"I pleaded"
Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11; Isaiah 40:1-26; Mark 12:28-34
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This week's Parsha begins with Deuteronomy 3:23-24 At that time I pleaded with the Lord: "O Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?" As I read these words I looked back over the past year and thought of all of the amazing things G-D has done for our congregation. We truly have begun to see His greatness. We have moved into our new building, we have seen growth in our membership, both in numbers and in maturity. We received the gift of our new property on Guidy lane. We have heard testimony from our mishpochah of G-D's blessings in their lives. These and many more things are certainly a demonstration of G-D's sovereignty and involvement in our lives. However, I also know that as Moshe said we have only begun to see the might of G-D in our lives. As we read the Word of G-D we see many promises that G-D has given to His people. We are His people; we just need to realize that G-D has more for us. If we walk in His ways we will see that He can and will open the Heavens up and provide all that He has promised to His children.
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This week’s parsha contains the Shema and V’ahavta, which are found in Deuteronomy 6:4. These verses are known as the foundational scriptures of Judaism. When we stand each day and say the Shema (three times a day) we are proclaiming our faith in the ONE TRUE G-D of the Scriptures. As in the V’ahavta we say the Shema when we lie down and rise up and during the day. But even more important then our reciting this prayer of proclamation is our teaching the scriptures to our children. The wording goes beyond just teaching; it says to teach carefully. These words tell us that our lifestyle must be a demonstration of our faith. We have to live our lives in a way that everyday our children can watch those things we do and see the Shema in our actions. We must present a clear message of Yeshua in our daily walking and talking. This does not mean we must speak in scriptures but rather that our lives should be epistles seen and read by men.