I sit here late in the eve

ning after Tu B’Av, the 15th of the Hebrew month of Av, reflecting on three events. The “big” news today has been the birth of the heir, to the heir, to the heir, to the British throne. When I first heard that Kate Middleton had gone into labor, my first thought, no lie, was “who’s that?”

Then of course I remembered that she’s the former lead singer of The Bangles (Walk Like an Egyptian). And I wondered why she was joining the Labor Party. I didn’t even realize that she was English. It was only after stating this out loud to my wife that I was informed that she was the Duchess of Cambridge, wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and she was about to deliver the “little bundle of joy of Cambridge.” Wow, did I have royal egg on my face, how embarrassing.

But it got me to thinking about royalty and how the world views a prince and what the Torah’s views are. There is a mitzvah to respect and honor the kings of other nations. In fact there’s a specific blessing one says upon seeing a monarch decked out in royal arraignment. I realized that if the future, future king of England was born on Tu B’Av, perhaps there’s a lesson in it for Jews.

I start with what Tu B’Av is. Many know it to be a day of great rejoicing. In fact the Talmud in Ta’anit says that the most festive day of the year, besides Yom Kippur, is Tu B’Av. Now I know what you’re thinking. Yom Kipper? Fasting? Afflicting ourselves? Crying, pleading, begging the Master of the Universe for forgiveness, that’s the MOST festive day of the year. And the answer is in the question. The Gemora says that because it is the day we receive forgiveness for our sins, that’s what makes it the most festive.

But what makes Tu B’Av number 2? The Gemora lists six reasons. I’d like to focus on one. It was the day that the generation of the desert, the generation that was destined to die before the Jews could enter the land of Israel, stopped dying. It was in the fortieth year in the desert on Tu B’Av that the Jews realized that they were now ready to stop wandering and make their home in Israel.

Now remember that in the desert the Midrash tells us that their clothes didn’t wear out, they had manna, they studied the word of G0d all day and basically had their needs tended to. That meant that when they entered Israel, they would have to start taking care of themselves and doing so in accordance with all that was commanded in the Torah.

In the book of Shemot (Exodus) just before the Jews receive the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, G0d tells us we are to be a Kingdom of Priests. The Me’am Lo’ez in his Torah Anthology quotes the Chen Tov and tells us that when we devote ourselves to Torah we are greater than kings, greater than royalty because we have the crown of Torah.

That crown of Torah, unlike the crown of a modern day monarch, is NOT ceremonial. It is a REAL crown that comes with the awesome responsibility to be a “Light to the Nations.” Our mission, our destiny is to be royalty. Our birthright is to behave, look and carry out the responsibilities of a Jewish King or Queen.

All Jewish kings had to have a copy of the Torah with them at all times. So do we. That doesn’t mean we have to physically carry a Torah as they did. It means we have to live our lives dressed in the royal garments of Torah and Mitzvoth. Using the Torah and it’s teachings as our spiritual and ethical guide.

While the kings, queens and princes of other nations lead a life of privilege and excess. We must lead a life dedicated to carrying out, to the best of our own unique talents, the word of G0d. To having a positive effect and influence on the world, even if that only effects one person . . . ourselves.

So while the Anglophiles of the world celebrate the birth of a baby destined to a life in society’s rose-colored spotlight, we have an important choice. What kind of a prince or princess are we?  Are we like the royalty of pop culture, lots of pomp and circumstance? Or are we like our regal ancestors who on Tu B’Av realized that the gift of Torah responsibility was in their hands to wield properly, to illuminate the world around them, one spark at a time?

HaShem, who is all merciful, knows that we may not be able to do everything, but yet we are not given a pass to do nothing. It’s one mitzvah at a time, one day at a time. Starting now.