Musar for Deuteronomy 6:5

We find that his service was out of love and not out of fear and this is the highest service. The Creator, blessed be He, did not praise him for fearing Him, nor did he say, “The seed of Abraham who fears me or is terrified,” but he said (Isaiah 41:8), “The seed of Abraham, My friend.” We have already said that fear is contained in love. Know that the service of the Creator, blessed be He, out of fear is not the service of the truly pious, but it is the service of the wicked or the nations of the world, as He has said to the wicked (Jeremiah 5:22), “Fear ye not Me?”, and He says concerning the Egyptians (Exodus 9:20), “He that feared the word of the Lord,” for they were not doing His command out of love, but out of fear. But to the pious he says (Deuteronomy 6:5), “And thou shalt love the Lord, thy God,” and (ibid., 11:13), “To love the Lord your God.” But he says in Job (Job 1:8), “A wholehearted and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil,” and He did not say concerning him, “a lover of God.” And similarly it is said (Psalms 34:10), “O fear the Lord, by His holy ones,” and this is said of the wicked. For when the wicked cleave to the service of God and sanctify and cleanse themselves from their uncleanliness, they are called “holy ones” as it is said (Numbers 11:18), “Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow.” Whereas of the pious ones, whose heart is pure from the first day of their existence, it is said (Psalms 31:24), “O love the Lord all ye His godly ones; the Lord preserveth the faithful.” And of Enoch, it is said (Genesis 5:22), “And Enoch walked with God,” and it is not said, “And Enoch feared God.” And concerning Noah it is said (Genesis 6:9), “Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted.”¹⁷Job was regarded by Jewish tradition as a gentile, as were Enoch and Noah. The latter two lived prior to the time of Abraham, the founder of Judaism. Thus the service of God through fear is not like the service of God through love.

These then are the foundations of love. And every man who has in him these ten qualities, his love can be called a complete love. And concerning these qualities, it is said (Deut. 6:5), “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy, might.” And know that according to the love of man for God may He be exalted, such is the love of God for him. And thus they asked one of the wise men and said to him, “A man serves God with all his might and when does God, may He be extolled, desire to see him?” He said to them, “When a man casts the world behind his back and all its delights and abhors his life and longs for his own death²⁰This example sounds like Socrates’ saying that the philosopher is always seeking death. . In such a case, God may yearn to see him. That is to say, if a man loves the Creator exceedingly, then the Creator will love him exceedingly.”

We must strive to attain perfection in the following areas: 1) perfection of one's soul; 2) perfection of one's body; 3) perfection of one's belongings, money matters. Regarding these three areas, the Torah says: "You shall love the Lord your G–d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6,5). The life of the body depends on the heart. The word נפש, refers to the נשמה, soul. When we speak about someone as being שלם בגופו, שלם בתורתו, שלם בממונו see Rashi's commentary on Genesis 33,18, we view תורה as well as study and achievements (in study) as elements the soul depends on.

These commandments are divided into three groups of which some aim at perfecting our souls, some at perfecting our bodies, and others at ensuring that our property will be "pure", i.e. that we will not be guilty of robbery and dishonesty. Concerning these three aspects of perfection, the Torah says: "Love the Lord your G–d with all your heart, i.e. the seat of your physical life, with all your soul, i.e. the seat of your spiritual life, and with all your might, i.e with all your economic assets" (Deut 6,4).

The warning to remove all vestiges of idol-worship is part of the overall directive of סור מרע, "stay away from evil." The wording of the prohibition not to covet appurtenances of former idolatry is a reminder that once one covets something one is liable to take steps to acquire it. When the Torah says: לא תביא תועבה אל ביתך, this is not the same as saying: לא תביא תועבה לביתך. The wording of the Torah teaches that the transport of the item is culpable, even before its arrival in your house. Following examples of distancing oneself from evil, the Torah continues to urge us ועשה טוב, to actively engage in doing good. An example of the latter is the commandment to love the stranger, i.e. the one who has forsaken the path of idol-worship. These converts are so beloved by G–d that He associates one's loving them with loving G–d Himself. This is why the Torah uses the word אהבה both for the feelings we are to harbor towards G–d as well as for the feelings we are to harbor and display towards the stranger who has embraced Judaism.

And know that there are sublime virtues given over in the positive commandments such as: The virtues of free choice, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 30:19), “and choose life”; and the virtues of Torah study, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:7), “and you shall speak about them;” and the virtues of walking in the ways of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 28:9), “and you shall walk in His ways;” and the virtues of contemplation of the greatness of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:39), “Know therefore this day and keep in mind that the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other,” and David said (Psalms 14:2), “The Lord looks down from heaven on mankind to find a man of understanding, a man who seeks God”; and the virtues of remembrance of His kindnesses,” as it is stated (Deuteronomy 8:2), “Remember the whole way,” and it is [also] stated (Deuteronomy 8:6), “And you shall know that the Lord your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son,” and David said (Psalms 107:43), “he will contemplate the kindnesses of the Lord,” and said (Psalms 26:3), “For Your kindness is across from my eyes”; and the virtues of holiness, as it is stated (Leviticus 11:44), “and you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy”; and the virtues of worship, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “and He shall you worship;” and the virtues of fear, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “And you shall fear the Lord”; and the virtues of love, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:5), “And you shall love the Lord, your God;” and the virtues of clinging, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), ”to Him shall you cling.” There are several levels to each of these, as will be explained, with God’s help. And man was created for the sake of these virtues, as it is stated (Isaiah 43:7), “All who are linked to My name, whom I have created for My glory.” And what is the hope of a creation if it does not make the things for which it was created, the toil of his soul and his main occupation?

Chapter 5 - How a person can accustom himself with the trait of kindness (chesed): [Its] essence is love of God - the main entrance for a person to the secret of kindness is to love God with the fullest love, such that he will not leave His service for any reason. [This is] on account of there being nothing at all as beloved to him, relative to his love of Him, may He be blessed. And so, he [should] first fix all the needs of His service; and what remains afterwards will be for other needs. And this love [should] be fixed in his heart. Whether he receives goodnesses from the Holy One, blessed be He, or whether he receives afflictions and upbraidings, he [should] consider them [to be products of His] love for him, as it is written (Proverbs 27:6), "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." And it is as it is [also] written (Deuteronomy 6:5), "and with all your might (meodecah)" - and they explained (Berakhot 54a), "With each and every trait (midah), etc., so as to include all of the traits in Kindness. And it comes out that the secret of His governance is from Kingship (Malkhut); and even as it acts with judgement, it is connected to Kindness. And this is the trait of Nachum, the man of Gamzo, who would say, "This too (Gam zo) is for the good." He wanted to always connect [occurrences] to the side of Kindness that is called good, and [so] he would say, "This too," that appears to be with the 'left' that is connected to Severity (Gevurah), "is" nothing but "for the good," [which is] connected to Kindness. And he would put his mind to the side of the good with this trait and hide its judgments. And this is a great practice, always to connect with Kindness.

The quality of love involves more deeds than all the other qualities. And when a man uses the quality of love for evil there is not a single quality so evil. But when a man uses the quality of his love for good, then that quality is higher than all others, as it is written : "And you shall love the Lord your God" (Deut. 6:5). And there is no greater virtue in the Service of the Creator than he who serves Him out of love.

Let a man abandon all other loves and cleave to love of the Creator, Blessed be He. For the Love of God, Blessed be He, is the goal of all good qualities, and the final purpose of all worthy traits in the ladder of ascent of all men who serve God and of those with generous souls among men of kindness and mercy and of the Prophets and the Pharisees — yes, this is the ultimate goal and there is no goal that is higher than this.

He who serves God out of love occupies himself with the Torah and the Commandments, and walks in the paths of wisdom. Have you seen how he will carry out all the mitzvoth out of love and how he will love God, Blessed be He with a great love, for no worldly reason — not out of fear of evil befalling him, and not out of expectation of good resulting from his conduct, but doing the true deed because it is true, and the good will come in the end. This virtue is very great indeed and not every man can attain it. And this was the virtue of Abraham our father, whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, called "My loving friend" (Is. 41:8) for he served God only out of love. This is the quality that the Holy One, Blessed be He, commanded us to attain through Moses our Teacher, upon him is peace, as is said: "And you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut. 6:5). And when a man loves the Lord, Blessed is He, with the proper love, he will, at once, do all the commandments out of love.

And what is "the proper love"? It is that he must love the Lord with a great, mighty and supreme love until his very soul is bound up in the love of the Lord, may He be Blessed, and he is in the ecstasy of that love always, as though he were love sick and his mind cannot for a moment be free, as when a man is infatuated with a woman, and he thinks of her with constant ecstasy, where sitting, rising, eating or drinking. Even more than this must the love of the Lord, Blessed be He, be in the heart of those who love him, ecstatic with longing for Him, as He commanded: "with all your heart and with all your soul" (Ibid.). And this is what Solomon said by way of a parable in the song of Songs: "For I am love sick" (2:5) and the entire Song of Songs is a parable of this love of God.

It is clear and well known that the love for the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not securely bound in the heart of a man until he feels its ecstasy constantly as indeed he should, and he forsakes all else in the world outside of it as He commanded and said "With all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 6:5). And he loves the Holy One, Blessed be He, through knowing His ways and according to his knowledge of God is his love whether it be little or great. Therefore, a man must concentrate on understanding and grasping mentally those wisdoms and insights which make him know his Creator as much as it lies within the power of man to understand and attain.

God glorious and awesome — it is a command to love and revere Him, as it is said: "And you shall love the Lord your God" (Ibid.), and it is further said: "The Lord your God you shall revere" (Ibid: 13). And this is the way to attain to love of the Lord, Blessed is He : When a person contemplates the great and wondrous works and creations and sees from them how God's wisdom is unparalleled, and infinite, he, at once, loves God, Blessed be He, and praises and extols Him and is filled with a great longing to know His Great Name, as David said "My soul thirsts for God — for the living God" (Ps. 42:3). And when he considers these things profoundly he immediately trembles and is startled, he is fearful and terrified, and he realizes that he is a small, lowly, obscure creature, standing with his little, finite mind before the Perfect in All Knowledge, as David said: "When I behold Thy Heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast established, what is man that Thou art mindful of him?" (Ibid. 8:4-5).

Commandment 418 legislates that we love the Lord our G–d, as per 6,5. I have explained the meaning of our love for G–d at length in my treatise בעשרה מאמרות. This commandment is in effect literally at all times. Whenever a person is preoccupied with advancing his ego in this world in any shape or form, he does so at the expense of neglecting his love for G–d and becomes guilty of neglecting to fulfil this commandment. His punishment will be severe. Only by constantly promoting the well-being of people and institutions dedicated to G–d and to Judaism does one consistently demonstrate one's love for G–d.

The test of this type of love comes during times of difficulties and troubles. As our sages, of blessed memory, said (Berachot 54a): "'You shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul [and with all your might]' (Devarim 6:5): 'with all your soul' - even if He takes your soul. 'with all your might' - with all your possessions."

To what can this be compared? To [the instance of] a wealthy man, a merchant in precious gems, who, journeying from home, asks one of his companions to take care of his possessions, permitting him first to see his beautiful gems. Upon opening the chest, he sees them, and, beside them rotted earth. At this, he says to himself: "This wealthy one is a fool! How can he leave rotted earth together with such beautiful jewels!" The analogue is self-explanatory. Is it not obvious that all the dead things of the world, in the course of years, all turn to dust, both he himself and all the things he yearned for in his lifetime, as it is written (Koheleth 3:20): "All came from dust and all returns to dust." And he will be astonished at himself forever. How could he have combined in his chest [i.e., in his heart] two loves together? Love of the L-rd and His Torah, the true gems, more desirable than gold and fine gold, and the love of dust — together! Did he not know in his lifetime that in the end all would return to dust? Therefore, one must take great care to drive out of his mind, thoughts of lust for the desires of the world. This is the intent of "And make our hearts one … and let us not be ashamed, forever." And this is the intent, in the recital of Shema, of (Devarim 6:5): "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, etc."

The words השכל וידוע אותי in that verse, mean that "when these attributes originate with Me, then they are something worth boasting about." The fact that the prophet seems to repeat himself by saying השכל וידוע, may be an allusion to the perfection of these attributes personified by our patriarch Jacob, of whom the Torah testified in Genesis 33,18, that he arrived at the city of Shechem שלם, perfect, which Rashi there interprets as whole in body, i.e. physical prowess, גבורה; whole in money, i.e. he was well satisfied with his lot, i.e. עשיר; and finally, whole in his Torah, i.e. he was a חכם. These three kinds of perfection or wholeness, are also described in Deut. 6,5, which tells us how to love G–d, i.e. בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. The heart represents physical life, and it was Yehudah ben Teima who when he said "be mighty like the lion," referred to performing G–d's commandments with all the power of one's heart, according to the introduction of Tur Orach Chayim. When the Torah continues: “בכל נפשך,” the reference is to the abstract life-force, the mind. This means that the mind, which normally craves recognition, should be put at the disposal of G–d's commands. The expression "ובכל מאדך," refers to one's financial wealth, i.e. putting that which is normally subject to one's greed at G–d's disposal. We find that these attributes can be employed in one's relationship with G–d, since many of the commandments of religious ritual require the expenditure of money, such as contributions to Temple maintenance, purchase of communal sacrifices, etc. Other commandments require that one exerts one's body, such as all the laws involving forbidden foods. Still other commandments can be performed only if one uses one's mental faculties.

And therefore David said (see Lev. Rabbah 4:8), just as the soul fills the body and carries the body and outlives the body and is unique in the body and does not eat things of the body, sees and is not seen, and is pure within the body and does not sleep, so does the Holy One, Blessed be He, fill His world, as it is said, "Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:24). And He bears His world, as it is said, "I have made, and I will bear; Yea, I will carry and will deliver" (Is. 46:4). And He outlasts His world as it is said, "They shall perish, but thou shalt endure" (Ps. 102:27). And He is alone and unique in His world, as it is said, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One" (Deut. 6:5). And eating does not apply to Him, as it is said, "Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" (Ps. 50:13). And He sees and is not seen, as it is said, "Which are the eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth" (Zech. 4:10). And He is pure in His world, as it is said, "Thou that art of eyes too pure to behold evil" (Hab. 1:13). And He does not sleep as it is said, "Behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber, nor sleep" (Ps. 121:4). Therefore the soul which has within it all these qualities should come and praise the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who has within Himself all these qualities.

Fear without love is for the wicked and the Gentiles, not for the righteous ones, to whom “Thou shalt love the Lord” (Deut. 6:5) is addressed.¹⁸Brull ib. p. 81 n.7

Midrash Shemuel on Avot quotes the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Tzadok to the effect that the Rabbi Shimon who told us about the advantages of silence in the above quoted Mishnah was one of the Ten Martyrs. All these martyrs sanctified not only their souls but also their bodies. There are two methods of sanctifying the body. 1) The way of Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues who died on קדוש השם, a martyr's death.This kind of holiness is referred to in the Torah as: והייתם קדושים (11,45). The second method of achieving holiness of the body is referred to in the Torah as: אני ה' מקדשם (21,23). Nadav and Avihu acquired holiness of the body via the second method, i.e. their souls were burned whereas their bodies remained intact. Their departure from this world was similar to that of Chanoch (Genesis 5,24), and Elijah (Kings II 2,11). This is why I believe that the reason their bodies remained intact was that their death was due to the intimacy they had established with G–d. When Rabbi Shimon said that he had not found anything better for the body than silence, he alluded to the instruction given to Rabbi Akiva and the other Martyrs to be silent and accept G–d's decree without question. Only after having made this point does Rabbi Shimon explain in detail what this silence is all about. The Talmud (Berachot 61b) reports that when he was about to die, Rabbi Akiva told his students that he had wanted to fulfill the instruction (Deut. 6,5) to "love your G–d with all your heart, all your soul and all your might," as we recite three times daily. He had wondered when he would finally be able to fulfill the part of "loving G–d with all your soul." By dying a martyr's death he was satisfied that he had finally been granted the opportunity to also fulfill that dimension of loving G–d. It was in this connection that Rabbi Shimon – who was also to become a martyr – said: "study is not of the essence whereas practice is." He referred to the difference between displaying one's love for G–d in theory and displaying it in practice. He also wanted to teach that when the practical opportunity to die a martyr's death does not arise (as in 99% of all lives), G–d will consider the intention to do so, i.e. the fact that one has mentally and emotionally prepared oneself to love G–d to the point where one is ready to die for His Name, as if one had actually done so. This is the deeper meaning of: אני ה' מקדשם "I, the Lord, sanctify them."