45 Va’etchanan (Part B) - I pleaded - Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 Deuteronomy (Messianic) Vol. I - The Harvest
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- Religion & Spirituality
The most notable feature of this week's portion is the Shema. The word "shema" means "hear", "listen intently". It is a Hebrew imperative that carries the notion of an action-oriented command. In other words, "Now that you have heard, go and do something about it!" My commentary on the Shema will introduce the difficult concept of the "tri-unity" of our unexplainable God. The ancients called HaShem "Eyn-Sof", a term which quite literally means "without borders". Our God is infinitely unknowable. Yet because of our finite minds, he has chosen to express himself in ways that we can perceive. However we shall have to wait to gain a fuller perception of him, once we put off this corruptible flesh and our eyes are able to see through this mirror clearly instead of darkly. I want to share with you what I believe the “Shema” (basically a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4) can be hinting at, using the typical Jewish answer first, and then going on to explain how a non-Jewish believer can better “defend” himself against such an answer. This is simply an exercise designed to explain to some why many Jewish People are unwilling to give up their monotheism. This commentary set is not to be used as a standard witnessing technique among my people, but if the material proves helpful in explaining the difficult topic to unbelievers and anti-missionaries, then the commentary will have served its purposes. “God is ONE. There is no other god (or God) worthy of worship aside from YHVH.” This is a typical, monotheistic answer, based on a traditional Jewish view of Deut. 6:4, a.k.a., the Shema. This subject will continue to baffle many Jews and Christians alike: how can God be "One" and yet somehow "three". The matter is really made clear when Christians explain that correct Christianity does not believe in three gods! We believe in ONE God who expresses himself in a "unity of three". God is indeed one! The Shema affirms this. The characters of the Scriptures, both “Old and New Testaments” confirm this. The Shema is the "watchword of Jewish monotheism". The Shema is foundation! The "trinity" is a doctrine that has long been characterized by misunderstanding, both among my people, as well as a few Christians. I believe that most of the confusion actually stems from the language that we choose to use when describing the unified nature of our somewhat incomprehensible God. However, the Torah does not expect us to label God and stuff him in box. Nor are we so smart that our systematic theological viewpoints of him will ever fully describe his wonderful glory. Yet the revelation that has been graciously granted to us is a complete one, in that, all that we need to know to maintain a right-standing relationship with HaShem is found within the pages of his Word, and most specifically, in the person of his only and unique Son Yeshua our Messiah. Let us first read the actual pasuk (verse) itself: "Sh’ma Yisra’el, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra’el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]." Anyone with some knowledge of the Hebrew text will realize that the word translated ADONAI is the four-letter name for HaShem, YHVH, also known as the "Tetragrammaton." The Jewish people use this name only in a very sacred and personal way. To be sure, today Torah-observant Jews, in reverential fear of misuse never speak it. Because of the understanding that the Shema "defines" the oneness of YHVH (which is what the Hebrew word echad implies), many Jews are fiercely monotheistic. After all, is this not what the plain sense (p’shat) of the verse in Deuteronomy is teaching? The word "echad" teaches us that God is the ONLY God that we are to serve. To be sure, some translations render this verse as, "Hear Isra'el, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone." This is the primary meaning conveyed by the use of this word "echad". That God is our only God is paramount to correctly understanding any revelation of him in his Word.
The most notable feature of this week's portion is the Shema. The word "shema" means "hear", "listen intently". It is a Hebrew imperative that carries the notion of an action-oriented command. In other words, "Now that you have heard, go and do something about it!" My commentary on the Shema will introduce the difficult concept of the "tri-unity" of our unexplainable God. The ancients called HaShem "Eyn-Sof", a term which quite literally means "without borders". Our God is infinitely unknowable. Yet because of our finite minds, he has chosen to express himself in ways that we can perceive. However we shall have to wait to gain a fuller perception of him, once we put off this corruptible flesh and our eyes are able to see through this mirror clearly instead of darkly. I want to share with you what I believe the “Shema” (basically a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4) can be hinting at, using the typical Jewish answer first, and then going on to explain how a non-Jewish believer can better “defend” himself against such an answer. This is simply an exercise designed to explain to some why many Jewish People are unwilling to give up their monotheism. This commentary set is not to be used as a standard witnessing technique among my people, but if the material proves helpful in explaining the difficult topic to unbelievers and anti-missionaries, then the commentary will have served its purposes. “God is ONE. There is no other god (or God) worthy of worship aside from YHVH.” This is a typical, monotheistic answer, based on a traditional Jewish view of Deut. 6:4, a.k.a., the Shema. This subject will continue to baffle many Jews and Christians alike: how can God be "One" and yet somehow "three". The matter is really made clear when Christians explain that correct Christianity does not believe in three gods! We believe in ONE God who expresses himself in a "unity of three". God is indeed one! The Shema affirms this. The characters of the Scriptures, both “Old and New Testaments” confirm this. The Shema is the "watchword of Jewish monotheism". The Shema is foundation! The "trinity" is a doctrine that has long been characterized by misunderstanding, both among my people, as well as a few Christians. I believe that most of the confusion actually stems from the language that we choose to use when describing the unified nature of our somewhat incomprehensible God. However, the Torah does not expect us to label God and stuff him in box. Nor are we so smart that our systematic theological viewpoints of him will ever fully describe his wonderful glory. Yet the revelation that has been graciously granted to us is a complete one, in that, all that we need to know to maintain a right-standing relationship with HaShem is found within the pages of his Word, and most specifically, in the person of his only and unique Son Yeshua our Messiah. Let us first read the actual pasuk (verse) itself: "Sh’ma Yisra’el, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra’el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]." Anyone with some knowledge of the Hebrew text will realize that the word translated ADONAI is the four-letter name for HaShem, YHVH, also known as the "Tetragrammaton." The Jewish people use this name only in a very sacred and personal way. To be sure, today Torah-observant Jews, in reverential fear of misuse never speak it. Because of the understanding that the Shema "defines" the oneness of YHVH (which is what the Hebrew word echad implies), many Jews are fiercely monotheistic. After all, is this not what the plain sense (p’shat) of the verse in Deuteronomy is teaching? The word "echad" teaches us that God is the ONLY God that we are to serve. To be sure, some translations render this verse as, "Hear Isra'el, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone." This is the primary meaning conveyed by the use of this word "echad". That God is our only God is paramount to correctly understanding any revelation of him in his Word.