We are starting a new sub-series- Pesukim of the Musaf of Rosh Hashanah . There are 30 pesukim that we say in Musaf , so doing a pasuk a day including Sundays, we will get 6 in a week, and we'll double up some to get them all in. Our Rosh Hashanah prayers include these 30 pesukim , and the Gemara tells us, in the name of God, to say the pesukim of Malchuyot, Zichronot and Shofarot, so understanding them is very important. We've given classes on in the past, but now that we've been following the format of a pasuk a day, we will use that for this series as well. Our first pasuk in Malchuyot , which means God is King, is the pasuk in Shemot 15,18: יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ יִמְלֹ֖ךְ לְעֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃ Hashem Yimloch Leolam Vaed/God will be King forever. The Ramban explains that this was said after the splitting of the sea in Az Yashir ; they had just seen that God is King and in control over everything; they saw that God saved His servants and destroyed those that rebelled against Him, and they said Hashem Yimloch, in the future , it should be God's will to do this in every generation, to have His eyes, with His hashgacha pratit / His watching , specifically over the righteous and not seemingly ignore the wicked. That is the message of this pasuk . Obviously, it makes sense to say this on Rosh Hashanah. When we are coronating God as King, we are requesting that Hashem Yemloch Le'olam Vaed/God should forever be King and be recognized in the world . Rabbenu Bachye says the word ימלך /Yimloch is missing a vav to teach us a very important lesson: " God does not come with difficulty on His creations." He's not asking them the impossible or giving them backbreaking work. Everything that He says is doable . He quotes a pasuk in Micha 6,3. עַמִּ֛י מֶה־עָשִׂ֥יתִי לְךָ֖ וּמָ֣ה הֶלְאֵתִ֑יךָ עֲנֵ֥ה בִֽי / M y nation, what did I do to you? And what did I do that tarries you? Please respond. This is very important. When we accept the yoke of Hashem's kingdom, He's not asking us to do the impossible. The Yetzer Hara wants us to think that, like the original claim of the snake, "Did God tell you you can't eat anything ?" That is fake news. The pasuk in Shir HaShirim says צְאֶ֧נָה ׀ וּֽרְאֶ֛ינָה בְּנ֥וֹת צִיּ֖וֹן / Go out and see, the children of Sion.. בָּעֲטָרָ֗ה שֶׁעִטְּרָה־לּ֤וֹ אִמּוֹ֙ / In the crown that his mother crowns for him. The Midrash Zuta asks, What is this crown referring to? It answers the Imo / his mother is really His nation , like Amo , so it's the crown that the Jewish people put on the head of God. When did they crown God? At the sea, when they said Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Vaed- it's as if you tied a crown on My head. So this pasuk was said when we saw God's control, and we want that to continue. We want to accept God as King, which is doable, and when we do that, we are crowning God, which is the purpose of Rosh Hashana- the coronation of the King. How do we do that? The sefer Nachal Kidomim from the Chida on Shemot 20,17 tells us that the Ten Commandments have 620 letters, which is כתר / crown , and it corresponds to the 613 mitzvot plus 7 rabbinicals equaling 620. He quotes the Abudarham that says that יהוה מלך , יהוה מלך יהוה ימלך לעולם ועד has the numerical value of 620. He says that is why there are 620 letters in the Ten commandments- because how do you fulfill God is the King, was the King, and will be King ? By performing His 613 mitzvot and 7 rabbinicals. That's when we accept upon ourselves the yoke of God's kingdom. What does that mean? Committing myself to His Torah, is the way I crown Him. It's not enough just to say, Look how powerful God is . Like Rav Yisrael Salanter famously said, You can make God king over the 7 heavens and the 4 corners of the earth and forget about yourself. The HaKtav V'Hakabbalah has a slightly different twist on this pasuk . It's not just that Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Vaed/ God should be King in the future, but rather, this is a present constant, which means He was, is, and will be like Hashem Melech, Hashem Malach Hashem Yimloch… And we're saying that although it doesn't look like God is always king, because we see the wicked being successful and the righteous suffering, that's not because God is not watching or He left the world. That's not the case. In all situations, God is in control. We just don't see it. Finally, the Sror Umor says we first say the Bet HaMikdash that God made with His hands , and then we say Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Vaed because there were times when God was seen as King only when He had a Bet HaMikdash. But we want L'Olam Va'ed- that in all times the world should recognize God's kingdom. This was our first pasuk in Malchuyot . It might be a good idea to print out the series, and if we're not in Yerushalayim next Elul, maybe we can create a pamphlet out of this.