Love, God, Torah, and Israel
The highest expression of love is giving. When we give something we cherish to another person, we are giving more than an object; we are giving ourselves and our love. Jewish tradition teaches that God, out of ahavah (ה ָב ֲה ַא), “love,” chose to give the Torah to the people of Israel. And the people of Israel, in accepting the Torah, chose to live according to God’s mitzvot. This way, this prayer reminds us of the loving relationship among God, Israel, & Torah.
How can we model God’s love for Israel in our everyday lives? How can we bring divine love and compassion into our relationships and our communities?
A Special People?
At this moment in our service, the prayers speak about the fact that God specifically chose us, the Jewish people, and gave the Torah to us, the chosen treasured ones. Some struggle with the notion of the Jewish people’s chosenness that comes across in these prayers. According to the prophet Isaiah, “being chosen by God” was not a privilege but a task. Speaking in the name of God, Isaiah said:
But you, Israel, My servant...
You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth...
And said unto you: “You are My servant;
I have chosen you....
I, Adonai, have called you to righteousness.
And taken you by the hand.
And kept you; I have made you a covenant people,
A light to the nations.
—Isaiah 41:8, 41:9, 42:6
When we speak of Jews as being “chosen” or “treasured,” we have in mind our people’s task to fulfill the commandments of the Torah and to help all people advance toward a day of justice and peace. To be “chosen” means to be selected for responsibilities—not for privileges! The way in which Ahavah Rabbah and Ahavat Olam phrase God’s love for us emphasizes this.
Read the following Bible passages:
Amos 5:4–15; Isaiah 42:1–6; and Deuteronomy 30:1–20.
What do they tell us about the task of the Jewish people?
For what are Jews “chosen”?
How should we be fulfilling some of the tasks of the Jewish people?
What do you think about the idea?
“Unite Our Hearts”
In Ahavah Rabbah we have the words v’yacheid l’vaveinu, “and unite our hearts.” What does this expression mean? We know that in order for artists or athletes to perform with excellence, they must give total attention to their task. The same can be said about prayer or living as a Jew. It takes complete devotion, or what we call kavanah. There may be another meaning for v’yacheid l’vaveinu. Often when we set out to do something that we believe is right, we meet obstacles. There may be people who laugh at us or call us foolish. It may be that in doing what we feel is right, we will have to stand up against many who disagree with us. At such times, we are called upon to act with added courage and determination. Perhaps that is what is meant by the prayer’s words “unite our hearts in love and reverence for Your Name.”
The Purpose of the Mitzvot
Jewish tradition teaches us that the Torah is a source of direction for human beings. The Torah and its commentaries provide us with both ritual mitzvot—guidelines for how to conduct our Jewish lives; and ethical mitzvot—commandments that help us to understand the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. For instance, the Torah teaches us how we should treat the poor and the sick and what our responsibilities are to parents, strangers, and neighbors. The Rabbis of the Talmud believed that “if there were no Torah, the world would not continue to exist” (Babylonian Talmud, N’darim 32a). They thought it would be impossible to have a society without laws and people devoted to living by them.
The Mitzvot of Torah
Jewish tradition describes this grouping of two categories with particular phrases: the mitzvot of ritual are called mitzvot bein adam LaMakom, commandments between the individual and God. These mitzvot deal with the Jewish holidays, Shabbat, religious practices, and dietary laws of kashrut. The other category is mitzvot bein adam l’chaveiro, commandments regarding ethical behavior and moral living between the individual and other human beings. These are meant to help a person know the difference between right and wrong and to live a just, truthful, and good life.
What do you think of Moses’s statement about the mitzvot? Are some mitzvot more easy to perform than others? Why? The Rabbis summarize Moses’s statement in the following way: “The mitzvot were given that we might live by them” (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 85b). What would your life look like if you incorporated mitzvot into your daily practice? Are there mitzvot that can infuse your life with greater meaning and purpose?
(א) וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְבַחֲמוּרָה, שֶׁאֵין אַתָּה יוֹדֵעַ מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל מִצְוֹת.
(1) Be careful with a light commandment as with a grave one, for you did know not the reward for the fulfillment of the commandments.
What are some of the small, seemingly unimportant things people have done for you that have meant much more than they might have imagined?
Where Can We Find You?
O God, how can we know You? Where can we find You? We discover You in observing the beauty and order of nature. And we find You, O God, in the fulfillment of the mitzvot of Torah. When we are moved to be loving to others and to strive for truth, we discover You within us. When we are kind and give of what we have to those in need, we feel Your presence. And when we heal another person’s hurt or give comfort, we sense Your goodness, O God, at work in our lives. We give thanks to You for the Torah, which teaches us that we can find You in the fulfillment of Your mitzvot.
—Rabbi Harvey J. Fields