אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה: לָמָּה קָדְמָה פָּרָשַׁת ״שְׁמַע״ לִ״וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמוֹעַ״ — כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּקַבֵּל עָלָיו עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם תְּחִלָּה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ מְקַבֵּל עָלָיו עוֹל מִצְוֹת.
Since the paragraphs of Shema are not adjacent to one another in the Torah, and they are not recited in the order in which they appear, the mishna explains their placement. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Why, in the mitzva of the recitation of Shema, did the portion of Shema precede that of VeHaya im Shamoa? This is so that one will first accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, the awareness of God and God’s unity, and only then accept upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot, which appears in the paragraph of VeHaya im Shamoa.
Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe once asked a pupil:
"Did you ever say Shema Yisrael with kavana (intention and attention)?"
The pupil replied, "Yes, of course, Rabbi."
Said Rabbi Wolbe, "Tell me, while you were saying the Shema did you feel a hint of rebellion against G-d?"
"Chas v'shalom," replied the pupil, "Of course not."
"Then you have never said Shema with kavana" replied the Rabbi.
As quoted by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair https://ohr.edu/5759
alt.
Rabbi Wolbe recounted a story told of Rav Yeruchom Levovitz the spiritual head of the Meir Yeshiva in Poland. Rav Yerucham had approached a student and asked if he had ever said the Shema? The pupil was taken aback and replied:, “Yes, of course, Rabbi.”
Said Rav Yerucham, “Tell me, while you were saying the Shema did you feel a hint of rebellion against God?”
“Chas v’shalom,” (God Forbid) replied the pupil, “Of course not.”
“So you accepted the yoke of God’s Kingdom of Heaven (עול מלכות שמים)… on your feet, and anywhere they take you, on your hands and all your activities, on your eyes and anything you see, on your heart and emotions, your mind and your thoughts, imagination and curiosity… You accepted the yoke of heaven on all 248 limbs (traditional number of limbs in human body and number of words in the daily Shema declaration) …. and you never protested or stiffened in rejection?
“Then you have never said Shema ” replied the Rabbi
As told by Geoffrey Stern
(שם שם פ"ג ה"ג)
The first line of the Shema‘ (Deut. 6:4), where there is large ‘ayin written in the word shema‘, and a large dalet in the word ’ehaD. The scribe is thereby cautioned: watch out, do not write shema‘ (hear!) as though it were shema’ with an aleph, which would change the meaning to “perhaps” (“Perhaps O Israel”); rather, be careful to write it with an ‘ayin (hear; “Hear O Israel”). Similarly, with the last word, the scribe is warned: watch out, do not write ’ehad as though it was ’aheR with a resh, which would change the meaning to “another” (“the Lord is another”); rather, be careful to write it with a dalet (one; “the Lord is our god, the Lord is one”). See: https://www.jtsa.edu/stuff/contentmgr/files/0/db39c4c41efecd2affb7b5c67f1f2712/pdf/bereishit_from_jts_0.pdf
דבר אחר רע הוא לכם ישיבתכם בהר הזה. פנו וסעו לכם ובואו זה דרך ערד וחרמה. הר האמורי ואל כל שכניו זה עמון ומואב והר שעיר. בערבה זו יער של מישור, בהר זה הר המלך. ובשפלה ובנגב זו שפלת דרום. ובחוף הים זו אשקלון ועזה (ועקרון) [וקסרין]. ארץ הכנעני זה גבול כנען שנאמר ויהי גבול הכנעני מצידן, עד שלע זו קדלהי. והלבנון, אמר להם כשאתה נכנסים לארץ ישראל צריכים אתם להעמיד לכם מלך ולבנות לכם בית הבחירה, ומנין שאין לבנון אלא מלך שנאמר בא אל הלבנון, ואומר החוח אשר בלבנון, ואן לבנון אלא בית המקדש שנאמר גלעד אתה לי ראש הלבנון, ואומר ונקף סבבי היער בברזל והלבנון באדיר יפול.
“It was bad for you to have dwelt at this mountain”...
Taken by Christian and Muslim traditions to mean that the commandments were given as a punishemnt to the Israelites:
See: Quran 4:160 "We forbade the Jews certain foods that had been lawful to them for their wrongdoing, and for hindering many from the Way of Allah,"
(ז) רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, הַמְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְשׁוֹנֶה, וּמַפְסִיק מִמִּשְׁנָתוֹ וְאוֹמֵר, מַה נָּאֶה אִילָן זֶה וּמַה נָּאֶה נִיר זֶה, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ מִתְחַיֵּב בְּנַפְשׁוֹ:
(7) Rabbi Shimon said: if one is studying while walking on the road and interrupts his study and says, “how fine is this tree!” [or] “how fine is this newly ploughed field!” scripture accounts it to him as if he was mortally guilty.
Asked Rabbi Moshe Wolfson “ How could admiring God’s works of nature be considered a crime worthy of death?” To which he answered… Anyone who is studying God’s Torah and considers it an interruption to study and admire God’s works of nature… for such a man the Torah considers it as though he had lost his soul… for the real Torah Scholar.. admiring nature is a continuation of Torah study….
Torah texts can isolate you from the truths and beauty of the world around us.. when they do, then you are no longer studying the Torah.
One of the most quoted concepts of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the distinction between "cheap" and "costly" grace. Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor well known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship, including vocal opposition to Hitler's euthanasia program and genocidal persecution of the Jews. He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Tegel prison for one and a half years. Later, he was transferred to Flossenbürg concentration camp.
After being accused of being associated with the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, he was quickly tried along with other accused plotters, including former members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office), and then hanged on 9 April 1945 as the Nazi regime was collapsing.
אם בחקתי תלכו. יָכוֹל זֶה קִיּוּם הַמִּצְווֹת, כְּשֶׁהוּא אוֹמֵר וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִיתֶם אֹתָם הֲרֵי קִיּוּם הַמִּצְווֹת אָמוּר, הָא מָה אֲנִי מְקַיֵּם אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ? שֶׁתִּהְיוּ עֲמֵלִים בַּתּוֹרָה (ספרא):