i Chamocha

“Who is like You among the heavenly powers, Hashem! Mighty in holiness Too awesome for praise, doing wonders!”

From Exodus, this prayer in praise of God/The Source of Life, speaks of the parting of the waters, the eternal reign of God, and of redemption.

Although the miracle by the seashore is specific to the Exodus story, this prayer makes its appearance at many of our holiday services with melodies adapted to suit the particular holiday. Fittingly, it is sung rather mournfully for Kol Nidre. The song ends with a yearning for redemption.

After the past days of reflection and introspection leading up to Yom Kippur, it is now our time to look at the ways in which we have failed over the past year, acknowledge our flaws, and thereby be humbled and ready for redemption.

In Mi Chamocha, do we sing of the ultimate power above to humble us? And, if humbled are we that much closer to redemption?

As Martin Buber writes:

“You cannot find redemption until you see the flaws in your own soul, and try to efface them. Nor can a people be redeemed until it sees the flaws in its soul and tries to efface them. But whether it be an individual or a people, whoever shuts out the realization of their flaws is shutting out redemption. We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.

“The world is in need of redemption, but the redemption must not be expected to happen as an act of sheer grace. Our task is to make the world worthy of redemption. Our faith and our works are preparation for ultimate redemption.”

So acknowledging our flaws, being humbled by miraculous events, striving for redemption…. I think I understand that…but still, this prayer, taken literally, is too elusive. If, however, we think of the source of life not as power above or beyond us but as that which is within us, Mi Chamocha starts coming to life. What of the acts of mere mortals that are also great… the acts of kindness and generosity that sustain us day to day?

Recently, I read a newspaper article about two Rwandan men – a Hutu named Elie, and a Tutsi named Celestin. Elie had been one of the perpetrators during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, personally involved in the murder of some of Celestin’s family. After ten years in jail, being haunted by what he had done, recognizing the hatred passed down through generations, Elie wanted to repent and make amends. He and Celestin met at a peace building seminar held by World Vision Rwanda in 2004, where Elie made public his crimes and asked for forgiveness. Celestin was able to go beyond his anger and not only forgive Elie but build a close friendship with him.

To me, this is an incredible story – a modern day parting of the seas…Going beyond hatred, anger and shame to forgiveness of self and other. Unlike the image of the omnipotent God on first reading of Mi Chamocha, this prayer illuminates for me that being truly human means delving into the depths of our failings, our flaws, and somehow coming out the other end – redemption. With the potential we all possess, it is up to us to do great wonders.

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