21 Jul OUR LOVE OF HASHEM – IN THE SHEMA

In our daily
Krias Shema, we
say, “V’ahvata
es Hashem
Elokecha – And
you should love
Hashem Your
Go-d.” Both the Rokei’ach and
the Baal HaTurim reveal that the
word v’ahavta is an anagram of
ha’Avos, our Patriarchs, referring
to Avraham, Yitzchak, and
Yaakov. Then, we follow up this
statement of our love of Hashem
with, “B’chol levovecha – With all
our heart,” like Avraham of whom
it is written, “Umatzotza es levovo
ne’emon l’fonecha – And You
found his heart trustworthy before
You.” Then we say, “B’chol
nafshecha – With all of our life,”
like Yitzchak, who offered his life
at the akeidah. Finally, we say
“B’chol meodecha – With all of
your money,” like Yaakov, who
declared, “Kol asher titen li aser
a’ashrenu loch – All that You give
me I will surely tithe to You.”
With this explanation, we can
understand why b’chol meodecha
follows after b’chol nafshecha,
for at first glance it would seem
to be anticlimactic that we pledge
our money after we pledge our
very life. According to the Baal
HaTurim and the Rokei’ach, the
order is chronological in nature.
Rashi answers this difficulty in
another way. He explains that
there are people who love their
money more than their life. For
example, if someone holds them
up threatening, “Your money or
your life,” they’ll attempt to make
a run for it! It is because of such
people, explains Rashi, that it says
b’chol meodecha after b’chol
nafshecha.
I always found this explanation
very puzzling for I would assume
that a person of the mindset which
Rashi describes must certainly
be within a great minority. Most
sensible people love their lives
more than their money. So,
shouldn’t the order of Krias Shema
follow the majority of
humanity? Wouldn’t it be
more proper to say “With
all your money and even
with your life?” I think
the true understanding of
Rashi is as follows. The
word meodecha in reality
does not mean money.
Rather, the word meod
means ‘very much,’ like
in the phrase tov meod, it is very
good. Thus, when we say that
we are loving Hashem b’chol
meodecha, we mean with all that
is the very most dear to us. Rashi
gives but one example: that for
some people money is the most
dear to them. But that is only one
example. Many a mother will
shield her child from danger with
her own body because her child
is dearer to her than her own life.
A loving spouse will shield their
mate from danger. And finally,
here’s another possible meaning
of b’chol meodecha: with one’s
mind: for most people would
rather die than to live like a
vegetable.
So the definition of this
climactic declaration of love
for Hashem varies from
person to person.
I discovered another example
of what b’chol meodecha
can entail from the following
Chassidic gem. Rav Nochum
of Chernobyl, Zt”l, Zy”a, used
to travel from small town to
another to spread the holy
words of the Baal Shem Tov
and the Maggid of Mezeritch.
He came to one town and
found that they did not have
a mikvah. When he asked the
townspeople how such a thing
was possible, they explained
that they couldn’t afford to
build one. Rav Nochum did
some homework and learned
that there was one wealthy
man living in the town. He
approached him with the
proposition to perform the
great mitzvah of building the
mikvah. The man responded
with a counter-proposal. He
was ready, he said, to both
fund the building of a stateof-the-art mikvah and take on
its long-term expenses with the
following condition. When the
Rebbe inquired as to the condition,
astonishingly the man asked in
exchange for the Rebbe’s Olam
Haba, his portion in the Afterlife.
Rav Nochum acquiesced and the
contract was drawn up.
When the students of Rav Nochum
asked him in consternation how
he could agree to such a thing,
he answered that it says that one
should serve Hashem b’chol
meodecha. What, he concluded,
could be more precious to me than
my portion in the Afterlife and
now I get a chance to show my
love for Hashem even with that!
In the zchus of dedicating
ourselves wholeheartedly to
Hashem, may he shower us with
good health, happiness, and
everything wonderful!