Our ืืคืืจื this morning, for the Second Day of ืฉืืืขืืช, was ืชึฐึผืคึดึฟืึธึผื ืึทืึฒืึทึฟืงึผืึผืง ืึทื ึธึผืึดึฟืื โ the Prayer of the Prophet ืืืงืืง, one of the โ12 Minor Prophetsโ called such not because they were less important to the spiritual history of Israel, but because so little of their prophetic-literary output was preserved for later generations.
All we have of ืืืงืืง is three short chapters.
But ืชืคืืื ืืืืงืืง is a hard-hitting masterpiece of praise, describing God as a divine warrior โ the ืึดืืฉื ืึดืึฐืึธืึธื of the Song at the Sea โ whose power and glory cover the heavens and fill the earth, who shatters mountains and raises storms in both the upper and lower waters.
Reminiscent of the imagery used by our ancient polytheistic neighbors, ืืืงืืง describes God as a wrathful storm-god, riding a divine โchariot of rescueโ into battle, casting flashes of lightning like arrows and spears, with plague and pestilence swarming along with God's heavy crushing steps.
But the battle that God is going out to fight is not a divine war or a metaphysical struggle. ืืืงืืง asks rhetorically, ืึฒืึดึฟื ึฐืึธืจึดืื ืึธืจึธื ื'ุ ืึดื ืึทึผื ึฐึผืึธืจึดืื ืึทืคึถึผืึธึฟุ ืึดื ืึทึผืึธึผื ืขึถืึฐึฟืจึธืชึถึฟืึธึฟุ Is God angry at the rivers?โจ Is God raging against the sea?
No!
This is not a skirmish in some eternal struggle between Order and Chaos; this is not the Creator forcefully asserting authority over the untamed rebellious Ocean, although such motifs do periodically occur in our tradition.
ืึฒืึดึฟื ึฐืึธืจึดืื ืึธืจึธื ื'ุ
No. God is not angry with the waters.
The rays of light bursting from God's hand; the rent earth, the rushing torrents, the smashed mountains, the crackling lightning โ what are they all for? What is the purpose of all this awe-inspiring violent pyrotechnics?
ืึธืฆึธืืชึธึฟ ืึฐืึตืฉึทืืข ืขึทืึถึผืึธึฟ ืึฐืึตืฉึทืืข ืึถืชึฟ ืึฐืฉึดืืืึถืึธึฟ
ืึธืึทืฆึฐืชึธึผ ืจึนึผืืฉื ืึดืึตึผืืชึฟ ืจึธืฉึธืืข ืขึธืจืึนืชึฟ ืึฐืกืึนืึฟ ืขึทืึฟ ืฆึทืึธึผืืจ
ืืืงืืง addresses God, answering his own question โ โYou have come forth to rescue your people; to rescue your anointed โ you smash the head from the villain's house, razing it from foundation to neck.โ
These tools of cosmic warfare, God's world-wrecking weapons, are not being used against cosmic enemies, against natural forces โ but against the enemies of ืขื ืืฉืจืื.
ืึฐึผืึทืขึทื ืชึดึผืฆึฐืขึทืึฟ ืึธืจึถืฅ
โYou tread the earth in rageโ
โ but God's enemy is not the earth โ
ืึฐึผืึทืฃึฟ ืชึธึผืึฟืึผืฉื ืึผืึนืึดื
โYou thresh
nations in fury.โ
ืืืงืืง speaks of his trembling fear, the rot in his bones at the enemy's approach โ but ืึธื ืึผืึท ืึฐืืึนื ืฆึธืจึธื he says, ืึทืขึฒืืึนืชึฟ ืึฐืขึทื ืึฐืึฟืึผืึถึฟื ึผืึผ โI wait calmly for the day of distress, for the arrival of the massing foe.โ
It doesn't matter how powerful the enemy appears, because he is confident in God's power โ incredible cosmic might brought down to earth, brought to bear against those who would do us harm.
ืึทืึฒื ึดื he says, ,ืึทึผื' ืึถืขึฐืืึนืึธื ืึธืึดึฟืืึธื ืึตึผื'-ึตื ืึดืฉึฐืืขึดื โI will rejoice in God, I will exult in God who rescues me.โ ืึทืึธึผืฉึถืื ืจึทืึฐึฟืึทื ืึธึผืึทืึธึผืืึนืชึฟ ืึฐืขึทื ืึธึผืืึนืชึทึฟื ืึทืึฐึฟืจึดืืึตึฟื ึดื โGod makes my legs sure-footed as a deer, guiding my stride on my heights.โ
It's not God standing there victorious over the slain body of some cosmic foe โ it's ืืืงืืง, it's the Jewish People, surveying deliverance from above and giving thanks for God's awe-inspiring power.
This isn't some cosmic metaphor โ
it's the struggle of our own lives.
In the 89th Psalm, ืึตืืชึธึฟื ืึธืึถืึฐืจึธืึดื sings of โGod's eternal kindnessโ and he brings in this motif of God vanquishing the watery chaos. Only a few ืคืกืืงืื later, though, he shifts the focus to ืืื ืืืื to King David. Speaking in the voice of God, he says ืึธืฆึธืืชึดึฟื ืึธึผืึดืึฟ ืขึทืึฐึฟืึดึผื โI have found ืืื my servantโ ... and then later, ืึทืฃึฟ ืึฐืจืึนืขึดื ืชึฐึฟืึทืึฐึผืฆึถื ึผืึผ โmy arm shall strengthen him.โ
But what kind of strength is this, that God promises ืืื?
ืึฐืฉึทืืึฐืชึดึผื ืึทึฟืึธึผื ืึธืึฟืึน ืึผืึทึฟื ึฐึผืึธืจืึนืชึฟ ืึฐืึดืื ืึน
Enough divine strength to have power over the sea and the rivers.
That same image of cosmic power โ the strength of God the Creator and Commander of Nature, whom not even the most untamed force imaginable could resist โ that is the power that God gives over to ืืื, to a human being.
In ืืืงืืง, God brings God's own power to bear to rescue us from our foes, and we stand there with the prophet, awestruck, as lightning rains down from heaven, the mountains quake, and the earth splits โ as ืืฉื said before the Splitting of the Sea, ื' ืึดืึธึผืึตื ืึธืึถึฟื ืึฐืึทืชึถึผื ืชึทึผืึฒืจึดืืฉืืึผื God will fight for you, while you remain silent.
In ืชืืืื, though, God takes a step back.
God hands
us the power, the strength, the cosmic force; the encouragement, the inspiration โ and we become partners with God in fighting our own human battles and in confronting cosmic struggle.
However, this is not how Rabbinic Tradition reads ืชืคืืื ืืืืงืืง. The reason we read this ืืคืืจื today is because all the awe-inspiring pyrotechnics are not the sound of battle. As ืืฉื said, coming down from ืืจ ืกืื ื โ
ืึตืื ืงืึนื ืขึฒื ืึนืชึฟ ืึฐึผืึฟืึผืจึธื ืึฐืึตืื ืงืึนื ืขึฒื ืึนืชึฟ ืึฒืืึผืฉึธืื
โIt is not the voice of a call of victory,
and it's not the voice of a call of defeatโ โ
according to ืื"ื, our Sages, ืชืคืืื ืืืืงืืง is the voice of
ืึทืึทึผืขึทื ืึธึผื ืึธืขึธื ืงืึนื ืึถืึธืึฟ ืึทืึนึผืืึฐืจืึผ
ืึธึผื ืึทืึฐึผืึธึฟืจึดืื ืึฒืฉึถืืจ ืึดึผืึตึผืจ ื' ื ึทืขึฒืฉึถืื
The call of the Israelite nation answering with one voice when they said โEverything which God has said, we will do.โ
ืืืงืืง's โwrathful storm-godโ imagery โ the heavenly bolts โ were the thunder and lightning, the heavy cloud that wreathed ืืจ ืกืื ื at the Giving of the Torah.
The rays of light bursting from God's clenched fist โ were the revelation of God's presence before the assembled people, and the glow of ืืฉื's face when he came down from the mountain after communing with the divine.
ืืืงืืง's description of God's glory and power filling earth and heaven when God comes from ืคึธึผืืจึธื โ is the same as ืืฉื's reminiscing at the end of his life at the end of the ืชืืจื about God's appearance at ืกืื ื and ืคืืจื in the wilderness, when God came to give a living โfirey lawโ to ืขื ืืฉืจืื.
And just as ืืืงืืง stands awe-struck as heavenly power changes the world around him, ืงืืืช ืืชืืจื the acceptance of Torah by the people was an utterly passive act.
ืจ' ืืืืืื ืืจ ืืื ืืจ ืืกื in ืืกืืช ืฉืืช says that God lifted up the mountain and held it over ืื ื ืืฉืจืื and told them, โeither accept the ืชืืจื or there you will be buried.โ
The power was overwhelming; the evidence was overwhelming; the gratitude was overwhelming โ God had just saved them from Egypt and from ืขืืืง, sustained them in the wilderness through miraculous means โ it was literally an offer they couldn't refuse, whether the mountain over their heads was physical, or โjustโ psychological.
And then, when God did speak to ืื ื ืืฉืจืื, they were overwhelmed by the experience, and had to ask ืืฉื to be their representative, because they weren't strong enough to hear God's voice directly.
However, just as God in ืชืืืื gives ืืื the power to fight divine battles, to make a mark on the universe, so too God brings us in as partners in ืืืืืชื ืฉื ืชืืจื the โwar of Torahโ โ the spiritual struggle to learn, to teach, to integrate, and to be creative. One of ืืฉื's final messages to ืื ื ืืฉืจืื at the end of his life is ืื ืืฉืืื ืืื โ the Torah is not in Heaven. It's not some faraway ideal or impossible feat, something whose divinity is limited to supernal realms.
It's right here, ready for you to take it and make your mark on it and let it make its mark on you.
ืื ื ืืฉืจืื needed to hear that message, after their passive, upturned-mountain acceptance.
ืจื ืืืืื in ืืกืืช ืชืืืจื says that 3000 laws were forgotten during the days of mourning after ืืฉื's death. The people turned to his successor, ืืืืฉืข, and told him to ask Heaven for answers. But ืืืืฉืข refused. ืื ืืฉืืื ืืื. It's not in heaven anymore. Figure it out yourselves. 3,000 laws were forgotten in just a few days, along with 1,700 rules of implication.
Our passive hands were too weak to hold on โ until ืขืชื ืืื ืื ืงื ื restored the laws and restored the rules through his own logical deductions.
He took hold of this cosmic power, this ืชืืจื, and became a partner with God.
We've just received the Torah once again.
We stood at the burning mountain,
wrapped in thunder and lightning,
and we heard God's voice.
And that burning mountain โ that firey law โ is ours now.
It's our responsibility.
It takes effort, and it takes struggle, to learn, to understand, to create to integrate and to apply.
This power was given to us so that we can impact it, ourselves, and all creation.
Just receiving Torah isn't enough โ
it's time to take that next step.
And we have the whole rest of the year for that.
So let's get started.
