Save
Copy
Add to Collection
Export to Google Docs
ShareGod loves you.
There. I’ve said it.
I know what some of you are thinking: [...] Jews don’t talk that way – that whole “God loves you” thing.
I can’t say I blame you.
Because, let’s be honest. It’s not how the world views Judaism.
Consider that terrible slur against the so-called God of the so-called Old Testament, who is the god of harsh judgment – as opposed to the God of the New Testament, who is the god of love.
It’s just one step from there to Christians good, Jews bad.
It’s also not how Jews view Judaism, either.
Once upon a time, it was.
But our history has bruised us and battered us and it has forced us to be deaf to our own beautiful traditions.
Once upon a time, we saw ourselves as the people that God loves.
Now, to quote Rabbi Jonathan Sacks too many Jews define themselves as the people that gentiles hate.
This is a pathetic distortion of our faith and our fate.
Do you know why countless generations were able to stand up to Jew-hatred? Because no matter what befell them, they had faith in God’s love.
(א) אַהֲבַת עוֹלָם בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל עַמְּ֒ךָ אָהָֽבְתָּ תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים אוֹתָֽנוּ לִמַּֽדְתָּ: עַל כֵּן יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ בְּשָׁכְבֵֽנוּ וּבְקוּמֵֽנוּ נָשִֽׂיחַ בְּחֻקֶּֽיךָ וְנִשְׂמַח בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָתֶֽךָ וּבְמִצְוֹתֶֽיךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד: כִּי הֵם חַיֵּֽינוּ וְאֹֽרֶךְ יָמֵֽינוּ וּבָהֶם נֶהְגֶּה יוֹמָם וָלָֽיְלָה: וְאַהֲבָתְ֒ךָ אַל תָּסִיר מִמֶּֽנּוּ לְעוֹלָמִים: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אוֹהֵב עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל:
(1) [With] An everlasting love You loved the House of Israel, Your people. You taught us Torah and commandments, statutes and laws. Therefore, Eternal, our God, when we lie down and when we rise, we will discuss Your statutes, and rejoice in the words of Your Torah and in Your commandments forever. For they are our life and they lengthen our days, and on them we will meditate day and night. [May] Your love never be removed from us. Blessed are You, Eternal, Who loves His people Israel.
(6) For you are a people consecrated to the LORD your God: of all the peoples on earth the LORD your God chose you to be His treasured people. (7) It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that the LORD set His heart on you and chose you—indeed, you are the smallest of peoples; (8) but it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He made to your fathers that the LORD freed you with a mighty hand and rescued you from the house of bondage, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
(1) I fell in love with Israel When he was still a child; And I have called [him] My son Ever since Egypt. (2) Thus were they called, But they went their own way; They sacrifice to Baalim And offer to carved images. (3) I have pampered Ephraim, Taking them in My arms; But they have ignored My healing care. (4) I drew them with human ties, With cords of love; But I seemed to them as one Who imposed a yoke on their jaws, Though I was offering them food. (5) No! They return to the land of Egypt, And Assyria is their king. Because they refuse to repent, (6) A sword shall descend upon their towns And consume their limbs And devour [them] because of their designs. (7) For My people persists In its defection from Me; When it is summoned upward, It does not rise at all. (8) How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How surrender you, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah, Render you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart, All My tenderness is stirred. (9) I will not act on My wrath, Will not turn to destroy Ephraim. For I am God, not man, The Holy One in your midst: I will not come in fury.
God remembers the 'honeymoon' time of Divine marriage with Israel
(ד) שִׁמְע֥וּ דְבַר־יְהֹוָ֖ה בֵּ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְכׇֽל־מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹת בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ה) כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה מַה־מָּצְא֨וּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֥ם בִּי֙ עָ֔וֶל כִּ֥י רָחֲק֖וּ מֵעָלָ֑י וַיֵּ֥לְכ֛וּ אַחֲרֵ֥י הַהֶ֖בֶל וַיֶּהְבָּֽלוּ׃
(1) The word of the LORD came to me, saying, (2) Go proclaim to Jerusalem: Thus said the LORD: I accounted to your favor The devotion of your youth, Your love as a bride— How you followed Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. (3) Israel was holy to the LORD, The first fruits of His harvest. All who ate of it were held guilty; Disaster befell them —declares the LORD. (4) Hear the word of the LORD, O House of Jacob, Every clan of the House of Israel! (5) Thus said the LORD: What wrong did your fathers find in Me That they abandoned Me And went after delusion and were deluded?
(16) Assuredly, I will speak coaxingly to her And lead her through the wilderness And speak to her tenderly. (17) I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a plowland of hope. There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, When she came up from the land of Egypt. (18) And in that day —declares the LORD— You will call [Me] Ishi, And no more will you call Me Baali. (19) For I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth, And they shall nevermore be mentioned by name. (20) In that day, I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; I will also banish bow, sword, and war from the land. Thus I will let them lie down in safety. (21) And I will espouse you forever: I will espouse you with righteousness and justice, And with goodness and mercy, (22) And I will espouse you with faithfulness; Then you shall be devoted to the LORD.
(א) לְכָה דודִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה. פְּנֵי שבָּת נְקַבְּלָה.
Let’s go, my beloved, to meet the bride,
and let us welcome the presence of Shabbat.
(35) Give might to God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose might is in the skies.
(לג) רַבִּי עֲזַרְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בְּרַבִּי סִימוֹן אָמַר בִּזְּמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם מוֹסִיפִין כֹּחַ בִּגְּבוּרָה שֶׁל מַעְלָה, כְּמָה דְאַתְּ אָמַר (תהלים ס, יד): בֵּאלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה חָיִל. וּבִזְּמַן שֶׁאֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם, כִּבְיָכוֹל מַתִּישִׁין כֹּחַ גָּדוֹל שֶׁל מַעְלָן, דִּכְתִיב (דברים לב, יח): צוּר יְלָדְךָ תֶּשִּׁי.
R. Azariah said in the name of R. Yehudah b. R. Simone: When Israel perform the will of the Omnipresent they add strength to the heavenly power; as it is said [in Psalms], “To God we render strength” [Ps. 60:14]. When, however, Israel does not perform the will of the Omnipresent, they weaken, if it is possible to say so, the great power of Him Who is above; as it is written [in the Torah], “You weakened the Rock that begot you.” [Deut. 32:18].
Midrash:
R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Abbahu: Although “You are... everlasting” [Ps. 93:2], Your throne was not firmly established, nor were You known in Your world, until Your children [Moses and the people of Israel] recited the Song: [He is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.] [Exodus 15:1-2] This is what the Israelites said: In truth, You existed both before and after You had created Your world, but You were standing, as it were... Since... we recited the Song before You, only then did Your kingdom and throne become firmly established [and you could sit!] [Exodus Rabbah 23:1]
הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בַּתְּחִלָּה קָרָא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בַּת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים מה, יא): שִׁמְעִי בַת וּרְאִי וְהַטִּי אָזְנֵךְ וְשִׁכְחִי עַמֵּךְ וּבֵית אָבִיךְ, לֹא זָז מְחַבְּבָן עַד שֶׁקְּרָאָן אֲחוֹתִי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שיר השירים ה, ב): פִּתְחִי לִי אֲחֹתִי רַעְיָתִי יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי שֶׁרֹאשִׁי נִמְלָא טָל קְוֻצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה. לֹא זָז מְחַבְּבָן עַד שֶׁקְּרָאָן אִמִּי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה נא, ד): הַקְשִׁיבוּ אֵלַי עַמִּי וּלְאוּמִּי אֵלַי הַאֲזִינוּ כִּי תוֹרָה מֵאִתִּי תֵצֵא וּמִשְׁפָּטִי לְאוֹר עַמִּים אַרְגִּיעַ. עָמַד רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחָאי וּנְשָׁקוֹ עַל רֹאשׁוֹ.
At first the Holy One called Israel daughter, as it says “Hearken, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house.” (Psalms 45:11) He kept loving them to the point of calling them ‘my sister,’ as it says “…Open for me, my sister, my beloved, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is full of dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” (Song of Songs 5:2) He did not cease to love them to the point of calling them ‘my mother,’ (imi) as it says “Hearken to Me, My people, and My nation (u’lumi), bend your ears to Me, when Torah shall emanate from Me, and My judgment shall be for the light of the peoples, I will give them rest.” (Isaiah 51:4) R’ Shimon bar Yochai stood up and kissed him on his head.