When we woke to the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we awakened to a strange new world. It felt different – curiously personal like the passing of a dear and revered family member. Yet globally significant; the loss of someone larger than life itself, more like a tectonic shift.
Millions will think of this day as a day when someone did something odd. When a righteous person leaves the place is diminished because of its honor and spark.
The world felt poorer, robbed of a sparkling personality, a majestic leader, an honourable human being. HRH was no longer with us.
The death of the Queen is important to millions of people around the world.
Elizabeth the Second’s death reminds us of principles that we care about.
This is the first thing. Change and continuity.
In a sea of change, the Queen was a rock. Her hallmark were protocol and precedence. Despite the symbolic nature of her duties, she was seen as the primeval power of a monarch.
The meaning of the coming Days of Awe and their themes of kingship will mean a lot more to us this year, as we learned from her. The Talmudic says that when the crowds grow large so does the honor of the Royal One.
Queen Elizabeth was the epitome of a modern monarch, receptive to a changing world and able to change herself. She embraced technology and recognised that the monarchy would need to change its style and discard its stuffiness in order to stay relevant. She learned how to share her feelings after she distanced herself from Diana’s death.
One of the most significant changes of the past 60 years was Britain’s transformation into a multi-ethnic, multi- faith society.
The most important issue for the continuity of Judaism is getting the right balance between respecting tradition and being able to change.
There are two Humility in greatness.
Ben Zoma challenged the idea of honor when he said, “Who is the one who pays respect to others?”
The Queen was respected because of her influence and presence. She spoke to the men, women and children who came out to greet her after reaching out to the people. She related to them the same way she did to her staff. Humility is the key to greatness. She used to teach the power of “we”.
There are three. The defender of faith.
Elizabeth II was a constant defender of the faith in a world that derides faith. She lived with faith and didn’t apologize for going to church frequently. She was interested in and respected other faiths.
In her religious role, the Queen is head of the Church of England, but in her civic role she cares for all her subjects, and no one is better at that than she is. All Britain’s faith communities are affected by that. In one of the first public events of her Diamond Jubilee, the Queen met with leaders of the nine leading faiths in Britain.
There are four. There is a life of service.
Being a servant of God is a high calling of Judaism. Being a Jew gives you the privilege of serving others. The Queen was enlarged as an individual because of her dedication to a cause bigger than herself.
At the age of 21 she said, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, would be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family.” The new King Charles III promised to fulfill his duty.
The popular imagination has captured the Queen’s fierce altruism. It shows our desire to break the shackles of egotism and our desire to find meaning in life.
There are five. There is leadership.
The leader is able to lead because of their independence of thought and action and their ability to read. The kings and queens of Israel were required to keep their own Torah scroll at their side. To help tame the wildness of the world, they were appointed by their people to remind them to stay in touch with the wonder and quotidian. The leader was the queen.
The King goes out to the field in the month of Elul. The Queen in her cortge is touching the souls of many others.
The world will miss your humility, your dignity, your strength, and your humour.
It’s good to rest in peace.
Senior Rabbi to the Australian Defence Force, Rabbi of Kehilat Kesher, and Senior Rabbi and GM of Jewish Life at Jewish Care Victoria are all under the leadership of RabbiRalph Genende.
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