The Shema
I am embarrassed that I have neglected the first nine positive commandments (oops!) in
favor of visible sign things. This is of course because it's easier to try to keep the
Sabbath than to obey the first Nine Commandments.
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Sounds good? Okay, then how do you keep these? They're not as performance oriented as, say, the Tallit. After all, you can just wear Tallitot! How exactly do you fear HASHEM your God? The First commandment is easy: You shall believe in HASHEM your God. He has made identification easy: He is the God who freed us from Egypt. Why that designation? Because of the Golden Calf.
| Sh’mot 32:4 4He took it from their hands and bound it up in a cloth, and fashioned it into a molten calf. “This is your god, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.” |
No false god brought us from Egypt; rather, the I AM who created the universe. Belief in this God, the one who made heaven and Earth fulfills this commandment. It is odd how Ramban lists the Shema as second commandment, when all other rabbinical authorities and especially Messiah list it as the first. However, until you accept the first, you cannot accept the Shema! Does this verse condemn belief in Yeshua? Of course not.
| Yochanan 6:45 45It is written in the prophets, ‘All your children will be students of God.’ Yesha’yahu 54:13 Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Yochanan 8:58 Yochanan 10:30 |
The essence and nature of God is beyond human understanding, and arguments over his nature (along with name calling) is as Sha'ul calls it, an “Unprofitable argument.“
How do you love HASHEM you God with all your heart? The Talmud (you knew I'd bring that up, right?) says,
| Taanit 2a "It has been taught: To love HASHEM your God and to serve Him with all your heart. What is Service of Heart? You must needs say, Prayer." |
How do you love HASHEM your God with all your soul?
| Mishna, Berechot 54a ‘With
all thy soul' means, even though He takes thy soul (life); 'with all thy might' means,
with all thy money. Another explanation of 'with all thy might [me'odeka]' s, whatever
treatment he metes out to thee. Berechot 55a "And thou shall love HASHEM thy God etc. It has been taught: R. Eliezer says: If it says ‘with all thy soul’, why should it also say, ‘with all thy might’, and if it says ‘with all thy might’, why should it also say ‘with all thy soul’? Should there be a man who values his life more than his money, for him it says; ‘with all thy soul’; and should there be a man who values his money more than his life, for him it says, ‘with all thy might’ . R. Akiba says: With all thy soul’: even if He takes away thy soul." |
I would agree with Akiba's interpretation, for this places the requirement to love HASHEM with all your life, and this is consistent with Messiah's teachings. You must value HASHEM your God with all that is within you ("Bless His Holy Name..."). Quite literally, this is the Greatest commandment. When Yeshua replied that the Shema was the greatest commandment, He of course was referring to the Entire Shema, from "Hear...(Shema...)" to "...Thy gates". Two of the visible signs of HASHEM are visible in this verse; the Mezuza and the Tefillin. Incidentally, the affixing of the Mezuza (Commandment 15) is in this verse. The word in Scripture for fear — Yare — actually means "Reverence, awe or respect." "Compound of Hebrew (in thousand word stems)" by M. Schecter-Haham defines it so, with further notation that Yir'aw Kavod translates to "Reverence, respect (Glory)". Yare' when transformed from a final Aleph(א) into a final Heh(ה) changes the meaning, "To lay a cornerstone."
| Mizmor 118:22-23 22The stone the builders despised has become the cornerstone. 23This emanated from HASHEM ; it is wondrous in our eyes. |
Interestingly, the word in the aleph-bet'ical hierarchy before Yare' is Yoqer , meaning "High price"
| Yochanan 3:16 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. |
The word before that is Yi'qod , to burn. It happens often that once one begins fearing the Burning in Sheol, often one regards the High Price, and comes to Reverence (Yi'qod, Yoqer, Yare). Incidentally, the letter Yod stands for 10, and can be seen as the 10 commandments (why do we stop numbering it as 10? There's 603 more!). You shall fear HASHEM your God, and serve him, and shall swear by his name. How do you serve Him? Through obedience to his words. Shall you swear by His name? Now, this is a halakhic issue.
Messiah has told us not to swear oaths. Is this a violation? No, instead there are vows allowed by Torah, and these vows (such as the Nazir vow) are to be tied to the Holy Name. The sixth commandment differs from the previous ones in that it commands us to hold fast — dabaq , literally to follow closely after. How do we do this? Again, by obedience to his word. See the FAQ "Grace" in Messianic.com for a study in obedience to this commandment. The ninth commandment tells us not to profane His holy name. What's left? The eighth commandment tells us to be a holy people. All the reasoning given for all the commandments is that we shall be holy. Sin is the opposite of holy (the rock Group KISS boasts of being "Unholy"; I would remind them that as Jews, they are under a covenant agreement literally to obey all of these commandments. Believers in Yeshua have also entered into that agreement by faith.). Keeping HASHEM Holy among us is literally a key to us being holy people. If we continue to hold HASHEM in awe and reverence, we shall become more holy under the universal laws established by HASHEM .
Copyright © 1998-2009 Yavoh Ministries
Web Author: Azayel ben Hillel
Date Last Changed:
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Email Address: heiscoming@cox.net