How do you understand the most famous line in Jewish tradition, Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad--"Hear, O Israel, the Eternal is our God, the Eternal God alone?"
What does this sentence signify for you?
Specifically: how do you understand its primary claim, which could variously be understood as:
"Our ('Jewish') God is the only God." (a declaration not only of the supremacy but of the uniqueness of our God)
"Our God is One" (as opposed to many - a polemic against polytheism)
or, perhaps, as I wish to propose in this week's segment, an understanding derived from Mystical and Hasidic teachings:
"Our God is the only reality in the cosmos; there is nothing else but God!" (Please also consider Deut. 4:35 in the context of this rendering.)
How would your view of existence and, indeed, the meaning of life, change if you adopted the understanding of the Mystics? If indeed God could be defined and described as "everything in the universe," if you adopted the viewpoint that "there is nothing in the universe that is not God," how might your day-to-day existence be shaped by such a view? Would you be able to perceive heretofore unseen connections among what might have appeared to be random circumstances?
Watch, listen, and please share your thoughts on our blog. We'll meet to study Torah on Shabbat morning at 9:00 AM.
L'Shalom,
Jonathan
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