עׇזִּ֤י וְזִמְרָת֙ יָ֔הּ וַֽיְהִי־לִ֖י לִֽישׁוּעָ֑ה
זֶ֤ה אֵלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ אֱלֹקֵ֥י אָבִ֖י וַאֲרֹמְמֶֽנְהוּ׃
The Eternal is my strength and might; God is become my deliverance.
This is my God and I will enshrine God;
The God of my ancestor, and I will exalt God.
This is my God. In God's glory was God revealed to them, and they pointed to God with a finger saying “This is my God!” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:15) A maid servant saw by the Sea what the prophets never saw (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:2:2).
"אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ", לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר? לְפִי שֶׁנִּגְלָה עַל הַיָּם כְּגִבּוֹר עוֹשֶׂה מִלְחָמוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "ה' אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה". נִגְלָה עַל הַר סִינַי כְּזָקֵן מָלֵא רַחֲמִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "וַיִּרְאוּ אֵת אֱלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה לִבְנַת הַסַּפִּיר"...
"I am the Eternal your God..." What is the intent of this? Because God appeared at the Sea as a hero waging war, "The Eternal is a warrior," (Exodus 15:3). God was revealed at Mount Sinai as an elder full of compassion, "They saw the God of Israel, and beneath God's feet was the appearance of sapphire brick." (Exodus 24:10
- Anyone can have an experience of God, which can defy full expression. The images in our minds of God change based on the experience. First, we have an experience, and then try to find the language - the words, the figures of speech - that captures aspects of our experiences. All God-talk is poetry and metaphor. The Jewish philosopher Moses ben Maimon teaches that Torah is written in human language.
עזי וזמרת וגו'. הנה סדר העומדים לפני ה' לשורר ולשבח ולהתפלל הוא להתחיל בדברים המושכלים מה' אליו ואחר כך במושכל מה' לאבותיו, וכמו שמצינו שתקנו אנשי כנה"ג באבות אלקינו ואחר כך אלקי אבותינו,...
They concluded [this] statement referring to their own relationship with God by saying, "this is my God and I will glorify God," and afterwards they described the same God in as the God of their ancestors. The Sages of the Great Assembly did this as well when they established our prayers to say, "our God, and afterwards the God of our ancestors."
- Our parents, grandparents, and ancestors had their experiences of God, and ours will be likely different. We see this here in this verse, and in the Amidah.
God-Talk Interviews: One important thing for us to do is to share our questions and doubts with each other. Religious people of all times had deep and fundamental questions. That's what being Jewish (and religious in general) is all about. Respond to these questions with another person, taking turns being the listener and sharer. [Choose which questions you want to answer.] Be as honest as possible.
- If there is a God, how do you picture God?
- Have you ever felt God talking to you or have you ever felt God's presence?
- What are some of your doubts about God?
- If God is good, how can there be evil and suffering in the world?
- Is there anything that makes you angry about God?
- Why don't you think or talk about God more than you do?
- Does God still function in the world as described in the Hebrew Bible?
- What is a miracle? Do you believe in miracles?
- Do you believe in life after death? What form does it take?
- Do you believe that God punishes wrong-does and rewards those who do right?
- If you were God, what would you do differently?
- Do you thank God for good things as well as relate to God for the bad?
From Steven M. Brown's Higher and Higher: Making Jewish Prayer Part of Us, pg 65.