Va'ethanan
Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
Précis: Moses continues the recapitulation of travels, and urges the People to follow the laws and commandments of Adonai. Moses pleads with God that he be allowed to enter the Promised Land, and is refused. Moses reminds the people that God was angry with him on account their sinful ways, and therefore was refused permission to enter the Land. Moses continues with a restatement of the Ten Commandments, and follows with an articulation of the basic element of Jewish theology: the Sh’ma. Moses then warns the people against the perils of forgetfulness, particularly of the Exodus, and cautions against idol worship of gods of the nations they will conquer.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”
How can we be commanded to love? How can we be commanded to do or feel something that is not within our control? After all, “love” is a human emotion, which arises mysteriously, and can vanish mysteriously as well. (Aside: how fortunate are those of us who celebrate a lifelong love!). But despite our inability to understand what love is, or how to control it, the text tells us that we must love God.
The Sfat Emet (Rabbi Judah Aryeh Leib Alter, 1874-1905) said that the potential to love God exists within each of us, and that the intent of this commandment is to encourage us to take actions which bring the potential to the surface.
This concept bridges emotion and action. We “love God” when we are motivated to honor God’s goodness through the observance of those acts of loving-kindness which bring aid and comfort to other human beings. We “love God” when we express our love to others. We “love God” when we commit to the study of our texts, and we "love God" when we participate in the support of Israel and the Jewish People.
In sum, the love of God referred to in this verse, which we repeat every day, is not a mere directive to "feel." It is a call to action. Shabbat Shalom
No comments:
Post a Comment