LOVE VERSUS SACRIFICE - THE SECOND PASSAGE OF SHEMA
Eikev
Both the first and second Parsha of Shema refer to the obligation to love Hashem, but with a key difference.
The first Parsha says that we must live Hashem בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך , with all of our heart, with all of our soul and with all of our Me’od. The second Parsha of Shema tells us that we must love and serve Hashem בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם with all of your heart and with all of your soul. But it does not mention the third level of ובכל מאדך.
Chassidus teaches loving Hashem with all of your heart and with all of your soul refers to a love of Hashem that comes through meditation and understanding of G-dliness and how He is the source of our existence.
To love Hashem with all of your “Me’od” means to serve Hashem with your very being. This refers to a serving Hashem with Mesiras Nefesh, sacrificing and surrendering oneself to Hashem.
The first Parsha of the Shema refers to the Avodah of Tzaddikim, the spiritual elite who serve Hashem with passion and feeling and do not experience spiritual struggles. The second Parsha refers to those who struggle spiritually, having to contend with their Yetzer Hara and with temptation to sin.
This is why the second Parsha of the Shema warns us “take care lest your hearts seduce you and you will turn away…” because it is addressing someone who is struggles with this temptation.
This being the case, it would be more appropriate to mention בכל מאדך in the second Parsha, since those who struggle with temptation have a greater need for Mesiras Nefesh in serving Hashem to be able to overcome their challenges.
The Rebbe explains: It is true that generally בכל מאדך refers to serving Hashem with Mesiras Nefesh. However, more specifically it too is a level of love of Hashem as the Posuk indicates. But unlike love which is generated through understanding which by definition is limited, the love of בכל מאדך is a love which transcends understanding and is therefore unlimited.
However, since even this unlimited love is still ultimately a feeling and spiritual craving, it too is an expression of self, albeit from a deeper level of the soul.
Mesiras Nefesh means to completely transcend and surrender oneself entirely. Mesiras Nefesh is the revelation of the very essence of the soul which serves Hashem not because of a deep feeling of love and desire, but because the Neshama is one with Hashem and cannot do anything but serve Hashem.
Every Neshama possesses this core and therefore the Alter Rebbe teaches that even the most ’lowly’ Jews will sacrifice themselves rather than renounce their faith, because they cannot become separate from Hashem. In order to overcome spiritual challenges and temptation, we need to tap into this inner core.
The love of בכל מאדך appears in the first passage because it is the deep love of Tzaddikim. The absence of the love of בכל מאדך from the second passage of the Shema is because for the one who struggles, their ability to overcome their temptation comes from the essence of the soul, the Mesiras Nefesh which is deeper than the deepest of loves.
The first Parsha says that we must live Hashem בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך , with all of our heart, with all of our soul and with all of our Me’od. The second Parsha of Shema tells us that we must love and serve Hashem בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם with all of your heart and with all of your soul. But it does not mention the third level of ובכל מאדך.
Chassidus teaches loving Hashem with all of your heart and with all of your soul refers to a love of Hashem that comes through meditation and understanding of G-dliness and how He is the source of our existence.
To love Hashem with all of your “Me’od” means to serve Hashem with your very being. This refers to a serving Hashem with Mesiras Nefesh, sacrificing and surrendering oneself to Hashem.
The first Parsha of the Shema refers to the Avodah of Tzaddikim, the spiritual elite who serve Hashem with passion and feeling and do not experience spiritual struggles. The second Parsha refers to those who struggle spiritually, having to contend with their Yetzer Hara and with temptation to sin.
This is why the second Parsha of the Shema warns us “take care lest your hearts seduce you and you will turn away…” because it is addressing someone who is struggles with this temptation.
This being the case, it would be more appropriate to mention בכל מאדך in the second Parsha, since those who struggle with temptation have a greater need for Mesiras Nefesh in serving Hashem to be able to overcome their challenges.
The Rebbe explains: It is true that generally בכל מאדך refers to serving Hashem with Mesiras Nefesh. However, more specifically it too is a level of love of Hashem as the Posuk indicates. But unlike love which is generated through understanding which by definition is limited, the love of בכל מאדך is a love which transcends understanding and is therefore unlimited.
However, since even this unlimited love is still ultimately a feeling and spiritual craving, it too is an expression of self, albeit from a deeper level of the soul.
Mesiras Nefesh means to completely transcend and surrender oneself entirely. Mesiras Nefesh is the revelation of the very essence of the soul which serves Hashem not because of a deep feeling of love and desire, but because the Neshama is one with Hashem and cannot do anything but serve Hashem.
Every Neshama possesses this core and therefore the Alter Rebbe teaches that even the most ’lowly’ Jews will sacrifice themselves rather than renounce their faith, because they cannot become separate from Hashem. In order to overcome spiritual challenges and temptation, we need to tap into this inner core.
The love of בכל מאדך appears in the first passage because it is the deep love of Tzaddikim. The absence of the love of בכל מאדך from the second passage of the Shema is because for the one who struggles, their ability to overcome their temptation comes from the essence of the soul, the Mesiras Nefesh which is deeper than the deepest of loves.