Learning the Sh'ma #3

-
(Previously on "31 Days of Encountering Judaism" ... I talked about wanting to learn the Sh'ma and started sharing why I could pray this prayer and mean it." I am not an expert on this. Also, you can find an index of all the 31 Days of Encountering Judaism here. )

The next part, though, is trickier. (BTW, the translation I'm using is initially from the Reform Mishkan T'filah siddur/prayerbook but then I used my Bible app and I don't remember which translation I used. Oops.)

"Take to heart these instructions which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead: inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Let's start with the first line: "Take to heart these instructions which I charge you this day."

If we constrain the context to the prayer itself, I am comfortable with it, as described yesterday. However, that might well be proof-texting.

Within the context of Deuteronomy, Moses has just delivered the commandments in the chapter before (Deut. 10), and there are 600+ rules that are to follow the words that are in the Sh'ma. Rules that include not being able to eat shellfish or wearing mixed fibres. Huh.

Both Jesus and Hillel say that all the laws boil down to loving God with all our heart, all our soul and all our might, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. (Yes, Hillel said it first, sorry fellow Christians.) This is even said in Deuteronomy 11, before Moses repeats the part about telling your children and writing them on doorposts.

"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today -- to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all of your heart and with all of your soul -- then I will send rain...." (Deut. 11:13-14a)

and again in Deut. 11:22: "If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow -- to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him --"

Moses, Hillel and Jesus all agree, these are the most important instructions/commands and are the purpose of all the Law. So I can agree to keep to the purpose of the Law. No worries.

Um, writing this out turned longer than anticipated, so tune in tomorrow for my reflection on if I can pray: "Impress them upon your children .... doorposts of your house and your gates."


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Where Bloggers Create Party!

-
Image
My Desert Cottage Not much has changed in my art room since last year . I had a substantial to-do list this year and I didn't quite get to all of them. Here's what was on my "to-do" that got t'done: 1) I made pretty labels for my binders: 2) I cleaned out my closet. (There is no before picture: just imagine stacks of boxes, giant plastic containers and the like.) The closet now holds some stamp storage (off to the side behind the purple velvet dress that's hanging; a chest of drawers packed with fabric (now consolidated into one space except for another drawer in last year's pink chest of drawers); and a sacred space. The wall has book pages taped onto it. I got the idea and the technique from Aunt Peaches . Eventually, the small stained glass cross will move and be above the ombry that I have on permanent loan (currently holding my prayer books and a bible), which is a bit of a long story, but basically when I no longer have a use f...
Read more

"where there is darkness, light" - Prayer of St. Francis series

-
Image
Today's guest blogger is Joe Pote. As a s tudent of the Bible since early childhood, Joe was literally raised in church, attending multiple church services and Bible studies each week. Having also endured the devastation of a failed marriage, Joe combines a sound understanding of biblical principles with personal experience of the issues and concerns of believers who have experienced divorce.  He would like for you to visit his website .  I sat huddled at my desk, face pressed into palms supported by elbows propped on desktop, staring into the darkness of my own hands…feeling the darkness pressing in from all sides.   The work day was ended.  It was time to go home, a brief ten minute walk from the office.  Yet, I lingered, dreading home…knowing the unfixable problems waiting there…praying that God would show me what to do. My four beautiful children waited at home, bright lights in my life, who I was always pleased to see.  But their mother also ...
Read more

Where Bloggers Create Party II: My Room 2010 (with lots of pictures)

-
Image
I'm excited to be joining the Where Bloggers Create Party for the first time. I discovered it last year, ages after it happened and I literally spent the day looking through them all! I hope you enjoy my space. The sign on my door. I made it as a make-and-take a couple of years ago. Here's an overall view of my room. You can't tell because of the lighting but the walls are not pink. They're pale lavender. The bookcase I bought from Target a year or two ago. It's "Shabby Chic". The bottom drawer holds my German scrap and the "transparent" stuff. The bookcase from Target that used to be under the window is now vertical. The addition to the top of pink chest of drawers is a library card file that was gonna be tossed from church until I rescued it. It holds rolls of seam binding and millinery. I might paint it next year.... Next to it is a tiered holder of mostly lace, but some feathers and flowers. The chest of drawers holds glue, large photos, fa...
Read more