Sitting Shiva on an Empire

“A man whose job is to do nothing in particular and to do it very well.” This quote has been to describe the King of England. There has been a lot of attention paid to King Charles this week as he paid an official state visit to the United States. The British Monarchy is a most interesting institution as it’s largely ceremonial with little practical authority. The cost of funding the royals' lifestyle is not cheap. According to many estimates, the total annual public cost could exceed $ 600 million once security and related expenses are included. Many have observed that this is a boatload of money to spend on a ceremonial Head of State who is busy kissing boo-boos of children. Far be it from an outsider like me to weigh in on such an important issue. Over the course of King Charles' visit, I have been reflecting on Britain's significant contribution to world civilization. There have definitely been very positive influences from Britain over the years. The Magna Carta, issued in 1215, influenced the development of American constitutional ideas, including principles later reflected in the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Legal researchers have found that the Magna Carta has been cited more than 100 times in Supreme Court opinions. Over the centuries, the British exerted a positive influence worldwide. For example, the British ended the practice of Sati in India in the 19th century. Sati was a practice in parts of India in which a widow was burned alive on or beside her deceased husband’s funeral pyre. The reasoning behind this was that a woman had no value if their husband was no longer. When the Indians resisted ending Sati and claimed it was their tradition, Charles James Napier, a British Governor, had the following response. “You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn women alive, we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom.” The practice of Sati quickly ended. Of course, we can never forget the influence and leadership of Winston Churchill, who rallied the West to defeat the Nazis. ​ Over the recent decades and years, Britain has regressed in its positive influence on civilization. Once an empire, it is now a mere shadow of its glorious past. More troubling is its recent turns towards Islamization. It was jolting to see last year an individual scale the iconic Big Ben statue and drape a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag on this historic structure. While one incident may not tell the whole story, it’s certainly an anecdote that captures the climate of extremism gripping the United Kingdom. This week, a terrorist stabbed two Jews in a prominent Jewish neighborhood in broad daylight. The nation that was a haven for Jews for so many years has turned upside down. As Britain continues to go down the abyss, it may be time to sit Shiva on this once mighty empire. ​ Have a Peaceful Shabbos, ​ Rabbi Yaakov Fisch