Jewish Musings Monday, August 12

[hollygail]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Frieda (hopefully)?
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[hollygail]

Here's a brief quote from from the JPS B’Nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary, by Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, published by the Jewish Publication Society (and, as a teacher, I have his permission to quote from his work).

"This Torah portion begins with Moses’ recalling how he had pleaded with God to be allowed to cross over the Jordan River to enter the Land of Israel. No go, says God. So, knowing that the end is coming sooner rather than later, Moses recounts the history of the Israelites so that they will be able to learn its lessons. He reminds them that God has been merciless to [idolaters], and that the Israelites must worship God alone.

"Jewish laws and teaching affect the reputation that the Jewish people will have, even though they have been conveyed by a God who has no form and communicates only through a voice. Finally, just so the Jewish people really understand, the parashah repeats the Ten Commandments here (an earlier version of them is in Exodus 20) — with a few minor, but significant changes.

"This brings us to the Sh’ma, the declaration of God’s unity and uniqueness, along with specific ways to demonstrate love for God."

I suspect the sh'ma may be at least one of the best (if not the best) known lines from Torah that Jews know.

What's your take on the sh'ma? Does it "speak" to you? If yes, in what way(s)?

[gazelle18]

I guess my best answer would be that the sh’ma is the distillation of the teachings of the Torah all in one perfect sentence. You can hardly go around reciting the whole Torah day after day. Everyone needs an abbreviation. But you need one that is catchy while all-encompassing.

[peachymom1]

I like what Lynne said. What speaks to me about the Shema is the theme of unity. That may be obvious, but we forget that sometimes (among ourselves and with the rest of the world), and it's such an important concept that we need to keep repeating it. We really are all in this together.