"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). It's a commandment to feel something, to direct the entire force of your being towards the Divine. But how do we even begin to unpack that?
The Rabbis, as always, had some thoughts. Devarim Rabbah, our text today, delves into this very question. What does it truly mean to love God with "all your heart, with all your soul"?
One interpretation suggests it means with each and every soul God created for you. Every aspect of the soul, represented by its many facets. The Etz Yosef commentary elaborates on this idea, linking it to the five names of the soul.
Rabbi Meir takes it a step further. He says that for each and every breath that a person takes, we are obligated to laud our Creator. Where does he get this idea? From (Psalms 150:6): "Let everyone who breathes praise the Lord." Rabbi Meir brilliantly interprets the phrase "everyone who breathes [kol haneshama]" to mean "for every breath [kol neshima]". Each breath, a tiny act of praise.
Rabbi Simon gives us a glimpse into the complexity of the soul. He tells us the soul is called by five names: Ruach (spirit), Nefesh (being), Neshama (soul), Chaya (life), and Yechida (the unique one). These aren't just synonyms, but rather different dimensions of our inner selves.
The Rabbis then present a beautiful analogy. Come and see, they say, that just as God fills the world, the soul fills the body. God bears the world, and the soul bears the body. God is One in the world, and the soul is one in the body. God doesn't sleep, and the soul doesn't sleep. God is pure, and the soul is pure. God sees but is not seen, and the soul sees but is not seen.
It’s a powerful parallel. So, let the soul that sees but is not seen come and laud the Holy One, who sees but is not seen.
But then comes a poignant question from Israel: "Master of the universe, this soul that lauds you, until when will it be placed in the dust?" Until when will the soul have to endure the physical body? Or, as the Etz Yosef and Anaf Yosef commentaries suggest, until when will the soul be held back from achieving its potential due to the hardships of life? "Our soul is stooped in the dust" (Psalms 44:26). It's a cry of longing, a yearning for something more.
And the Holy One responds with a promise: "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 takes us in another direction, exploring the intimate relationship between God and Israel through the metaphor of bride and groom. He points out that in ten places, God calls Israel "bride." We find these instances scattered throughout the Song of Songs, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. "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); "like the gladness of a groom with a bride" (Isaiah 62:5).
Corresponding to these ten endearments, Israel adorns the Holy One with ten garments [levushin] of praise. These "garments" are actually metaphors found in Job, Isaiah, Daniel, and Psalms, where God's attributes are described using clothing imagery. "He donned [vayilbash] righteousness like armor" (Isaiah 59:17); "His garment was like white snow" (Daniel 7:9); "The Lord reigns; He is clothed [lavesh] in grandeur" (Psalms 93:1).
Finally, the text concludes with a parable, drawing from the Pesikta deRav Kahana and Shir HaShirim Rabba. It speaks of a woman whose husband, son, and son-in-law have gone overseas, and her eventual joy upon their return. This joy mirrors the rejoicing of the soul in God.
So, what do we take away from all this? Perhaps it's this: Loving God is not a single act, but a continuous process. It's in every breath, in every facet of our soul, in the intimate relationship we cultivate through praise and devotion. And even in moments of hardship and yearning, there is the promise of future joy and fulfillment. Can we truly embrace that promise?
“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.”
