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Ask the Rabbi: Jewish Community and the Crown

Written by Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain Monday, 10 May 2010

Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain of Maidenhead Synagogue addresses your questions. This week's question: "Most synagogues have a plaque which mentions the royal family. What obligation does the Jewish community have towards the Crown?"

Despite referring to the Queen, the tradition of praying for the welfare of the ruler is an ancient one and goes back to biblical times. Interestingly, it arose not as a prayer for the rulers in Israel but for those elsewhere. When the Israelites first went into exile - carried away to Babylon in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar - the exiles wrote to the prophet Jeremiah, who was still living in the land of Israel, asking how they should behave. He replied “Seek the peace of the city to which you have been taken, and pray to the Lord for it. For in its peace is your peace” (Jeremiah 29.7). In other words, they should make the best of the situation in which they found themselves, get on with everyday life and work in harmony with those around them. This included praying for the well-being of the country which, in those days, was bound up with the person of the monarch. He was also making the astute point that not only would non-compliance bring punishment upon them, but also that minorities are the first to suffer if a society is in a state of turmoil, hence that they would benefit from it being at peace.

It has since become a worldwide tradition to pray for the society in which Jews live, although that does not mean endorsing a particular system - monarchy - or the policies of the government in power. There are some who do not wish to engage with the wider society, but most Jews recognise that it is right to be involved in it - both to contribute to it as a duty of citizenship and to ensure that they protect their own position as a group that is a little bit different to others in its history and traditions. The duty to vote would be a modern extension of the prayer, which is now also part of the Shabbat morning service (and can be found on p. 246 of ‘Seder Ha-t’fillot’, ‘Forms of Prayer’, the Movement prayerbook).