On Rosh Hashanah, we crowned Hashem the King. We understood that Hashem runs the world. He is in charge of everything that takes place. We are nothing and Hashem is everything. And we are so proud and happy to be the children of the King in His kingdom.
But now, we have to act on that knowledge. We have to live with the understanding that Hashem is the King. That means recognizing that everything that happens to us, every second of the day, is coming from the King. And He is not only Malkeinu, He is Avinu. He is our King, Who is our Father, Who loves us more than we can imagine. When we react to the circumstances of life with that understanding, our avodah becomes so great.
A man told me that before Rosh Hashanah, he traveled to Israel for just a couple of days to get a spiritual uplift. He went to get berachot from rabbis and go to the Kotel. He told me he went to visit the King before the great day of Yom HaDin. But as soon as he arrived, his phone stopped working. He had so many calls he needed to make and so many people he needed to contact. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't get the phone to work, and he became very frustrated.
Then suddenly he caught himself. He thought, I came here to visit the King, and I forgot Who the King is. Hashem is the One Who decided that my phone shouldn't work right now. Why am I getting so frustrated? I'm in the King's world and He's running the show. And the King is my loving Father. If this is what He wants right now, then I know it's best for me. That thought completely changed his perspective. He totally calmed down. Those thoughts were so beautiful.
A relative of mine has a valuable watch that needed to be repaired. She brought it to a jeweler, and he suggested that she go to a small repair shop next door where it would be much cheaper. She went in, and the repairman began taking the watch apart. Before she knew what was happening, pieces of her expensive watch were all over the counter. Then the man said to her, "Sorry, it's broken." She couldn't believe it. "So put it back together," she said. He replied that he wasn't sure he could. She got so upset. Eventually, he told her, "Come back in a couple of hours and I'll see what I can do."
She went home distraught. But then she stopped herself and remembered Who was really in charge. She said, "Hashem, You're the King. If You want my watch, I'm happy to give it to You. If You want my watch to be broken, then I accept it with love, because whatever You want for me, I know is best." Immediately, she felt so much better. In the end, she went back to the store, and although she didn't understand how, the man managed to put the entire watch back together and actually fixed it. But the emunah that she displayed during those few hours was worth far more than that watch.
Another man told me that this past summer he was teaching children a woodworking class when, lo aleinu, his hand got caught in one of the machines. Two of his fingers were being crushed. Baruch Hashem, he managed to pull his hand out, but it was badly injured and dripping with blood. He told me that after fifteen years of learning emunah every day, even he couldn't believe how calm he was. He simply went over, got a towel and covered his hand. He felt like he was completely in the hands of Hashem. His feeling was, Hashem, if this is what You want for me, then I accept it with love.
The people there watching couldn't believe their eyes. Here was a man who had just suffered a terrible injury, yet he was completely calm because he knew Who was running the world. Baruch Hashem, he was able to get treated by a top plastic surgeon, and now, a few months later, his fingers are almost completely back to normal. The emunah he displayed at that time was truly inspiring.
A woman who has been in shidduchim for many years related that her young niece had just started shidduchim and remarked to her how difficult shidduchim were. The woman thought to herself, What do you know about difficult? You just started. I've been waiting for so many years. It was painful for her to hear those words. Then, just a few months later, that niece became engaged. Naturally, that could have been extremely difficult for her, but she had been working on her emunah, and she told herself, This is the ratzon of the King. If Hashem wants her to be engaged right now and He wants me to still be waiting, why shouldn't I be happy for her? I'm happy with the life that Hashem wants me to have, and I'm happy with the life that Hashem wants her to have.
She went to the engagement party and was genuinely happy for her niece. She overcame the natural feelings of jealousy and hurt and instead displayed the most beautiful emunah, understanding that her Father, the King, runs the world.
It's not enough just to say on Rosh Hashanah that Hashem is the King. We have to live every day of our lives with the recognition that He's the King. When something doesn't go the way we wanted, when someone else gets something we're waiting for, or whenever anything difficult happens, we must remind ourselves: The King is running the world. And the King is Avinu Malkeinu, our loving Father, Who knows exactly what we need.
Of course, the same is true when we receive blessings and have happy times. We thank the King Who is in charge of all of that as well. Our avodah is to live every day with the knowledge that Hashem is the King. This is how we truly crown Hashem King—not only on Rosh Hashanah, but every day of our lives.