Shema
As this is my first real blog, I would like to start off in the same manner that faithful children of God at the time of the Messiah, "men of old," would before beginning something. These words would be spoken in churches and synagogues, in homes and on the road, before something new and something old, before going to bed, putting on clothes in the morning, leaving for work, and before sermons and teachings; they'd write them on their doors and in their hearts. They spoke the words of Shema.
These people taught that to speak these words out of the wells and fibers of your being was to be "born again." They would commit themselves to God the creator, ruler, redeemer and both before themselves as a personal commitment and before the community as a declaration and plea for accountability.
These words would serve as a reminder to themselves, to their children, to their community, and to God, what was the root of their lives.
These are the words of Shema:
"Hear (Shema), O Israel,
The LORD is God. The LORD alone.
Love the LORD you God with
All of your heart, with
All of your mind, and with
All of your strength."
And I will add,
"And, love your neighbor as yourself."
These are the very words of God.
He.
literally.
spoke.
them.
The first section comes out of Deuteronomy while the second is from Leviticus; they are repeated in the gospels.
Jesus, the Messiah and our rabbi, once said that these were the first and second greatest commandments. That these words summed up all of the Torah and the prophets. These two statements is the complete picture for all of God's instructions on how to live life.
To love God with all of who you are and love other people as if you were them...
....is to live. Period.
The Hebrew word "Shema" directly translates into English as the word "to hear". However, the Hebrew language is so rich and full of meaning. Shema means so much more than the physical act of sensing sound. It more correctly means "to hear and to go do." It is the difference between hearing and listening in the modern English.
I remember as a kid, my mom would ask me to do something like clean my room. I wouldn't do it because, well, I was like any kid. A day or two later she would tell me to clean my room. I still wouldn't. A day or two or a week later, she would demanded that I'd clean my room. I would get indignant and say (or shout), "I heard you!" She would wisely follow my statement with, "You heard me, but didn't listen. Now go clean your room or you can't go over to your friend's house."
I heard her the first time alright, but I never cleaned my room until I was yelled at. You have probably had a similar experience in your life perhaps with your mother, spouse, friend, boss... Now, mom, she never meant to control me, but loved me and wanted me to live a good life. Not just when I grew up, but she wanted me to have a good childhood. A clean room, simply meant that I would have a better life as a kid but also when I became an adult because it meant that I'd be better organized, be a cleaner person, the list goes on.
The reason why God spoke the words of Shema and people spoke these words as a commitment to God and why I am repeating them to you now is to remind myself that...
A life of love,
Love God
Love others
...really is the root of it all.
As this is my first real blog, I would like to start off in the same manner that faithful children of God at the time of the Messiah, "men of old," would before beginning something. These words would be spoken in churches and synagogues, in homes and on the road, before something new and something old, before going to bed, putting on clothes in the morning, leaving for work, and before sermons and teachings; they'd write them on their doors and in their hearts. They spoke the words of Shema.
These people taught that to speak these words out of the wells and fibers of your being was to be "born again." They would commit themselves to God the creator, ruler, redeemer and both before themselves as a personal commitment and before the community as a declaration and plea for accountability.
These words would serve as a reminder to themselves, to their children, to their community, and to God, what was the root of their lives.
These are the words of Shema:
"Hear (Shema), O Israel,
The LORD is God. The LORD alone.
Love the LORD you God with
All of your heart, with
All of your mind, and with
All of your strength."
And I will add,
"And, love your neighbor as yourself."
These are the very words of God.
He.
literally.
spoke.
them.
The first section comes out of Deuteronomy while the second is from Leviticus; they are repeated in the gospels.
Jesus, the Messiah and our rabbi, once said that these were the first and second greatest commandments. That these words summed up all of the Torah and the prophets. These two statements is the complete picture for all of God's instructions on how to live life.
To love God with all of who you are and love other people as if you were them...
....is to live. Period.
The Hebrew word "Shema" directly translates into English as the word "to hear". However, the Hebrew language is so rich and full of meaning. Shema means so much more than the physical act of sensing sound. It more correctly means "to hear and to go do." It is the difference between hearing and listening in the modern English.
I remember as a kid, my mom would ask me to do something like clean my room. I wouldn't do it because, well, I was like any kid. A day or two later she would tell me to clean my room. I still wouldn't. A day or two or a week later, she would demanded that I'd clean my room. I would get indignant and say (or shout), "I heard you!" She would wisely follow my statement with, "You heard me, but didn't listen. Now go clean your room or you can't go over to your friend's house."
I heard her the first time alright, but I never cleaned my room until I was yelled at. You have probably had a similar experience in your life perhaps with your mother, spouse, friend, boss... Now, mom, she never meant to control me, but loved me and wanted me to live a good life. Not just when I grew up, but she wanted me to have a good childhood. A clean room, simply meant that I would have a better life as a kid but also when I became an adult because it meant that I'd be better organized, be a cleaner person, the list goes on.
The reason why God spoke the words of Shema and people spoke these words as a commitment to God and why I am repeating them to you now is to remind myself that...
A life of love,
Love God
Love others
...really is the root of it all.
No comments:
Post a Comment