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Rabbi YY Jacobson - When the Jewish Boy Jumped onto the Carriage of King George

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Author: Rabbi YY Jacobson
Categories: History Religion
Tags: history, religion
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 08:52 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Jump through the barricades this Rosh Hashanah, approaching the King (Hashem) without fear, raw and vulnerable, and bring your deepest wishes directly to Him. The video frames this through the story of Beryl Gartner, an 11-year-old Kindertransport child who broke through police barricades to reach King George VI's carriage and asked him to reunite him with his parents, which the king did.

Key Points

  • The story is set in Britain after Kristallnacht in 1938, when the Kindertransport brought close to 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied countries to safe homes and orphanages.
  • Beryl Gartner, separated from his parents and inconsolable, calmed down only when he learned the king would pass through his village.
  • Beryl ran through the barricades toward the royal carriage, was seized by guards, and cried out that he wanted to see the king.
  • The king granted him an audience, and Beryl asked him to bring his parents to Britain. The king took the parents' names and address and later secured their escape from Germany.
  • The speaker, Rabbi YY Jacobson, links the king's walk among his subjects to the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi), who teaches that in the days before Rosh Hashanah the King leaves His palace to meet people in the fields and villages.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: Before Rosh Hashanah, identify the barriers you feel (things you did, said, or thought that embarrass you, or things you have been told or learned that make you feel distant), then approach God directly. Do not stop or hesitate. Ask Him for whatever you want, including reunion with your deepest self. Be raw, real, and vulnerable, heart to heart. If barriers come up, look at them and say "Bye bye, barricades," then go to the carriage. The speaker frames this as acting without fear, not because fear is absent but because fear does not dictate your actions.
  • The speaker notes that in the fourth recitation of a prayer phrase, tied to the Megillat Esther, Esther went to the king even when not summoned, and urges listeners to approach the King the same way.
  • The video says the story was shared on BBC Radio years ago, attributed to Beryl Gartner.
  • King George VI reigned from 1936 until his death in 1952, which explains why Queen Elizabeth became queen.

Bottom Line

The central message is that a Rosh Hashanah approach to God should be bold and direct, like Beryl's leap through the barricades, rather than held back by fear or self-doubt.