The other day, on a whim, I picked up a sefer (Hebrew book) entitled Yam HaChochma. This is the most recent edition of the teachings of Rabbi Yitzchok Morgenstern of Yerushalaim. I have seen editions from other years before, but for some reason was never inclined to purchase them. This week I finally got smart; and I wasn't disappointed. Much of what I have read so far has been very meaningful to me. Similar to what I had been doing for a long time in my Lev Tahor blog, sharing the writings of a particular work, I will try to share with you some of his thoughts on this blog over the next few weeks.
Just as God presented us with the revealed portions of the Torah at Mt. Sinai which teach us the actions which God expects us to perform and are recorded in works such as the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch, so too He directed us how to do the inner work through which we can fulfill the duties of the heart. These include the directives to love, fear and develop a relationship with God, as well as the injunctions to believe in God and in his Unity. Ultimately all the commandments, even those involving physical actions, are there to assist Man in fulfilling the inner mitzvos. And just as God instructed Moshe in the details of the physical mitzvos, so too he was instructed in the details of how to fulfill the inner mitzvos as well.
The credo of the Jewish people is the Shema שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, Hear O' Israel the Lord is Our God, the Lord is One. The Baal HaTanya explains that Shema (hear) is an active verb. It means to take the time to contemplate the message of this verse, not to just sit back passively and listen.
We are, therefore, to contemplate the Oneness of God. What does it mean? According to the Ramchal this incorporates two aspects of oneness. First of all the fact that He fills and surrounds all of Creation; there is no place empty of Him. Secondly, that he is One in terms of running the world.
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