Hear, O Israel

In my Hebrew class over the past three semesters, we've been reciting the Shema in Hebrew before class every week. To be totally honest, I hadn't actually memorized it (until recently) and would only mumble along with the rest of the class while I hunted for my printed copy in my notes. For some reason, however, this week I was spending time with the Lord and in the Word, and all that changed. I read the Shema in an English translation ("Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength"). After reading it, somehow the Shema in Hebrew began running over and over in my mind and continued to throughout the day and the rest of the week. It's been an incredible experience for me... as I pray this ancient creed in its original tongue throughout my daily routine.

I've begun to re-think the creed itself as a result. None of these insights are my own--they've all been acquired through classes and professors at WBS--but I thought I would share them as they have become more personal to me. I used to wonder at the variety of English translations of this passage in the "all of your_________" statements. I always thought it would be interesting to study the original, and interesting doesn't even cover it. The first word, often translated "heart," actually can mean heart, mind, and will in Hebrew. It describes the emotive and decision-making faculties of a person. While it is usually not the best exegesis to force a word to mean all of its possibilities at once in a given context, I consider this context to be one of trying to express the most holistic concept possible. Therefore, I don't think it is amiss to read just this first phrase as "Love the LORD your God with all your heart/mind/will." That's a lot in just one of the three phrases! Already it covers almost all we are able to convey in the English translation. The second word, often translated "soul," is the word used in Genesis when it says that God breathed into Adam and he became a living _________. The word itself actually conveys life or being itself--Adam became a living soul, a living life, a living being, a living person. So now we're to, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart/mind/will, with all your life/being/person..." Finally, the last phrase really blows my mind. The basic meaning is "with all your very much." The concept being communicated is along the lines of--if I've left anything out, love God with that too as much as you can! In conclusion, I've been challenged this week by the Hebrew equivalent of the following running through my mind: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one! Love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind, and will, with all your life, being, and person, and with all your everything and anything you've got!" Wow... I long to love God that much in all my life.