בס”ד P. 1 GIVING MORE MEANING TO OUR TEFILLAH - ONE WEEK At A TIME ISSUE NO. 108 Loving G-d שמע :Tefillah Focus Of The Week (The Hirsch Chumash, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, in G-d, he must also believe in himself. Sefer Devarim 6:5, Feldheim Publishers). That is to say, that Hashem cares about ואהבת את ה' אלקיך, As we stated in ‘Praying With Passion’, what each individual is doing in this בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל world. Similar to a loving father, Hashem שמע ,("Issue 106, Shema 1, ("Insight מאדך. expresses the central tenet and foundation cares if His children make it in life. Meaning: of Judaism, that of a Jew’s faith, emunah, When it comes to milestones, your baby’s The simple translation of the prayer as the devoted subject of the One, All- first steps can’t be beat. One day he’s Powerful King. Rav Tzadak Hakohen inching along the couch, holding onto it You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with (Tzidkas Hatzadik, Os 154) teaches that there for support, and the next moment, he’s all your heart, with all your soul and with is more than one level of emunah. Just tottering hesitantly into your waiting all your resources. as one must have faith, belief and trust (cont. P. 2) Theme: Meaning within the word An essential concept of the prayer Word to the Wise: Reciprocated Love The Torah requires us to love Hashem, our G-d, with בכל—our heart, with our soul and with our resources Loving G-d wholeheartedly comes from To honor G-d only with the .לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך feeling His personal involvement in our mind and the spirit is not sufficient. We must be ready to lives as individuals and as a nation. surrender our physical existence, our desires and our fortune, as true love expresses itself by the desire to sacrifice everything. Further, the בכל לבבך—G-d requires us to love Him .כל Insight: Torah places emphasis on the word with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your ,ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך Deeper meanings of the theme Your G-d means. Why is that so? Hashem is our ,ה’ אלקינו ה’ אחד The answer is that once we acknowledge that we refer to ,שמע ישראל In the first verse of G-d, Hashem, the One and Only, then He is the sole Source of our whole He is Hashem Who reveals ,אלקינו as ה’ being, volition and fortune. If everything comes from the one G-d, Who gives himself as G-d to our entire nation. The with love, then we are His in every aspect of our being. We are His with all we addresses ,ואהבת ,שמע second section of think, and want and possess. Everything that we possess is a bond that joins each individual and shows him G-d as us to G-d. Everything is given to us as a pledge of His love, and we dedicate Who carries ,ה’ אלקיך ,his personal G-d everything to Him as an offering of our reciprocal love (The Hirsch Chumash, Rav each individual throughout the course Samson Raphael Hirsch, Sefer Devarim 6:5, Feldheim Publishers). of his life and seeks to guide him in all his actions. G-d cares about each שמע individual and watches over him with Inside This Issue: Focus on His love and guidance. When a person Visualize ............................................2 Did You Know ....................................2 thinks of G-d as his personal G-d, he is Try This ..............................................2 ואהבת את ה’ אלקיך ,better able to love G-d P. 2 ISSUE 108 GIVING MORE MEANING TO OUR TEFILLAH - ONE WEEK At A TIME Loving G-d שמע (INSIGHT cont.) life’s triumphs. Knowing this makes all he finds too warm or too cold. Several arms. Your child’s first steps are his first the difference in the world, for it places nights a week, he may be served food that major move toward independence. us in the context of a loving relationship he finds distasteful. In the playground, the with G-d. We are thereby assured of swings may be too high for him to reach, Why is a parent so excited when his child Divine assistance as we attempt to fulfill and the slide may seem frighteningly steep. takes his first steps? It is because the parent our mission in life, and are motivated by loves the child to the point where the Then, one day, the child is adopted by a our love to serve wholeheartedly the One child’s health, success and happiness are family. His new parents shower him with who holds us dear. synonymous with the parent’s happiness. love. His mother cooks his favorite foods. Conversely, when one’s child is ill, G-d His father gladly opens the window of his forbid, a parent does not think of it as the Visualize: bedroom a bit to give him the fresh air he Images that bring the prayer to life “child’s problem.” Rather, it is top on the needs to sleep comfortably. The backyard At Home With G-d list of the parent’s own worries. The parent is outfitted with a swing set made for children his age. The child instinctively could not be more concerned if he were A small child lives in an orphanage. He feels his parents’ love from their effort to sick himself, and in fact, many parents sleeps in a large room with nine other create a world just right for him. would rather be sick themselves than to children. He eats in a dining hall and see their child suffer. plays in a playground equipped for all 150 Hashem did not just create the world, That great, unselfish love and devotion children residing in the institution. The put us in it and stand back to watch what is just a whisper of the fatherly love people who run the orphanage are kind- happens. He interacts with us minute Hashem feels for each and every one hearted and well-intentioned. They have by minute, guiding our steps and filling of His children. His infinite supply of created a world with the children’s overall our needs. When we open our eyes to love and kindness is never exhausted, health and happiness in mind, but they this truth, our own overwhelming love and is therefore ample to embrace each cannot possibly tailor everything to the instinctively flows back to Him. person individually as he navigates needs of each individual child. Therefore, a through life’s challenges and revels in child may go to sleep each night in a room This! Imagine a nurse handing you a newborn and telling you, “Here’s a baby.” Now imagine her Try handing you a baby and saying, “Here’s your baby.” These are two vastly different experiences. The bond of love that springs into being immediately with the words “your baby” is there because this .ואהבת את ה’ אלקיך your G-d,” in“ ,אלקיך baby is yours. Think of that overflowing love when you say the word Shutting Out Distractions so ,שמע Did You It is customary for one to put his right hand over his eyes when he reads the first verse of that he will not be distracted by the sights around him (Orach Chaim 61:5, Mishneh Berurah, ibid:17). The Know source of this custom is the Talmud (Berachos 13b), which states that when Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi he covered his eyes in order ,שמע would deliver a Torah lecture, and the time arrived for reciting ? to help him concentrate on the words and not be distracted by his students. V’Ani Tefillah Foundation, 1616 E. 29th St., Brooklyn, NY 11229 | 201-837-0354 | [email protected].