One major theme of Rosh Hashanah, often not properly appreciated, is the proclamation of God’s kingship over creation. But how can today’s Jews relate to this imagery, which came so naturally to our ancient ancestors and is so opposed to our democratic sensibilities? Richard Hidary examines this question, and provides some possible resolutions:

American suspicion of kings was an outgrowth of the European Enlightenment, which was itself influenced by the rabbis’ wariness about human kingship, [and the Hebrew Bible’s]. At the same time, the rabbis made use of the biblical imagery extolling God as king to compose the malkhiyot, “Kingship” prayer recited on Rosh Hashanah. How do we make sense of this tension?

Since God and only God is King, no other being can be a king. Or, in Moshe Halbertal’s terminology, God is King; therefore, the king is not God. The acknowledgement of God’s kingship does not connote a desire for monarchy, rather it is a repudiation of any human claiming that right. In fact, John Milton and Thomas Paine idealize the Kingdom of God as strongly as they repudiate any kingdom of man.

Out of possible discomfort with kingship, even for God, the [ancient commentary on Exodus], M’khilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, imagines that God reigns only with national consent granted at Sinai.

Last week, Jordanian police arrested sixteen members of the country’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood for acquiring explosives, trying to manufacture drones, and planning rocket attacks. The cell was likely working in coordination with Hamas (the Palestinian offshoot of the Brotherhood) and Hizballah, and perhaps receiving funding from Iran. Ghaith al-Omari provides some background:

The Brotherhood has been active in Jordan since the 1940s, and its relations with the government remained largely cooperative for decades even as other political parties were banned in the 1950s. In exchange, the Brotherhood usually (but not always) supported the palace’s foreign policy and security measures, particularly against Communist and socialist parties.

Relations became more adversarial near the turn of the century after the Brotherhood vociferously opposed the 1994 peace treaty with Israel. The Arab Spring movement that emerged in 2011 saw further deterioration. Unlike other states in the region, however, Jordan did not completely crack down on the MB, instead seeking to limit its influence.

Yet the current Gaza war has seen another escalation, with the MB repeatedly accusing the government of cooperating with Israel and not doing enough to support the Palestinians.

Jordanian security circles are particularly worried about the MB’s vocal wartime identification with Hamas, an organization that was considered such a grave security threat that it was expelled from the kingdom in 1999. The sentiment among many Jordanian officials is that the previous lenient approach failed to change the MB’s behavior, emboldening the group instead.