Deu 6:4 Shma, Yisrael! Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, Israel! Adonai our God, Adonai is one]; Deu 6:5 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. Deu 6:6 These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart; Deu 6:7 and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deu 6:8 Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead, Deu 6:9 and write them on the door-frames of your house and on your gates. AND YOU ARE TO LOVE ADONAI YOUR GOD.... The covenant of Deuteronomy arose originally within the context of the vassal-suzerain (dependent-overlord) treaties of the ancient Semitic world. (Indeed, the Hebrew word b’rit means not just “covenant” but “treaty” in some contexts.) Thus, Israel is God’s vassal, and the commandments of Deuteronomy are obligations owed toward God, the overlord. In return, God as suzerain has treaty obligations toward the vassal, such as protection from third-party invasions. These treaties customarily use the term “love.” For example, the vassal treaties of the early-seventh-century BCE Assyrian (northern Mesopotamian) king, Esarhaddon, which have significant similarities to Deuteronomy, call on the vassal to “love the crown prince designated Ashurbanipal, son of your lord, Esarhaddon, king of Assyria as you do your own lives.” In fact, the main point of the text is that Ashurbanipal alone shall be recognized as king, an idea quite close to the initial verse of the Sh’ma. “Love” here is therefore a technical term for acceptance of treaty obligations. In our case of Deuteronomy, the expected love is quite extreme. We are to “love” God with all of our “mind, body and strength”;express this love by keeping the commandments in mind always. Hoffman, Rabbi Lawrence A. (2011-12-15). My People’s Prayer Book Vol. 1:The Sh’ma and Its Blessings (My Peoples Prayer Book) (Kindle Location 1997). Jewish Lights Publishing. Kindle Edition. In other words to Love the Lord our God with all of our heart and with all of soul and with all of our strength would also entail keeping the commandments of the Torah to fulfill our obligation to God.. amen
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 08:12:58 +0000
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