Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar;
Deuteronomy 6:8:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
The above verse is one of the most sacred verses in Judaism. Every orthodox Jew recites this verse every morning, afternoon, and evening. When confronted with a difficulty they recite this verse, when going to battle, they march into battle reciting this verse. They believe in the recitation of this verse it draws then into the heart of God where they can appropriate the power of God and call for the presence of his angels. It is one of those verses that comprise an invocation as we discussed in class yesterday. Words that carry tremendous power when verbally spoken, but as we discussed yesterday, such words do not defeat the enemy if spoken like “magic words” or an “incantation.” You must understand and speak those words from your heart, just as Daniel did in the lions den. Just as his three friends did when facing the fiery furnace, just as Elisha did when his servant feared the kings army and Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes to see the multitude of angels that Elisha summoned by simply reciting the Shema.
The Talmud teaches that we have the ability to call for the protection of angels, but we must call and we must use the words of Torah when we make this call. This is precisely what Daniel did when he was standing before the lions den. He spoke these words from and of God. He spoke them with understanding and he spoke then from this heart. What did he say that brought the angels down to shut the mouths of the lions. It was not “O’Lord, I sure need help now, or Lord protect me.” He and God were already in agreement on that issue. He spoke the same words his three friends spoke before they were thrown into the furnace.
“Hear O’Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your might (wealth).”
When Daniel spoke those words before all the princes and kings, before his accusers, before his executioners, the angels appears, swords drawn, and carried Daniel into
that lion’s den and shut the mouths of the lions. Daniel had charge, had dominion over the lions. We see pictures of Daniel calmly lying down in the lion dens using one lion as a pillow and another as a foot rest. Come on, let’s be real, Daniel stood on one side of the lion’s den, the angel’s in the middle and the lion’s on the other side as Daniel spent the night reciting the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) as well as those words we studied yesterday “Praise Jehovah for it will bring us in harmony with Him and His mercies will be eternal.”
But “how shall I love Thee?” pleads the sages. “In what way is this emotion to be expressed?”
The Talmud teaches that if you rearrange the letters of “and you shall love” (ve-AHaVTa) and you find the word “Ha-AVoT,” the Fathers. The sages teach this represent the three Patriarchs who begin the story of the Jewish people. Three phrases are given to elaborate on the requirement of Love toward God.
1. “With all your heart” (Be-khol levavkha), Abraham discovered God in his heart and believed with all of his heart. The word heart (lev) has come right into the English language in our word “love.” Did you know that the very last word in Torah is Israel and the last letter of Israel is “lamed.” The first letter of Torah (in beginnings) start with a “beth” and put the two together what do you have – “lev” (heart). The sages teach that with Torah we find the Love of God as well as the love of our fellow man. But, soft, you notice the word for love begins with the last word and ends with the first word. Why? So teach the sages: “Love for God can only be created after we have studied the Torah at least once – and allowed it to complete love in us.”
2. “With all your soul” (be-khol nafshekha). Isaac, the second patriarch, was prepared to give up his life on the altar of sacrifice.” To invoke the power of God through these words you must be willing to make your life a sacrifice to God.
3. “With all your might” (u-ve-khol meodekha). The word in the Hebrew for might is “meod.” Sounds a little like our English word “money.” That is a coincidence but “meod” according to the sages should be translated as wealth. Remember how God prospered Jacob, the third patriarch multiplying his sheep over that of his Father in Law. Laban. God had prospered Jacob so much that Laban refused to let Jacob leave. Yet, note what Jacob said when he fled his home. He made a vow to God (Genesis 28:22): “… and of all that thou shall give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
So what words of praise, what prayer, what words given by God Himself for us to recite will appropriate the power of God and His angels? What were those powerful words that shut the mouths of lions, allowed the faithful to pass through the fires, and allowed the prophet to call ten thousand angels?
They were words that declared their relationship to the Master of the Universe. Words that said that because they studied the Word of God they grew in Love to Him such that they would lay down their lives for Him and all that He gave them they would give back to Him.
When we accepted Jesus as our Savior we did not just get a ticket to heaven, He cleansed us of all sin so that we can enter into perfect harmony, a perfect bandwidth with God. If anyone can shut the mouths of the lions, pass through the fires, call ten thousand angels with the simply Words of God found in the Torah, the Yamon Ki Yesepar can.
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