March 30, 2011: All-Encompassing Judaism

Dear Chevre (Friends):

In the same way that Judaism tends to stress righteous deeds over proper belief, I often prioritize the Ve’ahavta over the Shema. The Ve’ahavta passage: “You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might…,” immediately follows the Shema, “Hear O Israel, Adonai your God, Adonai is One” (both in the Torah and in the prayer book). Each element of the Ve’ahavta gives rise to a basic Jewish practice, but it symbolizes much more. “You shall write [these words] upon the doorposts of your house” is the reason for the Mezuzah, but to me the instruction is a reminder to make my home a place of love and respect. “You shall bind them as a sign upon your arms and between your eyes” produces the ritual of “laying Tefillin,” but to me it means that all my actions (“upon my arms”) should be for good, and all my thoughts (“between my eyes”) should be benevolent and constructive. “You shall speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” underlies the specific religious requirement to recite the Shema during the morning and evening worship services, but the verse, taken as a whole, encourages me to seek out meaning throughout my waking hours, every minute of every day, even in the most mundane tasks.

In the Bible, there is no distinction between the physical and the spiritual, or between “secular” activities and “religious” activities. Just as one can go to synagogue and feel nothing, one can transform doing the household laundry into an expression of love. No action is so trivial that it cannot be rendered holy. Pleasure does not have to be relegated to certain peak experiences. Every moment affords the opportunity for contentment. Even more relevant to achieving fulfillment for ourselves than the Shema’s declaration of the all-encompassing nature of God is the Ve’ahavta’s declaration of the all-encompassing nature of the Jewish way of life.

Rabbi Brian
rabbi.brian.besser@gmail.com