R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Eikev: The Meaning(s) of “Great, Mighty, and Awesome”

What does it mean to call God “great, mighty, and awesome,” as we do in the first blessing of the Amidah? Perhaps we are praising God as creator of the world, or redeemer of the Jewish people through miracles. After all, these are “great, mighty, and awesome” acts, which humans could never perform. But the biblical context of this phrase points in a very different direction.