Blessings · Encounters and moments
What blessing do you say before a king or head of state?
On seeing a king or a figure of great worldly authority, the tradition gives you a blessing: shenatan mikvodo levasar vadam, praising Hashem 'who has given of His honor to flesh and blood.'
Honoring the crown, keeping it in proportion
It might seem strange to bless Hashem when you stand before a president or a monarch. But that is exactly the tradition's move. Faced with human power and pomp, you say that Hashem is the One shenatan mikvodo levasar vadam: 'who has given of His honor to flesh and blood.'
The blessing does two things at once. It honors the office, for there is real honor here, and Judaism does not pretend otherwise. And it quietly keeps that honor in proportion: the glory belongs to Hashem, who gave a measure of it to a mortal, to 'flesh and blood.' The person before you is powerful, and still, in the end, flesh and blood. The blessing lets you respect the crown without confusing it for the King of kings.
The source: the Talmud in Berachot 58a
The Talmud, in Berachot 58a, sets this blessing for seeing a ruler or one who holds great authority. The same page that teaches the blessing over a Torah sage teaches this one: two kinds of greatness, two exact blessings, both turning the eye back toward Heaven.
What to do
You may never stand before a monarch, but authority crosses your path more often than you think, a head of state on a visit, a great public figure. When it happens, let the sight become a blessing: thank Hashem, who gave a share of His honor to flesh and blood. It is how the tradition keeps you clear-eyed in the presence of power.
Source: Talmud, Berachot 58a.
Barkai (the blessings of the day; the sky and place tell you the moment) can bring this blessing to hand at the moment authority appears, so the sight turns, as it should, back toward Heaven.
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