How can it be that an infinite G-d, Who has no needs, created this world just so that we mortals would give Him honor?
Because part of what I do is write about things news-related, I often think about the two ways, broadly speaking, for a Jew to process and react to events taking place in the world at large. On the surface at least, these approaches seem to be opposites.
One way is to react with disdain or disregard, devaluing anything that happens outside of our Jewish world. The other is to attach a certain value to what one observes and to find the lesson within it.
To illustrate these divergent responses, let us consider the recent events surrounding the passing of the British queen and her son’s subsequent elevation to the throne. Both of these rare events were marked by pageantry and pomp the likes of which few of us alive today have ever witnessed.
The ancient rites observed in intricate detail amid the ornate trappings of royalty — the bejeweled vestments, the solemn processions replete with elaborately costumed officials, horsemen and the flourish of trumpets — were all designed to bestow high honor upon the deceased queen and her heir. But even more, they were a way of paying homage to the institution of the monarchy itself and the momentous passing of the scepter from one generation to the next.
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