Elohim's Unity (Shema part 2)
A primary theme of the first verse is the Oneness of Elohim : "Hear O Israel, YHWH our Elohim , YHWH is One" (Deut. 6:4).
Further, as written in a Torah scroll, the letters "Ayin" and "Daled" of the first verse are enlarged – encoded to spell out the Hebrew word Aid – "witness." When we say the Shema, we are testifying to the Oneness of Elohim. Why is "oneness" so central to Jewish belief? Does it really matter whether Elohim is one and not three?
The same Elohim who gives us goodness one day, can make everything go wrong the next.
Events in our world may seem to mask the idea that Elohim is One. One day we wake up and everything goes well. The next day everything goes poorly. What happened?! Is it possible that the same Elohim who gives us so much goodness one day, can make everything go wrong the next? We know that Elohim is good, so how could there be so much pain? Is it just "bad luck"? The Shema is a declaration that all events are from the One, the only One. The confusion stems from our limited perception of reality. One way of understanding God's oneness is to imagine light shining through a prism. Even though we see many colors of the spectrum, they really emanate from one light. So too, even though it seems that certain events are not caused by YHWH , rather by some other force or bad luck, they in fact all come from the One Elohim . In the grand eternal plan, all is "good," for Elohim knows best.
This runs contrary to the Zoroastrian doctrine of dualism, which propounds the idea of two conflicting powers – good and evil.
When a Jew says Shema, it is customary to close and cover one's eyes. The other time in Jewish tradition that one's eyes are specifically closed is upon death. Just as at the end of days we will come to understood how even the "bad" was actually for the "good," so too while saying the Shema we strive for that level of belief and understanding. The Sages tell us that the patriarch Jacob, after a 22-year separation from his son Joseph, finally went down to Egypt to see him. As they reunited, Jacob was saying the Shema. The years of yearning for his long-lost son came out in an emotionally charged burst of "Shema Yisrael!" Loving ELOHIM.
The second verse in the Shema is: "And you shall love YHWH your Elohim , with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources" (Deut. 6:5).
What does it mean to love Elohim with all your heart? The Talmud explains that the word "heart" is metaphorical for "desires." Even today we colloquially say, "I love chocolate," which means "I desire chocolate." When the Shema says to "love Elohim with all your heart," it means to use not only your "good traits" like kindness and compassion to do Elohim will, but also to use your more challenging traits to serve Him. Learn to relax and better appreciate the world that Elohim. created.
For example, when you go to a nice restaurant, don't go because you want to gorge. Rather have in mind that you are eating in order to keep your body healthy, to be able to serve Elohim . Similarly, if you were buying a CD of music, you should buy it in order to help you relax and better appreciate the world that Elohim created.
What does it mean to "LOVE ELOHIM with all your soul"?
The great Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Akiva (second century) loved ELOHIM so much, that he taught Torah despite the Roman law forbidding it. When the Romans found out, they sentenced him to a painful death. They took a large iron comb and began to scrape off his flesh. As he was being tortured, Rabbi Akiva joyously recited the Shema – "Hear O Israel, YHWH our Elohim , YHWH is One."
His bewildered students asked, "Rabbi, how can you praise Elohim amidst such torture?"
Rabbi Akiva replied: "All my life, I strived to love Elohim with all my soul. Now that I have the opportunity to fulfill it, I do so with joy!" With his dying breath, he sanctified Elohim's name by crying out the words of Shema. (Talmud – Brachot 61a)
The final part of this verse says to "love Elohim with all your resources." This is difficult to understand, because typically the Torah presents a series as a progression from easiest to hardest. Here, the order is: Love Elohim emotionally ("heart"), and even be willing to give up your life if necessary ("soul"), and even be willing to spend your money, too!
If this is a progression, are there really people who consider money more important than life itself?!
The answer is yes. The Talmud (Brachot 54a) speaks about someone walking across a thorny field, and picks up his pants in order to avoid getting them ripped. The person's legs get all cut up and scratched – but at least the pants are saved!
In Nevada, where gambling is legal and every hotel has a casino, hotel room windows are specially designed not to open more than a crack – so people who lose money gambling won't be tempted to jump out the window. Yes, for some, money is more important than life itself.
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