A Queen, Daughter of Kings, Praises the God of Her Fathers

"My father's God, and I will exalt Him" (Exodus 15:2): I am a queen, daughter of kings; a beloved, daughter of beloved ones; holy, daughter of holy ones; pure, daughter of pure ones. A parable: of a man who went to betroth a woman; sometimes he is ashamed of her, sometimes ashamed of her family, sometimes ashamed of her relatives. But I am not ashamed: a queen, daughter of kings; a beloved, daughter of beloved ones. "My father's God, and I will exalt Him": Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says, When Israel does the will of the Omnipresent, His name is magnified in the world, as it is said, "And it came to pass when all the kings of the Amorites heard" (Joshua 5:1); and so Rahab the harlot said, "For we have heard how the LORD dried up" (Joshua 2:10) "and we heard, and our hearts melted" (Joshua 2:11). But when Israel does not do the will of the Omnipresent, His name is profaned in the world, as it is said, "And when they came to the nations where they came, they profaned My holy name, in that men said of them, These are the people of the LORD, and they are gone forth out of His land. But I had pity for My holy name which they had profaned... Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: I do not do this for your sake... and I will sanctify My great name" (Ezekiel 36:20-23). "My father's God, and I will exalt Him": Not for the miracles You did for me alone do I speak before You song and praise, but for the miracles You did for me and for my fathers, and that You do for me in every generation: "My father's God, and I will exalt Him."