In a small Russian town, the kids sat around their teacher days before the High Holidays. ‘Do you know what Rosh Hashanah is?’ asked the teacher to his students, ‘The night of Rosh Hashanah is ‘Karanatzia Nacht’ (‘Coronation Night’). Do you know whom we will be coronating?” One child responded in jest: “Nicholas”. (This was when Nicholas still served as the Russian czar). Said the teacher: “Nicholas? He was coronated years ago, why do we need to coronate him again? Besides, he?! He is not a real king.....Tonight, my dear children, we coronate G-d; we place a crown on G-d…
And do you know who places the crown? Yankel the Tailor, Berel the Shoemaker, Zalman the water-carrier, Yossel the painter, Dovid the butcher…” and the teacher named some of the simple villagers….” Concluded Rabbi Soloveitchik who was one of the little boys drinking in his teacher’s words: “Over the years I have given many sermons and written many discourses on the concept of Rosh Hashanah, but nothing ever made me feel the true depth and power of the day as the words of my childhood teacher. Every year, when I recite in the Rosh Hashanah prayers the words, ‘Rule over the whole world in Your glory,’ I remember my teacher in Chaslavitch.
Every Rosh Hashana, our Al-Mighty, powerful G-d waits for you to coronate Him. There may be others more learned or more observant than you, but it is YOUR recognition of Hashem and your renewed commitment to Him makes all the difference in the world….