Who Is Like You Among the gods (Mi Kamokha)
Shattered slaves, our hope was dry
We begged You to hear our cries
But You stayed quiet in the darkness
Until Your mighty hand came down
We held our breath
And watched You move
Your Spirit hovered
And dry ground stood
Who is like You among the gods
Mi kamokha Adonai
Crushed their chariots
Split the sea and sky
Your mighty hand was raised up high
We sing our song to Adonai
Delivered us before the throne
We dance, we dance Your justice song
We held our breath
And watched You move
Your Spirit hovered
And dry ground stood
Who is like You among the gods
Mi kamokha Adonai
Crushed their chariots
Split the sea and sky
My own Egypt drowns the sound
Your smothered voice beneath the waves
(Mi kamokha Adonai)
But I will raise my voice in song
As You return with outstretched arm
(Mi kamokha Adonai)
Who is like You among the gods
Mi kamokha Adonai
Crushed their chariots
Split the sea and sky
Who is like You among the gods
Majestic in holiness
(Mi kamokha Adonai)
Fearful in praises
Doing wonders
(Mi kamokha Adonai)
“Who is like You, O LORD, among the celestials; Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in splendor, working wonders!”
Read Exodus 15:1-18 →Close Exodus 15:1-18 ↑
1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD. They said: I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.
2The LORD is my strength and might; He is become my deliverance. This is my God and I will enshrine Him; The God of my father, and I will exalt Him.
3The LORD, the Warrior— LORD is His name!
4Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the pick of his officers Are drowned in the Sea of Reeds.
5The deeps covered them; They went down into the depths like a stone.
6Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the foe!
7In Your great triumph You break Your opponents; You send forth Your fury, it consumes them like straw.
8At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, The floods stood straight like a wall; The deeps froze in the heart of the sea.
9The foe said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall have its fill of them. I will bare my sword— My hand shall subdue them.”
10You made Your wind blow, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the majestic waters.
11Who is like You, O LORD, among the celestials; Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in splendor, working wonders!
12You put out Your right hand, The earth swallowed them.
13In Your love You lead the people You redeemed; In Your strength You guide them to Your holy abode.
14The peoples hear, they tremble; Agony grips the dwellers in Philistia.
15Now are the clans of Edom dismayed; The tribes of Moab—trembling grips them; All the dwellers in Canaan are aghast.
16Terror and dread descend upon them; Through the might of Your arm they are still as stone— Till Your people cross over, O LORD, Till Your people cross whom You have ransomed.
17You will bring them and plant them in Your own mountain, The place You made to dwell in, O LORD, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands established.
18The LORD will reign for ever and ever!
Every week at our Messianic Jewish synagogue, we sing the Amidah. There's a phrase in there that my daughter really took to, and it's "Mi Kamokha, Baal Gavroth: Who is like you among the gods?" This is the phrase that ancient Israel sang after God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and delivered them across dry ground.
I had this idea in my head of an epic battle scene that one might find in a modern movie, where these creatures or gods, if you will, are fighting each other with dramatic bass-rumbling music. As a backdrop to this battle scene, it felt appropriate to put it to song.
Sometimes we forget the epic nature of the war that is raging all around us and how Hashem, "God," is constantly working to deliver us and his people. "Mi Kamokha, Adonai, who is like you, O God, who does wonders, who is majestic in power? You rule over all of the kings of the earth, and you display your fierce judgment and power." Against this imagery, all we can do is fall on our face and worship the King of Kings.