The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response.
Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions.
Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out.
Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah.
Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30