now? We
still have a couple of days to practice before this year
ends. Let's get into the kavona mode right now!
The Chofetz Chaim suggested that before we start each
paragraph in shmone esrei, we stop for a couple of
seconds and say in our mind, "Now I am going to say the
blessing of Ovos" etc. A little forethought sure beats
the all-too-common hindsight of stepping back breathless from
a 3-minute shmone esrei with the following questions,
"Did I daven for refua for So-and- so? Did I
concentrate on the blessing for parnossa?"
This also applies to bircas hamozon. At your next
bread meal, wash your hands afterwards, sit down and recite
it slowly, and from a written text.
If anyone asks you why you are doing all this, tell him,
"It's simple. I am practicing to meet the King."
