08/16/2024
Hello my dear friends,
How was your week? I hope you're doing well. We're doing good, Thank G-d.
This Shabbat, the Torah portion "Vaetchanan" contains many significant verses, but perhaps the most famous of all is found in Deuteronomy 6:4:
"Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad"
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is one."
This is the verse that our ancestors—religious or not—held close to their hearts even as they were persecuted, tortured, and burned alive simply for being Jewish. From the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust, and even as recently as ten months ago, on October 7th, this verse was a beacon of faith.
On that very day, Beni Chasin, after being trapped in a "Mamad" (Secured Room) for 22 hours, was finally rescued by the IDF. To confirm their identity as fellow Jews, he exclaimed, "Shema Yisrael…" and they responded in unison: "Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad!"
This is also the verse that Major Roei Klein recited during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, moments before sacrificing his life by throwing himself on a gr***de to save his comrades.
Rashi, the renowned 11th-century Torah commentator, reflects on this verse:
"The Lord is our God; the Lord is one."—The Lord, who is now our God and not the God of other nations, will, in the future, be declared as the one God by all. As it is written: “For then I will convert the peoples to a pure language, that all of them call in the name of the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:9), and it is also written: “On that day, the Lord will be one, and His name one” (Zechariah 14:9).
This, my friends, is our ultimate goal: with the imminent arrival of Moshiach, the entire world—Jews and Gentiles alike—will proclaim as one: "Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad!" But this time, not through persecution or hatred, but with unity and joy!
This reality is approaching swiftly, and it has already begun.
I came across a moving video recently:
About a year ago, an Israeli mother, Michal Stein, was touring Madrid, Spain, with her husband and six children. While standing in a crowded train, the passengers recognized them as Jews. Suddenly, a gentile started singing a Hebrew song, chanting the verse "Shema Yisrael." Before long, the entire train car joined in, singing together in harmony: "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad!"
How ironic that in the capital of Spain—a place once known for persecuting Jews—the Shema Yisrael was now being chanted with joy and unity!
This is but a glimpse of what will soon unfold in the Messianic era. May it happen speedily in our days. Amen.
May you have a great Shabbat and a healthy week thereafter. Amen
Shabbat Shalom ♥️
Aron, Yehudis, and family Schimmel
P.S.
This is the YouTube link for that Madrid Clip;
עכשיו 14 | ערוץ החדשות של ישראל• הצטרפו אלינו עכשיו גם ב:לערוץ היוטיוב של התכניות המלאות ◄ https://youtube.com/ ◄ https://now14.co.il/a...
