Rosh Hashana is the most auspicious time to internalize that G-d is King of the world. Of course, this theme runs throughout the entire year for Jews, mentioning it constantly, as we do in the hundred blessings we say every day. Even so, what remains in the background during the rest of the year now comes to the fore.
Yet even if we have a theoretical understanding of the sort of mighty and absolute monarch used as a metaphor for G-d, it is very distant from our actual experience. The closest thing we have in today’s world are dictators. While they give us some sense of G-d’s unchecked power, they also color the metaphor with a highly negative tinge. The bottom line is that the metaphor has somewhat atrophied over the last two hundred years.
So are we then to change the Avinu Malkeinu prayer to just Avinu? Presumably not. As with many things, awareness is half the fight. Once we become aware that the word melech means little to us, we realize that we have to work harder for us to use it meaningfully.
Sometimes I invoke internal images of an atomic bomb exploding or a tremendously powerful storm to get a sense of G-d’s dramatic, instantaneous and ultimately unlimited power. This is only meant as an example of a possible exercise, and not as a perfect solution for everyone.
The King may well be in the field, but that won’t help us if we don’t try to understand what that means.
