This comes to us from Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, drawing from various Midrashic sources.

Remember the story? Elijah, challenging the priests of Baal to prove their god's power, proposed a sacrifice competition. Two bullocks, twins raised together, were chosen – one for God, one for Baal. Lots were drawn, deciding their fates.

Elijah, of course, had no problem leading his bullock to the altar. But the eight hundred and fifty priests of Baal? Utterly stumped. They couldn’t get their bullock to budge! Imagine the scene: hundreds of priests, chanting, pleading, probably sweating profusely, and this bullock just standing there, stubbornly refusing to cooperate.

And then, according to the legend, Elijah starts talking to the bullock. He tries to persuade it, urging it to follow the idolatrous priests. And get this: the bullock answers!

"We two," it says, referring to its twin, "came forth from the same womb. We ate from the same manger. And now he has been chosen for God, to glorify the Divine Name, while I am to be used for Baal, to enrage my Creator!"

Talk about existential dread! This bullock understands the stakes. It understands the cosmic implications of its role.

Elijah, ever the persuader, tries to reason with it. "Just follow the priests of Baal," he urges. "That way, they'll have no excuse, and you'll even have a share in glorifying God, just like your brother."

But the bullock wasn't buying it. "Nice try, Elijah," it essentially says, "but I swear I won't move unless you deliver me to them with your own hands."

Think about that for a moment. This animal, facing a terrible destiny, refuses to cooperate unless the very prophet of God himself participates in its handover. It’s an incredible display of defiance, but also, strangely, of faith. It knows Elijah's involvement changes things somehow.

So, Elijah, in a move that must have stunned the priests of Baal, led the bullock right to them. He delivered it into their hands.

What does it all mean? Well, the story certainly highlights the power of divine will, doesn’t it? Even an animal, seemingly without agency, becomes a participant in God's plan. And it reminds us that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, there is always a choice. The bullock could have simply obeyed. But it chose, instead, to make a statement, to resist, and to force Elijah's hand. Perhaps, in its own way, it did manage to glorify the Divine Name, simply by refusing to be a pawn in a false god's game. What do you think?