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If a paragraph in this week’s portion looks somewhat familiar to us, that is because it should be. That paragraph, which begins with the words “vehayah im shamoa” (if it shall come to pass) is traditionally read twice daily as the second paragraph of the Shema. It speaks about many of the same topic as the first paragraph of the Shema. Both command us to love God with every fiber of our being and to pass along the word of God to our children. According to the interpretation of our sages, they both instruct us to wear tefilin and to place these paragraphs in mezuzot on our door posts.
There are also significant differences between the two sections. Those who have an eye for grammar will notice that the first section is written in the second person singular. For example, when instructing us to love God with all of our heart, it states “bekhol levavekha,” with all of your heart. The second paragraph of the Shema speaks in the second person plural. It teaches us to love God “bekhol levavkhem” with all of your hearts. |
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More significantly, the second section details our rewards for keeping God’s commands and our punishments for disobeying. If we worship God properly, the rain will fall, food will be abundant, and we will eat and be satisfied. Should we worship idols, the rain will stop and we will be exiled from the land. The first paragraph of the Shema does not even hint at such rewards or punishments. Omitting any reference to reward and punishment suggests that such matters are irrelevant to proper worship.
Maimonides, in his Introduction to Perek Chelek, picks up on these significant differences. He argues that each paragraph speaks to two different classes of people. The first section of the Shema omits rewards and punishments to portray the most exalted level of worship. This ideal service of God means worshiping Him for its own sake, without concern for reward. Since few are able to achieve this exalted ideal, the first paragraph of the Shema is written in the singular. Most other people require reinforcement in order to motivate them to serve God. The sheer abundance of such people is signified by the plural form taken by the second section. There is nothing wrong with such worship, as it is only natural for people to require rewards to motivate them. The inherent value of performing the mitzvot also makes their observance significant, even if done in part for ulterior motives. Nonetheless, those who worship God so they can be rewarded miss the ideal form of devotion.
While Maimonides reads the two sections as speaking about different types of people, most of us can personally relate to both sections of the Shema. Sometimes we internalize the value of serving God for its own sake and find it childish to desire a reward. Such periods could be described as our “veahavta” moments. Other times we are not as motivated and must imagine reinforcement for our mitzvoth. We might project God causing us to make a sound investment or giving us “mitzvah points” for the next world. These times are our “vehayah” moments. We recite both paragraphs to reflect these different periods in our religious lives. |
