Rabbi Hershel SchachterMalchiyos

Rabbi Herschel Schachter

According to the popular opinion in the Midrash, five of the aseres hadibros (ten commandment) were etched out on one stone, and the other five on the other stone (as is commonly displayed in shuls). The midrash adds that the first of the dibros ("onochi hashem..." - "I am the Lord....") is related to the sixth ("lo sirtzoch"), which was parallel to it; the second is related to the seventh, which was parallel to it, etc.

Our religion believes in a kind God, who has created man in His image, betzelem Elokim. Because of this tzelem Elokim which was imparted to all people, our religion preaches the importance of kavod hebriyos. One who kills another human being, or even as much as acts in a disrespectful fashion towards others, obviously does not appreciate the other person's tzelem Elokim. This lack of appreciation of the concept of tzelem Elokim is often due to a lack of belief in Elokim, or a distorted perception thereof. Years and years of developments of civilization can be overturned and destroyed by people who do not understand Elokim, and consequently do not appreciate the concept of tzelem Elokim.

One of the major themes of Rosh Hashana which comes through the aseres yemei teshuva until Yom Kippur is the idea of malchiyos. God calls upon us to coronate Him; to try to get others to do the same; and God has promised us that the day will come when all of mankind will accept Him as King. According to the interpretation of Rashi, this promise appears in the opening passage of shema yisroel: Hashem, who at present is only recognized as God by us ("Hashem Elokeinu) will ultimately be universally accepted as King ("Hashem Echod").

And this is the central theme of the beracha of malchiyos: we pray to Hashem that "meloch al kol ha'olam kulo b'chvodecha", that He should see to it that His promise be fulfilled - that ultimately the day will come that His kingdom will be recognized by all people. And we further plead with God that it is not fair that just because a small group of people reject His Kingship, that the overwhelming majority of the people of the world should suffer. We pray on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur "v'chol ha'rish'a kula k'ashan tichle" that Hashem eradicate that small group who refuse to accept His kingship, and are thereby holding back the fulfillment of the promise of the idea of malchiyos.

On the night of Pesach we celebrate the redemption of Klal Yisroel. At the occasion of yetsias Mitzraim, God promised Moshe Rabbeinu ("eheye asher eheye") that just as He was redeeming Bnei Yisroel, so too the day will come that he will redeem all of mankind. This is the biblical promise of malchiyos. It is for this reason that on Pesach night we recite "nishmas kol chay tivarech es shimcha Hashem Elokeinu"; we pray to God that he see to it that all of mankind should accept His kingship. And on Pesach night as well we pray regarding the small group of people who simply refused to accept - don't allow them to hold up the fulfillment of your promise of malchiyos: "shvoch chamoscha el hagoyim asher lo yedaucha" - pour out your anger on that small group! "Tirdof b'af v'tashmideim mitachas shemei Hashem" ("chase with fury and destroy them from under God's sky").

God has declared that He personally will forever wage battle with Amalek; and He called upon us to participate in that battle. We should not assume that evil will disappear by itself. We must help fight against it. As long as Amalek is still around who are "lo yareh Elokim" (" do not fear God"), the kingship of Hashem is incomplete ("ki yad al keis kah - ain hakisei shaleim...." - "for there is a hand on God's throne - the throne of God is not complete.....").

We still have backward barbarians around who refuse to recognize malchus Hashem (God's kingship). Their distorted perception of Elokus (godliness) causes them not to appreciate the dignity of human life, which rests on the tzelem Elokim of each and every human.

When we blow the shofar at the conclusion of the beracha (blessing) of malchiyos, we are a) coronating God, and accepting Him once again as King; and b) enhancing the urgency of our request at the end of the beracha (blessing) of malchiyos to see to it that His promise of malchiyos be fulfilled.