Summary

The beginning words of the pep talk to the Jewish soldiers prior to entering combat are identical to the first two words of Shema. "And the righteous lives in his belief [in G'd]". The belief taught to us by Habakkuk corresponds to the first two of the Ten Commandments. If the Jewish soldiers only have the merit of saying "Shema" they will not fall into the hands of our enemy. Why does the kohein refer to Shema rather than directly to the first two of the Ten Commandments? What is the order of the three portions of Shema? The significance of saying Shema twice daily is to accept willingly G'd's Kingdom every morning and every night. On a deeper level, we accept upon ourselves G'd's sovereign rule both when our lives are pleasant and full of light, and when things are difficult and dark. Throughout the Ten Days from Rosh Hashanah till Yom Kippur, G'd, so to speak, sits on His Throne and judges everyone. In the month of Elul, we have the opportunity to focus on accepting G'd's Kingdom when we say Shema and get ready for the Days of Judgment.

Shema

In last week's Torah Attitude we spoke about how G'd is ready to deliver our enemies into our hands in the merit of our prayers and Torah study. However, we find an intriguing comment in Rashi Parashas Shoftim (Devarim 20:3) where the Torah discusses how the Jewish army shall prepare for war. The Torah instructs that an appointed kohein shall give a pep talk to the soldiers prior to entering combat. The kohein starts his talk saying "Hear Israel." Rashi quotes from the Talmud (Sotah 42a) that points out that these words are identical to the first two words of Shema that we say twice daily. This, says the Talmud, comes to teach us that even if the soldiers only have the merit of saying Shema twice daily, that will be sufficient to ensure that they will not fall into the hands of the enemy.

Belief in G'd

We may be able to understand this comment with another quote from the Talmud. A few weeks ago (Torah Attitude Parashas Va'Eschanan) we mentioned that the Talmud (Makkos 23b) teaches that G'd instructed Moses 613 commandments. The Talmud continues to explain that various prophets condensed the commandments to much smaller numbers. The first one was King David who made a list of ten things. The last one was the Prophet Habakkuk who condensed them down to one item, as he said (2:4): "And the righteous lives in his belief [in G'd]". Obviously, the prophets did not suggest that we do not need to observe all 613 commandments. Rather, they taught us the basics where we should start, so that we have a solid foundation upon which we can build and grow in our observance.

First two commandments

Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Idels (better known as the Maharsha) explains that the belief that Habakkuk taught us corresponds to the first two of the Ten Commandments, "I am HASHEM your G'd" and "You may not have any other gods." The Jerusalem Talmud teaches that these two commandments are referred to in the first verse of Shema (see Torah Attitude Parashas Va'Eschanan).

Merit of saying Shema

This may be what the Talmud (Sotah 42a) means. If the Jewish soldiers only have the merit of saying "Shema" they will not fall into the hands of our enemy. For saying Shema indicates that they put their trust in G'd, and not in any other forces, including their own and the forces of their allies.

Why refer to Shema?

However, another question arises about the kohein's speech to the soldiers prior to going into combat. He is basically telling them that G'd will protect them provided that they have taken the first step in observing the commandments. This means that they must believe in G'd and accept their total dependency on Him. If this is the message given to them by the kohein, why does he refer to Shema rather than directly to the first two of the Ten Commandments?

Order of Shema

We shall attempt to answer this question with yet another quote from the Talmud (Berachos 13a). The Talmud asks, what is the order of the three portions of Shema? Obviously, it is not based on the order that they are written in the Torah, for the third portion is mentioned in the fourth book of Moses, Bamidbar; whereas the first two portions are written in the fifth book, Devarim. The Talmud answers that in the first portion we accept upon ourselves the yoke of [G'd's] Heavenly Kingdom. In the second portion, we accept upon ourselves the yoke of the commandments. The Talmud continues to explain why the second portion is recited before the third one. For the commandments we accept upon ourselves in the second portion, such as studying Torah and affixing a mezuzah on our doorpost, apply both day and night, whereas the main commandment of the third portion, wearing tzitzis on our garments, is only obligatory during the day.

Accept G'd's Kingdom and commandments

Many people believe in G'd, but they are not ready to accept upon themselves G'd's Kingdom and His commandments. This is not what Habakkuk meant when he said that the righteous live in their belief in G'd. And this is not what the kohein referred to when speaking to the Jewish army. They had in mind to teach us that our observance of the commandments should not be based on our personal understanding and appreciation. Rather, it must be based on our belief in G'd. In this way, we are ready to accept G'd's yoke upon ourselves and live our lives according to His instructions. This is the significance of saying Shema twice daily. We accept willingly G'd's Kingdom every morning before we start our daily activities. Thus we state that whatever we do throughout the day, we realize that we are bound by G'd's commandments as loyal subjects of our King. And every night we repeat our acceptance to remind ourselves that whatever we are going to do during the night is equally governed by G'd's commandments.

Light and dark

On a deeper level, we accept upon ourselves G'd's sovereign rule both when our lives are pleasant and full of light, and when things are difficult and dark.

King

This applies every time we say Shema throughout the year, but even more so during the month of Elul, where we prepare ourselves for the Days of Awe. From Rosh Hashanah till after Yom Kippur, we make certain changes in Shemoneh Esrei and describe G'd as "King" more than we do the rest of the year. During these Ten Days, G'd, so to speak, sits on His Throne and judges everyone. The more ready we are to accept G'd's Kingdom at this time, the better our chance to be inscribed for a healthy and prosperous year as His loyal subjects.

Elul

In the month of Elul, we have the opportunity to focus on accepting G'd's Kingdom when we say Shema and get ready for the Days of Judgment. May we utilize these days to their fullest.

These words were based on a talk given by Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto.

These words were based on a talk given by Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto.

Shalom. Michael Deverett