By Rabbi Dr. Sanford H. Shudnow
This week’s Torah portion is Va’etchanan: Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11
Every Torah portion brings with it memories of where I was on that particular Shabbat, when we read that reading. As significant as the reading of Va’etchanan in Deuteronomy is, with its Shema and the so-called Ten Commandments, I remember a special Shabbat weekend I spent in Tokyo with Japan’s Jewish community.
On that Shabbat, we had three American rabbis in military uniform together: the rabbi of Tokyo and a Navy reservist, the rabbi from Okinawa stationed with the U.S. Marines and me with the U.S. Navy in Yokosuka, outside of Yokohama.
The rabbi serving Okinawa was to deliver the D’var Torah at the meal following the morning service. He was impressive, tall and good-looking in his uniform. I told him, “Everyone is impressed with you before you speak; let’s hope that they will be after you speak.”
As it turned out, he chose to speak about one of the most controversial topics at the time, one that remains a concern: the recognition of non-Orthodox Jewish movements in Israel.
Since there were those in the congregation aligned clearly in the Orthodox camp and some Israelis, I felt constrained to lend a hand to my friend the “Okinawan rabbi.” In the end, a question was asked by one of the Israelis present.
“How does your D’var Torah relate to the Torah portion of Va’etchanan?” The somewhat uncomfortable rabbi responded, “Echad” — One. He said, “Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad.” “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
I must say that reflecting upon the experience that day in Tokyo, the so-called Okinawan rabbi did not handle the situation well.
Let us look at the Shema. As familiar as this verse of Torah is to the Jew, it is not without its problems exegetically. Most Jews see the Shema as a prayer, but it is of course a quotation from Torah.
Translations into English, ancient and modern commentaries on Shema abound. Understanding this seemingly simple first line of Shema is far from simple.
An excellent review of the major trends of rabbinic and modern thinking is found in the “New Jewish Publication Society Commentary on Deuteronomy.”
There, the translation is nonstandard: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.”
The understanding accordingly is, “Hear, O Israel,” focus your attention and heed “the Lord is our God, the Lord alone.”
The emphasis here is on “our God.” This translation underlines the proper relationship between God and Israel, that He alone is Israel’s God. This emphasizes that the Shema, central to rabbinic Judaism, describes a relationship with God, rather than His nature.
The usage of “alone” as the translation of “Echad” is rooted in the medieval rabbinic commentaries. Emphasizing God as the one God of Israel is the major thrust of our Judaism.
While God may expect of us a special relationship through Torah and mitzvot (commandments), there is an even greater goal, and that is the one expressed so beautifully in the commentary of Rashi on our verse.
Rashi writes, “The Lord who is now our God and not the God of the other nations. He will be in the future [declared] ‘the One Lord,’ as it is said in Zephaniah, ‘For then I will turn to the peoples in a clear language that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord,’ and later ‘On that day will the Lord be One and His Name One.’”
This ultimate goal of world unity under the sovereignty of God is the challenge of Judaism. It is for this reason that all Jewish religious prayers end with this verse from Zechariah, “On that day will the Lord be One and His Name One — Echad.”
Rabbi Dr. Sanford H. Shudnow served 22 years as a Navy chaplain, with his last duty station at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda (known today as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center).
