Third grade students, Isabella and David, dive deeply into the Mi Chamocha prayer in their introductions to its words. Taken from the Torah’s song of the sea which is attributed to Moses and the “Children of Israel” upon crossing the Red Sea, the Mi Chamocha’s words are seen both as a remembrance of the glorious story of the Exodus from Egyptian bondage and a promise that redemption will come once again. As it was understood by our rabbis, redemption would bring a changed world where war and bloodshed, poverty and suffering would be vanquished. For a more comprehensive explanation look here.
Isabella sees the reinforcement of particular values in the Mi Chamocha. In the story of the Exodus she is reminded of principles that should guide our communities and inspire our world view:
“When I chant the Mi Chamocha prayer I think “chessed” – kindness, “achrayut” – responsibility, and “tikvah” – hope. First, I think “chessed” or kindness because, a long time ago, Pharaoh did not let the Jewish people go out of Egypt, and it was not kind of him. Now we have stronger and better leaders who make the right choices so that we have more freedom.
Secondly, I think “acharayoot” – responsibility because when leaders make the wrong choices, the community has to be responsible and tell the leaders that this is not fair.
Third, I think of “tikvah,” or hope, because I feel very bad for the state of Israel right now, and hope that they can be brave while they are fighting the war that began in October 2023. I pray and hope that the Jewish people of Israel stay safe and win the war, so there can be more peace and freedom in the world.
Finally, the Mi Chamocha reminds me of how we need to be responsible with the freedoms that we have.”
David picks up the theme of freedom. It is personal for him and his family because he knows the story of freedom denied to his ancestors. I believe that history lives within us as Jews and as much as we have our feet firmly planted in the present, we also carry the past. David’s understanding of this inspires him to commit himself to defending the Jewish homeland:
“Freedom. Freedom means different things to different people. It can be the ability to say, think, or be, whatever you want. Freedom of religion means the right to practice your religion freely. For my family, it means practicing Judaism. Freedom of religion is not something that my great-grandparents had in Poland. I am so thankful that they survived the holocaust. Freedom of religion is also something that my other great-grandparents didn’t have in Georgia, Russia. As a result, they fled to Iran. When they realized they still couldn’t practice their religion, they fled again- to America. My mom’s grandfather, Izak, fought in the Israeli war of Independence so that Jews everywhere could have the protection of a homeland. My father was a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. When I chant the Mi Chamocha prayer, I appreciate the freedoms that my grandparents and my father fought for.
I know that when I turn 18, I too will serve in the IDF, with other brave Jews my age. As a Jewish Israeli American, I will fight to protect the religious freedom of Jews all over the world. Am Yisrael Chai!”
— Rabbi Ron Stern