Vaetchanan: Shema and V’Ahavta
Shema and V’ahavta.
You know these prayers, right? It might have been one of the very first prayers you ever learned. Parents whisper it to their children at night, and it might be the last words said when life draws to a close.
Yet how much attention have we really paid to the meaning of the words? Since they occur IN the Torah, IN this week’s portion, it seemed an appropriate time to explore what we are saying when we recite the Shema.
We are in the book of Deuteronomy, the final book of the Torah, in the parsha of Vaetchanan. Vaetchanan. The word means to beg or plead or beseech. Moses begs God, one more time, for the opportunity to enter the land of Israel. The answer he receives is not the answer he was hoping for, yet he pulls himself together, reviews the 10 commandments and other civil regulations, and then, in chapter 6, these words-
Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echad
Followed by V’ahavta. Here’s a contemporary translation; I believe it was written by Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank, alav ha-shalom-
And you shall love your Creator, dedicating to God
your heart, soul, and energy.
Let these teachings become a bond connecting
your heart to your Source.
Exemplify these teachings in your interactions
with your children.
Manifest them in all your actions; as you rest,
travel, dream and wake.
Make symbols to remind you daily of your sacred bonds;
they shall be like beacons before your eyes.
And place these reminders also
at the entranceways
of your homes and cities,
that your dwelling places may be sanctuaries for
God’s presence.
We can learn a lot just from the very first word- Shema- Listen! Hear!
Not do. Not believe. Listen.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks often described Judaism as a religion of hearing rather than primarily a religion of seeing. His point was that Judaism’s central encounter with God is not through images, representations, or visual contemplation, but through listening to a divine voice and responding through action.
Listening is the foundation of relationship. Friendships, marriages, communities fall apart quickly if we don’t listen to each other. We know that in our personal lives, and we are called on to relate to God through hearing, not just speaking or doing. So the first thing we are told is to be quiet.
The opening of Shema ends with echad- one. Adonai Echad- God is one. We may be surprised at the places we experience God if we can just be still.
God is one, yes. We are reminded that ethical monotheism is the Jewish way. We may each understand God in a unique way, and our own understanding of God may change throughout our lives. Yet, God is big enough to contain all of our attempts at understanding. There is a unity to all that exists.
We live in a world that is fragmented, polarized. Listen, this prayer urges us, underneath it all is
one-ness, connection. And just as God is one, we, formed in the divine image, are more than any one quality within ourselves. We are our successes and our failures, our joys and our sorrows.
You’ll notice that the last letter of the first and last words are written in a larger font. That’s how they appear in the Torah, and that’s how they appear in our siddur. Together they spell the word- ed- witness.
If we can feel that one-ness deeply, a feeling of love rises up. That love will lead us to be witnesses to oneness, to the interconnectedness of all that is.
V’ahavta- and you shall love. Really, the Hebrew is the future tense- you WILL love. How comforting, this idea, that we will be blessed to feel loving.
As our translation suggests, this love will elicit dedication to God of our heart, our soul, our energy. The word for heart- levavcha- is spelled with two letters “bet.” The rabbis teach us that one represents our good inclination and one our yetzer ha-ra, our evil inclination.
We love God with all our being, with all aspects of our inner selves. We are not called on to be perfect. We are called on to devote our whole heart, our whole soul to our spiritual journey.
These teachings should rest on our hearts, the prayer continues. Chassidic commentaries remind us that sometimes our hearts are open, and the words can enter easily. Sometimes our hearts are closed, by pain and disappointment. When our hearts heal and open, the words are right there on our hearts, to gently fall inside.
And it’s not enough for these teachings to be part of our lives. We have a responsibility to teach them to the next generation. I like how this translation calls us to “manifest these teachings.” Children learn by example; words alone are insufficient. Lead by example. Ensure that your actions express Jewish values- kindness and compassion, generosity and gratitude.
Make them part of your life at home and away from home, day and night. When you lie down and when you rise up is what Biblical scholars refer to as a merism- it really means, AND, everything in-between. From a practical perspective, the Talmud understands that we can recite the words of the Shema in any position- sitting, standing, or even up in a tree gathering fruit. (BT Berachot 10b)
Traditionally we remain in whatever position we find ourselves. In the Reform world, we stand for the Shema to emphasize its fundamental importance.
These teachings should guide every moment of our lives. Holiness does not happen only here, in this sanctuary.
This first paragraph of the Shema reminds us that we need reminders. On our hands, between our eyes, and on the doorposts of our home.
Of course this led to the practices of tefillin and mezuzot, and, I think we can understand them metaphorically as well. What are we DOING with our hands? How are we SEEING others? How are we treating those to whom we are closest, the ones with whom we share our home?
The Shema and V’Ahavta remind us that love is not a feeling but a doing. It is woven into our choices, our priorities, our relationships.
As we pray these words, we ask ourselves- How will we love God today? How will we use our hands and our hearts to express holiness?