We're continuing with the simple explanation of Az Yashir . Yesterday we explained how important it is, every day of our lives, to say and appreciate Az Yashir. We left off yesterday with pasuk ב זֶ֤ה אֵלִי֙ Zeh Eli Now this is my God. And the pasuk continues- וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ V’AnVehu What does V’AnVehu mean? Rashi says, based on the Targum, that the word Anvehu comes from the root of Neveh, dwelling place. So we said, “ This is my God and I will build a dwelling place for Him.” I'll build a Bet Hamikdash for Him. The question is asked: We just finished crossing the sea., why are we talking about building a Bet Hamikdash? The answer is, although they were on a spiritual high, spiritual highs don't last. Eventually it dissipates. We feel that during the high holiday season, or Passover season; we get on a high and then it dissipates. The Jewish people knew that rule and they said, Zeh Eli/ This is my God. They had it so clear they could point to it. So they committed themselves right then, at the side of the sea, far away from Israel, that when they got there, they’d build the Bet Hamikdash. And then, when they’d walk into the Bet Hamikdash, they’d be able to feel Hashem’s Shechina like they felt at the splitting of the sea. When you make a commitment, that commitment brings with it the feeling and the height that you had at that time. We say in Shir Hashirim, “Behold this ,” referring to the Shechina (which we we can point to with our finger) is behind the Kote l (referring to the Western Wall), and this quote is the Midrash’s source that Hashem’s Shechina never left the Kotel. Its interesting- that same Zeh of Zeh Eli continued on after the Bet Hamikdash, because it was the continuation of that high. That was the commitment that they made. And with the commitment, the high remains. The Elder of Kelm says the same is true on Yom Kippur. When you make a Yom Kippur commitment at Neila, and now it's the middle of January, and you keep to that, you have a little bit of the holiness of Yom Kippur with you in the middle of the year, because that act came from that spiritual high. This is a beautiful thought, and we learn this from this pasuk Zeh Alei V’Anvehu. And again, it doesn't only mean the Bet Hamikdash Anytime a person sees God's hands, or something great happened in their life, we can say, “ You know what? I'm going to start doing X or Y,” or “ I'm going to stop doing A or B.” And with that, we can keep that spiritual high alive. The pasuk continues, אֱלֹהֵ֥י אָבִ֖י וַאֲרֹמְמֶֽנְהוּ׃ the God of my father, and I will lift Him up. Rashi says this means, “I'm not the beginning of this relationship, this connection.” This holiness has been established and standing for generations, back from Abraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. And again, it’s not just Abraham Yitzhak and Yaakov. It’s all of us, we have generations upon generations of holiness and connection with Hashem. We are merely arousing and awakening the holiness that has been there before. Abraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov saw it in an open way. Our last pasuk for the day: ה׳ אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה Hashem Ish Milchama God is a Man of war. But he's different than other warriors. ה׳ שְׁמֽוֹ׃ Hashem’s fights with His name . Other wars happen with different types of weapons. David Hamelech comes to fight with God's name. He tells Goliat, “ I'm coming to you with Hashem’s name.” Everyday we say, אלא ברכב ואלה בסוסים Some come with their chariots and some come with our horses, And how do we fight? ואנחנו בשם ה' אלקינו נזכיר: With the name of God That's how we fight our wars. The name of God is the realization that Hashem controls the world. That is our strength. This goes back to the concept that God is the only One that takes credit. Only God makes things happen. B’Ezrat Hashem, we will continue with the third pasuk tomorrow.