EKEV_DEUTRONOMY VII:12-XI:25
See Israel, ma HaShem Elohecha doresh mimecha: “And now, Israel, what does HaShem, your God, demand of you?” is Moshe’s introduction to clarify what are the fundamental bases of the relationship between the Jew and God, the Hebrew people, and the Creator. Because both the individual and the collective established a Brit, a covenant with God.
Moshe knows the sentence: he will not enter the Promised Land; therefore, he uses the last stage of his life to recount the reciprocal relationship between people and God: a tense initial relationship in the first years after the exodus from Egypt, which will continue with similar characteristics in the future. The history of the Jewish people is the story of the periodic disobedience of Divine dictates, indiscipline that is accompanied by an authentic protest at an apparent absence of Divine protection from the onslaught of enemies.
If, on the one hand, the people are guilty of rebellion—according to the perception of those who showed heroism and altruism, martyrdom and dedication to maintaining the monotheistic ideal in an idolatrous environment of carnal satisfactions, and the demand that desires must be met immediately—God is not totally innocent either. On many occasions, you feel the Hester Panim, the temporary concealment of God from the stage of History. At least this is the human perception. ´
In our chapters Moshe specifies what God really demands of us: “To walk only on His paths, to love Him and to serve Him with all your heart and spirit.” Specifying what is the “path” that leads to God may require research and study; instead, “loving” God with all the heart and spirit is a subjective condition that is rooted in the intuition and affective quality of the individual. Love can have different origins: it can be the result of a personal experience, a favor received.
Although the basis of “love” for God is difficult to find, it can be cultivated and nurtured through awareness of the existence of a single God, creator of the energy of the earth that provides food and computes the celestial orbits. The Supreme Being cares about the individual destiny of people. “Walking His paths” requires intellectual reflection. According to Maimonides, the relationship between man and God must have a fundamental intellectual ingredient. Two aspects can be considered: the wisdom contained in the Tora, which serves to define the “path” and, in an alternate way, the study of science. Jewish tradition points out that the Patriarch Avraham grounded his faith in one God by observing the vast number of stars in the sky, the endless firmament that testifies to a Creator who cannot be subject to the laws that describe earthly existence.
For Judaism, however, “walking on His paths”, in addition to an idea and intellectual activity, implies the implementation of certain specific principles, and daily conduct guided by rules that lead to harmony among men and make possible coexistence in society. It is the world of the Mitzvot, the specific and concrete tasks that regulate respect for others, for their property, and their rights. Those who cultivate reverence for daily prayer, unbreakable ties with God and the Promised Land through Tefillin and Tsitsit, as a kind of symbol or flag that remind us of the inescapable commitment to the fulfillment of the Divine Will.
It should be noted that “love” has to be a reciprocal relationship. We love God and He loves us. We are dedicated to the discovery of what are the basic structural elements of the universe and God provides us with the intellect that is able to investigate and discover, reveal and understand with greater and greater depth. We observe the Mitzvot and with its fulfillment, we grow spiritually, we develop sensitivity for the less favored, and we prepare the environment for a messianic era of harmony and understanding between people, Jews and Gentiles together, to the encounter with the One God.
MITZVAH: TORA ORDINANCE IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 6 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 2 PROHIBITIONS
- Deuteronomy 7:25 Not profiting from the ornaments of an idol
- Deuteronomy 7:26 Not to possess an object belonging to the worship of idols or to obtain any benefit from them
- Deuteronomy 8:10 Blessing God after eating bread
- Deuteronomy 10:19 Love those who convert to Judaism
- Deuteronomy 10:20 Fearing God
- Deuteronomy 10:20 Praying to God
- Deuteronomy 10:20 Associate with and adhere to Torah scholars
- Deuteronomy 10:20 Swear by the Name of God when making a vow
