By Laurie Baron, Ph.D
SAN DIEGO — I am finding the 11 days of mourning ceremonies between the death of Queen Elizabeth II and her burial next Monday archaic, pompous, and tedious. If only she were Jewish, we would be spared the redundant rituals, and much time and money could be saved not only by the United Kingdom but also by all the countries dispatching their leaders and reporters to cover the event.
Here’s that scenario: Mahlkah Elisheva bat Gershon v’ Elisheva passed away on Thursday, September 8, 2022. Her funeral was held the next day before the start of Shabbat. She was buried in a plain pine casket next to her husband. The reason for the simplicity of her coffin was because Judaism believes that wealth and privilege are ephemeral, and that people are equal in death. Consequently, there was no ornate crown atop her coffin. Rather than the 320 uniformed soldiers who traditionally march in British funeral processions, her six pallbearers were her oldest grandchildren. Most foreign dignitaries were unable to attend her funeral given the short interim between her death and interment, but that enabled more British citizens to attend the service at Westminster Abie, renamed to honor the Queen’s Jewish heritage. So many people shoveled dirt into her grave that a large hill now marks the spot.
The seven days of shiva were held at Buckingham Palace. The legs on all the thrones were cut off for the mourners to sit on. The copious amounts of black cloth it took to cover all the mirrors in the palace caused the price of black fabric to shoot up throughout Great Britain. At the meal of condolence, several members of the royal family wondered what a hardboiled egg was since they had never eaten one before. On the other hand, they were relieved that no one dared to interview or speak to them unless they spoke first. Similarly, they prohibited television coverage of the shiva to assure the privacy and solemnity of the occasion. Of course, by the end of the week of mourning, they had received so much food that they donated it to the poor of London. During the week, there were always enough adults around for a minyan to chant the kaddish. The royals are looking forward to a modest unveiling of her tombstone a year from now and hoping that Elisheva won’t be compared unfavorably to Queen Esther.
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Baron is professor emeritus of history at San Diego State University. He may be contacted via lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com.
Cleverly written, Laurie. Since the coffin is draped, Queen Elizabeth could have been placed in a pine box. No one would know the difference! And to be driven (with gas prices as they are) throughout the United Kingdom so your royal subjects can wave goodbye does seem a little silly since we all have televisions and computers from which to watch. I often wonder what it would be like to always be in the limelight with everyone judging your every move, facial expression and comments. Not for me!