וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֞ אֶת־חֻקָּ֣יו וְאֶת־מִצְוֺתָ֗יו אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֤י מְצַוְּךָ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם אֲשֶׁר֙ יִיטַ֣ב לְךָ֔ וּלְבָנֶ֖יךָ אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ וּלְמַ֨עַן תַּאֲרִ֤יךְ יָמִים֙ עַל־הַ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ כָּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃ (פ)
Et tu observeras ses lois et ses commandements, que je te prescris aujourd’hui, pour ton bonheur et pour celui de tes enfants après toi, et afin que ton existence se prolonge sur cette terre que l’Éternel, ton Dieu, te donne à perpétuité."
Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut
They pay no attention to that which the Torah admonishes us (Devarim, 4:39), “You shall know this day and take unto your heart that Hashem is Elo-him,12This famous verse expresses the deepest mystery of life, and is among the central tenets of the Hasidic movement. Although this verse was taught by Moshe on the very last day of his physical life, to the Hasidic master, the words are eternally relevant: “know this day.” This knowledge is not merely of the fact of revelation, but the very ongoing act of revelation. Thus, the knowledge is not merely intellectual, but mystical. It is the awareness that the Transcendant God is also immanent, and that the All-Powerful has the capability to reveal something of Himself through the vessels of finite creation. For R. Gershon Henokh, this verse is also the source of faith, which, to the Hasidic masters, was a trans-cognitive faculty that enabled one to breech the opposites of God and reality, infinity and finitude. As R. Gershon Henokh will explain below, faith is the realization God’s mercy and compassion, represented by the ineffable name YHVH is itself E-lohim, representing God’s judgment. God’s Judgment is God’s Mercy. Faith in God’s Goodness in the midst of adversity is the sign of a truly believing person. For God to ask man to know that Hashem is E-lohim requires man to know that there is a spiritual wisdom beneath or beyond the surface of the hard facts of life. This depth of belief opens up the ability to know mysteries of God and the Torah. The notion that God’s judgment is God’s mercy is termed in the Zohar as, “the mystery of faith,” as will be more fully discussed in chapters seven and eight. in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is no other. And you shall guard his statutes …”13In other words, knowledge of God’s unity, in heaven and earth, in good and bad, leads one to guard His statutes.