So the shema begins with Deuteronomy 6:4, then there’s an insertion of a blessing regarding the Kingdom of God/heaven (the focus of most of Jesus’ teaching), then the first of the three paragraphs of the shema. This first paragraph is Deuteronomy 6:5-9.
“You shall love LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This paragraph is called “v’ahavta.”
The “v” means “and.”
“ahavta” is a conjugated form of the verb for “love.”
It is in the perfect mood, which represents a completed action. So it must be understood either as past tense or as a promise/prophecy. In this context it is not saying you have loved. So since the phrase “You shall love” is not in the imperative mood meaning a command, as is the word “shema,” it seems that it is to be understood as a promise that you indeed will love God. The “v”/”and” connects it with the command to shema. Thus you are commanded to shema (hear/obey) LORD alone, and as a result you will love him. So this paragraph is a picture of the resulting lifestyle of the one who hears and obeys God the king.
“heart” refers to emotions and intellect. So when the Gospels include mind in the list it’s OK because it is implied in the Hebrew understanding of heart.
“soul” (nephesh) refers to the essence of life, the life force, the whole being of a person.
“strength” refers not only to the physical body, but could also be translated as resources, or everything you have, your possessions, your wealth.
“You shall teach” is also in the perfect mood. So it is not a command, but a promise. Teaching the words that God commands is what you do when you shema.
The binding and writing are also in the perfect mood.
Verses 8 could refer to the literal use of tefillin or phylacteries, but it can very easily be understood as metaphorical. Here are the main words of the verse and some of their possible meanings:
Bind = bring together, conspire, tie
Sign = remembrance, warning, mark
On = upon, against, beyond, over
Hand = repetition, time, strength, power, physical hand
Frontlets = (a rare word. root means to go around or bind)
Between = (root means discernment and insight)
Eyes = mental and spiritual faculties, physical eye, fountain or spring of water
This and three other verses are used to support the tradition of tefillin. Deut 11:13-21 is very similar to this passage. But Exodus 13:1-10 and 13:11-16 demonstrate the figurative nature of this phrase when the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the consecration of the firstborn are signs on your hand and memorials and frontlets between your eyes.
Verse 9 is used to support the use of mezuzahs. The words seem to be more literal but could also be understood as metaphorical.
Write = describe
Posts = the obvious, noticeable parts
House = family, inside
Gates = entrances, openings, public places
No rants today; just a big long explanation.
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