Praise Through Action

עׇזִּ֤י וְזִמְרָת֙ יָ֔הּ וַֽיְהִי־לִ֖י לִֽישׁוּעָ֑ה זֶ֤ה א-ֵלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ אֱ-לֹהֵ֥י אָבִ֖י וַאֲרֹמְמֶֽנְהוּ׃

God is my strength and my song, and He was for me a salvation. This is my God and ve-anveihu, the God of my father, and I will exalt Him.

In the second verse of the Song at the Sea, Moshe declares enigmatically ve-anveihu. The Midrash (Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, Shira 3) offers several interpretations of this term. Some derive it from the root naveh, meaning dwelling, and understand it as a commitment to build the Beit HaMikdash. Another approach links it to the root lavah, to accompany, describing the Jewish people as “accompanying” God until the Mikdash is established. Others connect it to the root na’eh, beauty, interpreting the verse as a pledge to praise God beautifully or to perform mitzvot in an aesthetically elevated manner. This latter reading also appears in Shabbat 133b.

Aba Shaul, both in the Midrash and in the Talmud (ibid.), understands ve-anveihu as an obligation to imitate God, imitatio Dei. Just as God is, or is described as kind, as stated in the Sifrei (49) and codified by the Rambam (Hilchot Deot 1), so too must human beings act with kindness. Just as God is merciful, so must we be merciful. Elsewhere in tannaitic literature, the Sifrei (ibid.) offers an alternative source for this obligation in the verses that command Israel to walk in God’s ways. The Rambam (Deot 1) adopts this latter source as primary in his formulation of the mitzvah.

In our study of Jewish philosophy this year, we have emphasized the centrality of this principle within Jewish ethics. Framing ethical obligation in these terms fundamentally reshapes Jewish moral thought. It inserts God into every interpersonal interaction, renders kindness both an ethical and theological act, and reframes how we understand goodness itself. Later thinkers expanded the scope of this obligation. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, for example, argued that the human mandate to be creative and innovative flows directly from the duty to imitate God as Creator.

Within the context of the Song at the Sea, however, we must ask why this idea appears so early, in the second verse. If the verse refers to praising God’s greatness, it fits naturally alongside the other expressions of thanksgiving that fill the song. Even allusions to the Mikdash are appropriate, as it would become the central locus of prayer and sacrifice, including offerings of gratitude.

But what sense does it make to introduce beautifying mitzvot or ethical conduct at this moment? These values are undoubtedly fundamental, yet the song seems primarily focused on celebrating God’s miraculous salvation of the Jewish people.

It appears that Chazal are teaching that God does not require our praise. We articulate gratitude not for His sake, but for our own. Through praise, we reflect on God’s actions and recognize His presence in the world. Yet this recognition cannot remain abstract. Internalizing the reality of God and His providence must transform us. It must compel us to live in accordance with divine values, to model our behavior on the ways God reveals Himself in the world.

This commitment expresses itself not only through performing mitzvot, but through performing them in their fullest and most beautiful form. Rashi (Yoma 70a) explains that the beautification of mitzvot reflects tiferet ba’aleha she-tarach lehitna’ot ba-mitzvah, the splendor of those who invest effort in adorning a commandment. Such care demonstrates that we value the Torah and its commandments, perceiving their depth and beauty rather than experiencing them as burdens.

Thus, Chazal hint already in the opening verses of the song that while the Jewish people were obligated to sing at the Sea, acknowledge God’s deeds, and proclaim His greatness to the world, this alone was insufficient. If they truly internalized the words they sang, they were required to commit to changing the way they lived. The values articulated in song needed to be absorbed and enacted.

As we recite these verses, and indeed any words of prayer, we must remember that verbal expression is only the beginning. Prayer must propel us toward lives shaped by the ideals we affirm, ensuring that our devotion is not only spoken, but lived.