Deuteronômio 6:5 Midrash: Midrash Tanchuma, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Devarim Rabbah & Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael

And the Lord said unto Abram: “Get thee out of thy country” (Gen. 12:1). May it please our master to teach us whether an Israelite is permitted to take upon himself the yoke of the heavenly kingdom (i.e., to recite the Shema) while traveling? R. Idi and R. Huna said in the name of R. Judah, and R. Yosé said in the name of R. Samuel: An Israelite is forbidden to take upon himself the yoke of the heavenly kingdom while traveling. He is required to stand still, directing his heart heavenward in trepidation and fear, in trembling and reverence, while proclaiming the oneness of God: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One (Deut. 6:4). He must speak each word with heartfelt sincerity, and then (add the benediction) “Blessed be His name, whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.”¹Cf. Y. Berakhot 13b, Buber Tanhuma, Lekh Lekha 1. However, when he commences the portion “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” he may either walk or stand or sit, as he desires, for it is written: When thou sittest in thy house, when thou goest on thy way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deut. 6:7).

(Fol. 25) R. Jacob said in the name of R. Jochanan: "By every means, one may cure himself except by means of the tree devoted to idolatry." To what case does he refer? If we assume that he refers to a case where there is fear of danger, then why not cure by means of the tree devoted to idolatry? But if he refers to a case in which there is no fear of danger, then one is prohibited to be cured by means of any prohibited articles. Indeed, he does refer to a case where there is fear of danger, nevertheless it is forbidden [to be cured] by means of a tree devoted to idolatry. As we are taught in a Baraitha, R. Eliezer says: "Since it is said (Deu. 6, 5) [Thou Shalt love thy God] with all thy soul, wherefore is added. With all thy wealth? And since it is said, With all thy wealth, wherefore is also added, With all thy soul? This is to teach us that in case there is a man who loves himself more than his wealth, for him it is said. With all thy soul. And if there is a man who loves his wealth more than himself, for him it is said. With all thy wealth. When Rabbi came [from the land of Israel] he said, quoting R. Jochanan: "One may cure himself by every means except by means of idolatry, adultery or murder." Regarding idolatry we have spoken above, and as to adultery and murder, as we are taught in the following Baraitha, Rabbi says: (Deu. 22, 26) For as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and striketh him dead, even so is the matter [of the damsel]. What relation has the incident of a murderer to that of the betrothed damsel? Behold, this case comes [as a teacher and turns out a learner]. We compare the bethrothed damsel unto a murderer, and the murderer unto a bethrothed damsel; i.e., just as a betrothed damsel is given permission to kill [her assailant] in self-defense, so also is permission given to kill a murderer in self-defense; and as concerning murder it is said, that if a man be told to transgress the law or be killed, [slay another or else you will be slain], he must accept to be killed and not transgress, so it is also concerning a betrothed damsel;— she should rather permit herself to be slain than be ravished by a man. And whence do we learn thus concerning murder? This is common sense, as is shown by the incident of the man who appeared before Raba, and said to him: "The governor of my city has told me, 'Go and slay that man, otherwise I shall kill thee!'" Whereupon Raba said to him: "Let them kill thee, but thou must not kill others; for who tells thee that thy blood is more red than his, perhaps his blood is more red than thine."

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). What is “with all your heart, with all your soul” – with each and every soul that He created for you.⁷⁷Every aspect of the soul, represented by the five names mentioned below (Etz Yosef). Alternatively, with all of a person’s inclinations and energy (see Maharzu). Rabbi Meir said: For each and every breath that a person takes, he is obligated to laud his Creator. From where is this derived? As it is stated: “Let everyone who breathes praise the Lord” (Psalms 150:6).⁷⁸Rabbi Meir interprets the phrase “everyone who breathes [kol haneshama]” to mean “for every breath [kol neshima].” Rabbi Simon said: The soul is called the following five names: Ruaḥ, nefesh, neshama, ḥaya, yeḥida. The Rabbis say: Come and see that the Holy One blessed be He fills His world, and [a person’s] soul fills his body. The Holy One blessed be He bears His world, and the soul bears the body. The Holy One blessed be He is One in His world, and the soul is one in the body. The Holy One blessed be He does not sleep, and the soul does not sleep. The Holy One blessed be He is the pure One in His world, and the soul is the pure one in the body. The Holy One blessed be He sees but is not seen, and the soul sees but it is not seen. Let the soul that sees but is not seen come and laud the Holy One blessed be He, who sees but is not seen.
Israel said: ‘Master of the universe, this soul that lauds you, until when will it be placed in the dust⁷⁹Until when will the soul have to endure the physical body; alternatively, until when will the soul be held back from achieving its potential due to the hardships of life (see Etz Yosef; Anaf Yosef). [as it is written:] “Our soul is stooped in the dust”’ (Psalms 44:26)? The Holy One blessed be He said to them: As you live, the End will come, and your souls will rejoice. That is why Isaiah comforts them and says: “I will be gladdened in the Lord; my soul will exult in my God” (Isaiah 61:10).
Rabbi Berekhya said: In ten places the Holy One blessed be He called Israel “bride.”⁸⁰The midrash here proceeds to list only nine such instances, but elsewhere (Shir HaShirim Rabba 4:8:3) it lists the tenth: “A locked garden is my sister, my bride” (Song of Songs 4:12), which should be included here as well. They are: “With Me from Lebanon, My bride” (Song of Songs 4:8); “I came to My garden, My sister, My bride” (Song of Songs 5:1); “you have charmed Me, My sister, My bride” (Song of Songs 4:9); “how fair is your loving, My sister, My bride” (Song of Songs 4:10); “your lips drip nectar, My bride” (Song of Songs 4:11); “like the gladness of a groom with a bride” (see Isaiah 62:5); “the sound of a groom and the sound of a bride” (Jeremiah 33:11); “that you will don all of them like jewelry and you will tie them like a bride” (Isaiah 49:18); “and like a bride who bedecks herself with her ornaments” (Isaiah 61:10). Corresponding to them, Israel adorns the Holy One blessed be He with ten garments [levushin].⁸¹The reference is to ten instances in which Israel praises God with metaphors involving forms of the word garments [levushin]. They are: “I donned [lavashti] righteousness, and it clothed me [vayilbasheni]”; “like a robe and a mitre was my justice” (Job 29:14) – these make two. “He donned [vayilbash] righteousness like armor” (Isaiah 59:17); “He donned [vayilbash] garments of vengeance as His costume [tilboshet]” (Isaiah 59:17) – these make five. “His garment was like white snow” (Daniel 7:9); “why is there red on your garment” (Isaiah 63:2); “The Lord reigns; He is clothed [lavesh] in grandeur. The Lord is clothed [lavesh], girded with strength” (Psalms 93:1); “You are clothed [lavashta] in splendor and glory” (Psalms 104:1) – these make ten.
Another matter: “I will be gladdened in the Lord” (Isaiah 61:10) – to what is the matter comparable? It is to a woman whose husband, son, and son-in-law went to a country overseas…, as it is written in the Pesikta⁸²The midrash here does not provide the full account of this analogy, but it is provided in Pesikta deRav Kahana 22:3 and Shir HaShirim Rabba 1:4:8. until: “I will be gladdened.”