July 31st: Va’et’chanan
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
When I was growing up, we learned that the first commandment is, “I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” That was it, though what this commandment commands is a matter of some conjecture. The second commandment thus prohibited other gods and included two clauses, “You shall have no other gods besides Me,” and the longer passage prohibiting graven images and idol worship.
Some consider the opening passage merely a prologue—one that identifies the Deity issuing the upcoming ten commandments. Thus the first commandment would be, “You shall have no other gods besides Me,” and the second commandment would be the prohibition against making and worshipping idols.
This is one of the problems with an ancient text that does not provide numeration.
If we regard the prologue as a commandment itself—as I learned as a child, we need to address the question of what exactly it is commanding. Though it does not seem to instruct us in any particular behavior, it does insist that we acknowledge the Lord God. Some might even see it as a command to believe in God.
There is an opinion, often heard, that Judaism is a religion of deeds and not doctrines, but a closer look at Tradition shows a number of beliefs that are emphasized mightily. In the Bible, we are frequently reminded that all humans need to acknowledge that “the Lord is God in heaven and on earth.” In the Rabbinic world, this belief is enhanced to include not only belief in God and in God’s revelation of the Torah, but also in God’s revelation of the Oral Torah (Talmud) and Olam Haba, the World-to-Come. Then, several centuries later, we have the most famous statement of Jewish belief, Rabbi Moses Maimonides’ “Thirteen Principles of Faith.” This text—derived from the Bible and Talmud—clearly states the mandatory beliefs of traditional Judaism.
So, perhaps it is not so far-fetched to think of the first commandment as a command to acknowledge the One God. Indeed, this imperative is reiterated in the powerful sequel to Deuteronomy’s presentation of the Ten Commandments. In the very next chapter, we are given the Shema and Ve’ahavta: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might...” (Deuteronomy 6.4-9) We are again instructed to acknowledge the Divine and to express our devotion.
We all know the Shema. Many of us recited it daily as children, and many continue to recite it as a devotional practice. Many see it as a declaration of our belief in One God: “The Lord is One.” This is certainly a time-honored understanding, but there is more.
Notice that there are two names for God in the passage, “Adonai/The Lord” and “Elohaynu/Our God.” The Torah has four names for the Deity. God is called “Elohim/God,” “Adonai/The Lord,” “Adonai Elohim/The Lord God,” and also “El Shaddai/God Almighty.” “God” is English for “Elohim”—used in the possessive form in the Shema as “Elohaynu:” our God. “The Lord” is an English translation for “Adonai,” a title used instead of pronouncing God’s four letter ineffable Name. Whenever we see the four letters, “YHVH,” we do not pronounce them; instead we use the title, “Adonai/ Lord.”
One can see in the Shema an interest in reconciling the two names, “Adonai” and “Elohim.” These two names do not refer to two different gods, but to a single Deity: “The Lord is our God.” Some commentators say that the Torah uses “The Lord” in passages describing God’s unique relationship with Israel, while “God” is used in passages describing God as the universal Creator and Ruler. (This is often the case.) Thus can the Shema state our belief that the God of Israel is also the God of all humanity.
Other commentators—particularly mystics—view the two names as two dimensions of the Divine. “God”—particularly “Our God / Elohaynu”—represents the aspect of God Which is perceptible and present to us: the part of God of which we have knowledge and to which we relate. This is in contrast to “The Lord” (the YHVH ineffable Name) which refers to the transcendent aspect of God which is far, far, far beyond our understanding and experience—the “Ayn Sof” or Infinite. Thus would the Shema be reminding us that both the Transcendent Divine and the Immanent Divine are part of the One God. There is unity in the cosmos.
A final insight relates to the last word, “Echad /One.” In addition to the belief that there is only One God, this last word can be understood as almost a verb—that by declaring God’s Oneness, we can contribute to the unity and strength of the Deity. In the mystical teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the imperfection of the world is attributed to an injury suffered by God during Creation. Humanity was created to help God in healing, and our actions—both ritual and ethical—can heal the rift in the Divine. This is the original meaning of the phrase Tikkun Olam. Though we in the Reform Movement use the term to give spiritual depth to our social justice work, the original Lurianic term speaks of our ability to repair/heal God. Among the things we can do is declare God’s Unity and act in concert with God’s will for the world. Thus do mystics interpret the phrase, “The Lord is One,” as the spiritual and intellectual merging of all forces and all existence into the Oneness of God—or, as the prayer book puts it, “l’yached’cha b’ahavah, to unite God in love.”
For me, reciting the Shema with full kavanah (intention) means reaching out both to identify the Divine and to identify with the Divine. The Lord our God is present and accessible—and hoping to be united with us.