DEUTRONOMY III:23-VII:11
THE BASIC AFFIRMATION OF JUDAISM
The name of these chapters reflects Moshe’s (Moses’)disappointment when God told him that he would not lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Although he was aware that the Divine will could not be altered, Moshe prayed, because prayer is an individual’s acknowledgment that his destiny depends on God. Even when it is thought that there is no merit for reconsideration, the person should pray, because the act of praying, when accompanied by sincerity and repentance, should produce an alteration in the personality of the individual in such a way that, after prayer, because of the change it causes, he could be deserving of a different sentence.
Another basic aspect of the weekly reading is the text of the Shema Israel. When Rabbi Akiva was asked what the great fundamental concept of the Torah was, he opined that the phrase Veahavta lereacha kamocha, “And you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” was the cardinal teaching. There is no doubt that this expression encapsulates a fundamental tenet of Judaism, a lesson that Hillel used in its alternate version when he responded to the person who wanted to learn the basics of Judaism while standing on one leg: “Do not do to your neighbor what is hateful to you.”
Notwithstanding the above, the phrase Shema Israel embodies the essential ideological and theological message of Judaism as opposed to an idolatrous environment. This principle is the existence of only one God, a statement that includes the existential brotherhood of human beings, because it implies that we were created by the same God, the one God.
The Midrash testifies that the first to enunciate this fundamental phrase of Jewish tradition were the sons of the third patriarch, Yaakov (Jcob). When Yaakov was about to die, he could not rest because he feared that his sons would later forget his teachings. So he questioned them about their beliefs and to that question they answered: Shema Israel (alternate name of the patriarch), HaShem is our God, HaShem is unique. After hearing this unequivocal affirmation of faith, Yaakov took leave of this world to be reunited with his father and grandfather – the patriarchs Avraham (Abraham) and Yitschak (Isaac).
In this sense, Rambam makes an important reflection. While material things can be fractioned because there is always something that is smaller, a fact that was demonstrated with the division of the atom that is composed of parts or particles that are increasingly smaller and more difficult to measure. Instead, Rambam points out, the phrase HaShem echad, which states that God is one, and unique, implies that He is indivisible. God is a whole that cannot be broken up or split. If we consider that the uniqueness of the human being lies in the fact that God breathed his spirit into him, this being the spiritual ingredient that separates him from the other creatures that were created by God, it can be assumed that this spirit or soul is indivisible. That both the evil inclination and the tendency to do good are part of a whole, they are an integral element of the soul. Perhaps the difference between good and evil—which are a manifestation of the same source, the soul that has a Divine origin—is part of a unique spiritual energy that manifests positively or negatively only by its use, because of the ethical or immoral behavior that is chosen.
This is how the Hasidic rabbi said when asked what the distance was between Mizrach and Maarav, East and West. The rabbi replied: none. It is enough to make a 180-degree turn over the same place to diametrically change the direction of the individual’s gaze.
In the end, the choice between moral conduct that abides by the norms indispensable for coexistence in society and behavior that is indifferent to the set of regulations contained in the Torah, the Mitsvot, depends on the individual. The approach of an era in which humanity will recognize the existence of the one God is a consequence of the will of the person that must be translated into moral and ethical conduct, in which love for one’s neighbor prevails, according to Rabbi Akiva.
MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 8 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 4 PROHIBITIONS
416. Deuteronomy 5:18 Do not desire what belongs to another Jew
417. Deuteronomy 6:4 Believe in the unity of God
418. Deuteronomy 6:5 Love God
419. Deuteronomy 6:7 Study the Torah
420. Deuteronomy 6:7 Recite Shema Israel every morning and every night
421. Deuteronomy 6:8 Tie the tefillin on the arm
422. Deuteronomy 6:8 Placing tefillin on one’s head
423. Deuteronomy 6:9 To place a mezuzah on the doorbell of our homes
424. Deuteronomy 6:16 Do not unreasonably test an authentic prophet
425. Deuteronomy 7:2 Wipe out the 7 nations that occupied the Land of Israel
426. Deuteronomy 7:2 Not having positive feelings because of idolaters
427. Deuteronomy 7:3 Do not marry idolaters
