THE SONG OF THE OX
The ox sings of Hashem superiority over all, and of the fallacy of His creatures' haughtiness.
[Song 66] Ox (Ch. 5)
שׁוֹר אוֹמֵר. אָז יָשִׁיר משֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַיי וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר אָשִׁירָה לַּיְיָ כִּי גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם: (שמות טו א)
The Ox is saying, “Then Moshe and the Children of Yisra'Hashem sang this song to Hashem, and they said, 'I shall sing to Hashem, for he has triumphed; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.'”
Commentary
The ox is a mighty beast which is dangerous even to humans, yet it subjugates itself to the master who feeds it. The Talmud
notes that there are four lofty ones: the lion amongst the wild animals, the ox amongst the domestic animals, the eagle4
among the birds, and man. Hashem showed Himself to be “loftier than the lofty”
when the Egyptian superpower was drowned as one in the sea. Out of the four
lofty ones, only the ox sings constantly of Hashem’s superiority through its
submissive nature. Most poignantly, Yosef was compared to an ox when he
restrained himself from committing adultery, and it was only when the sea saw his
coffin that it split. Man is the greatest of the four lofty ones. Greatness however must not translate
into haughtiness. We should humbly recognize the true source of all we have, and
the more we are granted, the greater our obligation to subjugate ourselves to
Hashem. By doing so, we merit to echo one of the greatest songs in history.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
Greatness does not always translate into haughtiness. A humble person recognizes the true source of all that he
has. The more that he is granted by Hashem, the more he subjugates himself to him. The greater the slave and the
more he humbles himself, the more the name of the master is glorified.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.