All the Jewish Aspects to the Historic Coronation of Kings Charles III

Edited by: TJVNews.com

As the world gears up to catch history in the making at Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, for Jews in the United Kingdom and throughout the world, this religious ceremony, presided over by the Church of England has some surprisingly Jewish aspects to it.

King Charles had a very close and warm friendship with the late Chief Rabbi of Britain, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory and that now extends to the current Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.

At a Friday afternoon reception of faith leaders at Buckingham Palace the day after Queen Elizabeth’s death in September, King Charles rescheduled the event for earlier in the day so that Rabbi Mirvis could get home prior to Shabbat.  The event ran longer than expected. In a recently published article in the JTA, according to Rabbi Nicky Liss, head of the Highgate Synagogue, Charles asked Mirvis what the rabbi was doing sticking around — didn’t he have to get home by Shabbat?

The protocol is that no one is allowed to leave the room before the king does, Mirvis responded. Charles then promptly told him to get home, the JTA reported.

Both men are expected to bring that spirit of mutual respect to Charles’ coronation day on Saturday, as the new king will include a range of faith leaders who have never before been featured in a royal ceremony of this magnitude, the report stated.

In order to accommodate Rabbi Mirvis, King Charles will be hosting him and his family on Friday night as they stay over at Clarence House near Buckingham Palace in order to attend the Saturday morning coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is only a 15 minute walk from Clarence House, and Rabbi Mirvis will attend a Shabbat morning service prior to the coronation. This was arranged in order that Rabbi Mirvis will be able to be present without desecrating the Shabbat. The JTA also reported that when religious leaders recite a “spoken greeting in unison” to King Charles at the end of the ceremony, Rabbi Mirvis will not use a microphone.

While many Orthodox interpretations of Jewish law hold that Jews should not enter churches, London’s top rabbinical court ruled in the 1970s that chief rabbis may do so if their presence is requested by the monarch, the JTA reported. Coronations have held at Westminster Abbey since 1066; the last time one was held on Shabbat was in 1902.

While much of the ceremony is still rooted in Christian rituals, representatives of Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Bahai and Zoroastrian communities will be incorporated into the proceedings. In fact, non-Jewish faith representatives will enter Westminster Abbey before Anglican clerics. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh members of the House of Lords will hand Charles objects of the royal regalia, as was reported by the JTA.  And in a notable cross-cultural mash-up, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is Hindu, will read a passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, which includes language on the “loving rule of Christ over all people and all things.”

The oil that will be used to anoint King Charles has its Jewish biblical origins as Hebrew kings such as Saul and David and others were anointed with pure olive oil by the prophets. The oil that will be used at the coronation was created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The olives were pressed just outside Bethlehem and the oil has been perfumed with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, amber and orange blossom.

The king will receive the sovereign’s orb, scepter and coronation ring and will be crowned and blessed during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.  Queen Consort Camilla will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned.

The Guardian of the UK reported that the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “Since beginning the planning for the coronation, my desire has been for a new coronation oil to be produced using olive oil from the Mount of Olives. This demonstrates the deep historic link between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land.

“From ancient kings through to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place. As we prepare to anoint the king and the queen consort, I pray that they would be guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit.”

The oil is based on that used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953, with a formula that dates back hundreds of years.

The vestments that King Charles will be wearing, according to some, remind them of the vestments worn by the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) and that fact that King Charles will be seated under a canopy that reminds many of chuppah at a Jewish wedding, also brings forth Jewish aspects to this ancient ceremony.

Musical celebration and tribute is a recurring theme. United Synagogue, the union of British Orthodox synagogues, commissioned a new children’s choir recording of “Adon Olam,” a prayer perhaps most recognizable as the conclusion of Shabbat services, and dedicated it to the new king. The Shabbaton Choir, a group that frequently records for radio and television shows, created a new musical version of the Prayer for the Royal Family that’s recited by British Jewish congregations every week.

Among the many honors accruing to King Charles III is also a new version of a traditional prayer performed by a British-Jewish children’s choir. The JTA reported that United Synagogue, the union of British Orthodox synagogues, commissioned a new recording of “Adon Olam,” a prayer perhaps most recognizable as the conclusion of Shabbat services, and dedicated it to the new king.

The rendition was composed by a British-Jewish musician who teaches at a Jewish school and was arranged by the brothers in the indie rock duo Portnoy, according to the Jewish Chronicle, a British Jewish newspaper.