Halacha L’Moshe MiSinai
Volume 2: Number 5
9/12/2005
Mitzvah #3: Loving G-d
Mitzvah 3
It is a positive commandment to love G-d with all one’s heart, spirit and might.
Hafetz Hayim: This is based on Deut. 6:5. This is the way toward love for Him: When we will meditate on His activities until we comprehend Him to the extent of our ability, the heart will become inflamed with a love for Him; this is the love that is essential for us. … A man cannot love the Holy One except through knowledge, by comprehending Him; through this knowledge the affection comes. Therefore a person needs to set himself solely to understand and grow wise through he fields of wisdom and comprehension that convey the glory of his Maker, to the extent of the ability that a person has to understand and realize.
There are two problems with this Mitzvah. The first is how can we be commanded to love G-d? How can we be commanded to love anyone? Love is an emotion that cannot be commanded. And yet, we are commanded to love someone every day. We can choose a spouse to love. We can choose to have children to love. But Children cannot choose their parents and yet they have to love them. You could argue that much of the mental illness in the world is because children are trying to love a parent that is not worthy of that love. The love of G-d therefore is like the love of a parent. Why do we love our parents? We love them because of all the things that they give us; the most important thing is life itself. They gave us our life so we love them in return. It is the same with G-d. G-d gives life to us and to the universe, so we express our feelings by returning the love that G-d gives to us.
The Hafetz Hayim then goes on to insist that to properly love G-d we need to have knowledge of G-d. We have to contemplate the nature of G-d and to the extent that we as finite creatures can comprehend the infinite, we need to translate that knowledge into love. How do we do this? Think back to the days when you were a young child in your parent’s home. How could we show our parents we love them? We would tell them we loved them, but from time to time we did not follow their rules and they would get mad at us and we would wonder if their love would come to an end. That is a very scary thought. So what could we do, what did we know we should do, in order to show our parents that we love them?
Usually the answer would be pretty clear. If our parents would nag us to clean our room, than we would clean our room without being nagged. If our parents would remind us every night to take out the garbage, than we would take out the garbage without being reminded. I would venture to say that even if our parents are long deceased, we still show our love for them by many of the simple things we do everyday, from making the bed every morning, to eating a good breakfast, to being honest in our business or wearing clean underwear. Think about it, every minute of the day we can think of things we do because of the love we have for our parents and because of that love, not wanting them to be disappointed in our lives. So it is with G-d. We have the Torah. We know what G-d wants from us. So we live our lives trying to learn and understand Torah, G-d’s law, and by observing these commandments, without threat of retribution, we show our love of G-d. It is our knowledge that makes our love possible. That is the lesson of the Hafetz Hayim.
Next Week: Mitzvah #4: Fear G-d
Monday, September 12, 2005
HMS Volume 2: Number 4 - The Second Mitzvah: The Unity Of G-d.
Halacha L’Moshe MiSinai
Volume 2: Number 4
9/12/2005
The Second Mitzvah: The Unity Of G-d.
Mitzvah 2
It is a positive commandment to know the unity of G-d, to believe the He is the one without any partner or associate.
Hafetz Hayim: Scripture states HEAR O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR G-D, THE LORD IS ONE (Devarim 6:4) This is a main principle of our faith; after the first knowledge that there is a G-d in existence, it is necessary to believe with complete faith that He is simply, utterly one in the utmost degree of unity; He is not a physical being; no concepts about a physical being can apply to Him; nothing that can affect a physical being can affect Him; there is none second (like) to Him; and without Him there is no G-d. We are duty-bound to bear this in mind at every occasion and moment – both man and woman.
Judaism holds that there is only one G-d. No more, no less. In our day and age this is almost taken as a fact of life. Unless we are Hindu or practicing some ancient religion, we live in a world where the great faiths are all monotheistic, that is, they believe in only one G-d. This was not the case just a few hundred years ago. Paganism in all its many forms was widely believed. Even today, there are those who are quick to identify the ultimate power in their life as something that is not ultimate. They will worship their job, money, sex, or the acquisition of things as the source of true meaning in life. Some people worship nature, humanity or history. These are all false gods. These “religions’ are as false as declaring that there are many different powers in the universe. Any time we take that which is not ultimate and make it the ultimate in our life we are guilty of violating the commandment of the Unity of G-d.
It is also violated whenever we maintain that there is less than one G-d. That is, when we declare that there is no G-d in the universe. Either way we will damage Judaism in a critical fashion. When there is only one G-d in the universe, there can be only one law, only one Torah, only one path for us to follow and no excuses for us when we fail to live up to our obligations. In Judaism we can not claim, “The Devil made me do it.” For Judaism insists that we are personally responsible for our actions, and we are personally responsible for Knowing G-d and knowing what G-d expects from us.
This is why the declaration of faith, the citizenship oath in Judaism is the “Shema” the declaration from Deuteronomy that G-d is one. This is the beginning of what it means to be a Jew, there is a G-d and that G-d is our G-d and that G-d is One, Unique, Alone. The declaration of apostasy, that declares our separation from our faith is “There is no Justice and there is no Judge” a declaration that there is no G-d and what we do does not matter.
As we will see in the future Mitzvot, once we declare the existence and unity of G-d, we will have to see how that belief matters in human life. When there is a conflict in Judaism, we are quick to understand that conflict in the law as a conflict in human understanding. That there must be a correct way to practice Judaism and to live by Jewish law because there can be no competing deity in the universe. Whatever the Torah may say, it is the word of the Living G-d, and no other being.
There are times and places where Judaism talks about angels and a prosecuting angel that acts very much like a devil. But these divine creatures all serve G-d, the do not and cannot stand alone. We do not worship them, but only acknowledge that they are messengers of the divine. In the end there is only G-d, and in our dualistic world, G-d is the ultimate unity.
Next Week: Mitzvah #3: Loving G-d
Volume 2: Number 4
9/12/2005
The Second Mitzvah: The Unity Of G-d.
Mitzvah 2
It is a positive commandment to know the unity of G-d, to believe the He is the one without any partner or associate.
Hafetz Hayim: Scripture states HEAR O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR G-D, THE LORD IS ONE (Devarim 6:4) This is a main principle of our faith; after the first knowledge that there is a G-d in existence, it is necessary to believe with complete faith that He is simply, utterly one in the utmost degree of unity; He is not a physical being; no concepts about a physical being can apply to Him; nothing that can affect a physical being can affect Him; there is none second (like) to Him; and without Him there is no G-d. We are duty-bound to bear this in mind at every occasion and moment – both man and woman.
Judaism holds that there is only one G-d. No more, no less. In our day and age this is almost taken as a fact of life. Unless we are Hindu or practicing some ancient religion, we live in a world where the great faiths are all monotheistic, that is, they believe in only one G-d. This was not the case just a few hundred years ago. Paganism in all its many forms was widely believed. Even today, there are those who are quick to identify the ultimate power in their life as something that is not ultimate. They will worship their job, money, sex, or the acquisition of things as the source of true meaning in life. Some people worship nature, humanity or history. These are all false gods. These “religions’ are as false as declaring that there are many different powers in the universe. Any time we take that which is not ultimate and make it the ultimate in our life we are guilty of violating the commandment of the Unity of G-d.
It is also violated whenever we maintain that there is less than one G-d. That is, when we declare that there is no G-d in the universe. Either way we will damage Judaism in a critical fashion. When there is only one G-d in the universe, there can be only one law, only one Torah, only one path for us to follow and no excuses for us when we fail to live up to our obligations. In Judaism we can not claim, “The Devil made me do it.” For Judaism insists that we are personally responsible for our actions, and we are personally responsible for Knowing G-d and knowing what G-d expects from us.
This is why the declaration of faith, the citizenship oath in Judaism is the “Shema” the declaration from Deuteronomy that G-d is one. This is the beginning of what it means to be a Jew, there is a G-d and that G-d is our G-d and that G-d is One, Unique, Alone. The declaration of apostasy, that declares our separation from our faith is “There is no Justice and there is no Judge” a declaration that there is no G-d and what we do does not matter.
As we will see in the future Mitzvot, once we declare the existence and unity of G-d, we will have to see how that belief matters in human life. When there is a conflict in Judaism, we are quick to understand that conflict in the law as a conflict in human understanding. That there must be a correct way to practice Judaism and to live by Jewish law because there can be no competing deity in the universe. Whatever the Torah may say, it is the word of the Living G-d, and no other being.
There are times and places where Judaism talks about angels and a prosecuting angel that acts very much like a devil. But these divine creatures all serve G-d, the do not and cannot stand alone. We do not worship them, but only acknowledge that they are messengers of the divine. In the end there is only G-d, and in our dualistic world, G-d is the ultimate unity.
Next Week: Mitzvah #3: Loving G-d
HMS Volume 2: Number 3 - The First Mitzvah: To Believe In The Existence Of G-D.
Halacha L’Moshe MiSinai
Volume 2: Number 3
9/12/2005
The First Mitzvah: To Believe In The Existence Of G-D.
Mitzvah 1
It is a positive Mitzvah to believe that there is a G-d in existence.
Hafetz Hayyim: He …brought all existing entities into being, and all the worlds, by His power and blessed wish. It is He who watches over everything. This is the foundation of our faith, and whoever does not believe this denies the very main principle [the one and only G-d], and he as no share or right among the Jewish people. We are duty bound to be ready to give life and our might and main for this belief. The main thing, though, to fix firmly in one’s heart and soul that this is the truth, and nothing other than this is possible. This applies at every occasion and moment, for both men and women.
HMS: When we say we believe in “one G-d” we say we believe in only “one G-d”; no more and no less. There cannot be more than one G-d and there cannot be less than one. We may not know very much about G-d. We can even be agnostic, but we cannot be Jewish and also be an atheist, someone who does not believe in G-d at all. In fact, the classic formulation of apostasy is to say, “There is no Justice and there is no Judge” effectively denying G-d.
Everything is Judaism depends on our belief in one G-d. Every Mitzvah, every Halacha, every moral encouragement, depends upon there being a caring G-d in the universe. Judaism maintains that there must be some good that comes from all that we are required to do, and the source of all that goodness comes from G-d.
Life is not random. The things that we do must make a difference, not just to us and those we are in contact with, but we have to make a difference in a cosmic/spiritual sense as well. All of the meaning in our lives depends first of all on the premise that there is a G-d, beyond our universe and beyond our understanding that is the source of all life in the universe. The Rabbis noted that Abraham was the first to understand this concept of a single Creator/Ruler of the universe. The Rabbis tell a story of Abraham seeing a great castle with lights burning in every room. Abraham enters the castle and walks from room to room and never sees a single person in the entire castle. Finally Abraham says, “Can it be that this castle has no master?” at which point G-d replies, “I am the master of this castle.” The argument therefore is one based on the evidence that we see in this world. We see a world that is ordered and which follows a given set of natural laws. Can it be that such a world could come into existence in a random manner? Can it be that all that we see does not have a “master”? It is the beauty and the organization of this world that leads us to our one G-d. Today we know many proofs about the existence of G-d and just as many proofs denying that existence. How are we supposed to know if G-d is real or not?
There is no way to ever know about the existence of G-d for sure. G-d is just too different and not a part of our physical universe. So in the end, we are left with the existence of G-d as an act of faith. It is a big leap of faith to be sure, but this one leap makes all of Judaism possible. We, of course, have the option of not believing in G-d, but I can say that such a position will not make anyone feel any better about their life and the way the world is unfolding around us. If the world is Random than all of life is meaningless and we end up just a speck in a vast void. Once we establish the existence of G-d, then we give our lives meaning and direction.
Now we can understand why this is the first Mitzvah on the list. Without it there is no need for any other Mitzvot. If we can focus our heart and soul on this one Mitzvah, than all the other actions in life will easily follow. If you are not sure, than the Mitzvah calls on all of us to act “as if” there is a G-d, and then let the rest of the Mitzvot fill in the meaning of our lives.
Next Week: Mitzvah #2: The Unity Of G-d.
Volume 2: Number 3
9/12/2005
The First Mitzvah: To Believe In The Existence Of G-D.
Mitzvah 1
It is a positive Mitzvah to believe that there is a G-d in existence.
Hafetz Hayyim: He …brought all existing entities into being, and all the worlds, by His power and blessed wish. It is He who watches over everything. This is the foundation of our faith, and whoever does not believe this denies the very main principle [the one and only G-d], and he as no share or right among the Jewish people. We are duty bound to be ready to give life and our might and main for this belief. The main thing, though, to fix firmly in one’s heart and soul that this is the truth, and nothing other than this is possible. This applies at every occasion and moment, for both men and women.
HMS: When we say we believe in “one G-d” we say we believe in only “one G-d”; no more and no less. There cannot be more than one G-d and there cannot be less than one. We may not know very much about G-d. We can even be agnostic, but we cannot be Jewish and also be an atheist, someone who does not believe in G-d at all. In fact, the classic formulation of apostasy is to say, “There is no Justice and there is no Judge” effectively denying G-d.
Everything is Judaism depends on our belief in one G-d. Every Mitzvah, every Halacha, every moral encouragement, depends upon there being a caring G-d in the universe. Judaism maintains that there must be some good that comes from all that we are required to do, and the source of all that goodness comes from G-d.
Life is not random. The things that we do must make a difference, not just to us and those we are in contact with, but we have to make a difference in a cosmic/spiritual sense as well. All of the meaning in our lives depends first of all on the premise that there is a G-d, beyond our universe and beyond our understanding that is the source of all life in the universe. The Rabbis noted that Abraham was the first to understand this concept of a single Creator/Ruler of the universe. The Rabbis tell a story of Abraham seeing a great castle with lights burning in every room. Abraham enters the castle and walks from room to room and never sees a single person in the entire castle. Finally Abraham says, “Can it be that this castle has no master?” at which point G-d replies, “I am the master of this castle.” The argument therefore is one based on the evidence that we see in this world. We see a world that is ordered and which follows a given set of natural laws. Can it be that such a world could come into existence in a random manner? Can it be that all that we see does not have a “master”? It is the beauty and the organization of this world that leads us to our one G-d. Today we know many proofs about the existence of G-d and just as many proofs denying that existence. How are we supposed to know if G-d is real or not?
There is no way to ever know about the existence of G-d for sure. G-d is just too different and not a part of our physical universe. So in the end, we are left with the existence of G-d as an act of faith. It is a big leap of faith to be sure, but this one leap makes all of Judaism possible. We, of course, have the option of not believing in G-d, but I can say that such a position will not make anyone feel any better about their life and the way the world is unfolding around us. If the world is Random than all of life is meaningless and we end up just a speck in a vast void. Once we establish the existence of G-d, then we give our lives meaning and direction.
Now we can understand why this is the first Mitzvah on the list. Without it there is no need for any other Mitzvot. If we can focus our heart and soul on this one Mitzvah, than all the other actions in life will easily follow. If you are not sure, than the Mitzvah calls on all of us to act “as if” there is a G-d, and then let the rest of the Mitzvot fill in the meaning of our lives.
Next Week: Mitzvah #2: The Unity Of G-d.
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