Who Is For G-d?

The prophet Elijah in the Haftara offers The People of Israel a most extraordinary choice. If God is the true God then follow Him, and if the Baal is then follow it. The prophets’ role has always been to awaken people to worship God. True prophets know no other god than God. And yet Elijah seems to be offering an alternative?

Elijah has the reputation of being the most zealous prophet in our history: ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord of hosts’. He is not willing to accept any less than total devotion to God. And yet, when encouraging the people to choose between worshiping both God and idols, or worshiping idols alone, he chooses the latter. However bad it is to worship idols, having a mixture is worse. This is not only because ignorant people are more likely to learn from one who is still worshiping God to an extent, but also because that very individual is less likely to see that he or she has erred. This is a radical approach which offers all or nothing, for from nothing there is more potential to bring a person back to the ways of God.

This approach is rooted in Moses’ famous announcement: ‘Who is for God with me?’, to which the tribe of Levi responded. We know that out of the 600,000 men at the time only 3,000 worshiped the golden calf. Why then did only the tribe of Levi respond?  The Chafetz Chaim teaches that only a person whose heart is totally devoted to God could answer such a call. Whilst only 3,000 people worshiped the calf, all the others helped them in some way. The Levites were the only ones who were completely removed from the idol worship and who were completely devoted to God. This devotion earned them the merit of serving God in the tabernacles and the temple.

The first Gur Rebbe in his book Chidushei Harim explains it differently, focussing not on what they had done earlier, but rather on their action and response to Moses’ call. Many people could have joined the tribe of Levi, but they did not wish to make a stand, and thus only the Levites were so committed that nothing would stop them.

While the Torah teaches of a collective reward for a collective action of people that were for God, the Midrash teaches of an individual reward for individuals who act for God.

In the future, a Bat Kol (Heavenly voice) will explode at the top of the mountains and announce that whoever acted with God should come and receive their reward. Of all the announcements of a Bat Kol in the Midrash, this one stands out as the most powerful for its unique description of the voice exploding at the hill tops.

As a youth growing up in Bnei Akiva Israel, I found that although school taught us our knowledge and values, it was the youth movement which empowered us with genuine passion and strength. The phrases ‘Who is for God with me?’ and ‘Who acts with God’ were often used to motivate us to believe in and act upon. The Midrash does not necessarily specify what acting with God involves. It is for each of us to open up our eyes and seek what it is that God is planning and how we can become a part of that Divine plan and make it a reality.

Rav Kook in his essay To add strength interprets the Midrash to be referring to the coming of the redemption. It is far easier to sit back and watch world events take their place in history.

However, we need to have the courage, the passion, and the full devotion to God, in order to act with God as He continues the gradual return of His people to their home and the building of their homeland.