What was the meaning of greatest commandment?

[Crumpy]

I have read various Jewish commentaries. Their perspective is often very practical and straightforward.

“…love God…”

They point out that in the other commands in the Bible, there is no command to have an emotion, and they dismiss that line of thinking. they look at these commands as action commands:

To love God with our whole “heart” refers to our personal relationship with God, and they view this as a command to pray to God.

To love God with all our soul means to be faithful to God, even to death.

To love God with all our strength they interpret as meaning with all our resources, even all our wealth.

Taken together these form sort of a pledge of allegiance to God, throughout the day, summarizing as they do their commitment to God.

Around Mark 12:28 Jesus reiterated these but added that we should love God with all our mind.

Hmmmmm.

Haven’t heard anybody’s interpretation of that, other than the straightforward one of what it says. It seems to direct us to study about God, on the one hand – when we use our mind. We will use every faculty of our mind, like thinking, analyzing, reasoning, etc on God. We will use our mind when every corner of it is focused on the worship, praise, and serving of God. These are only my thoughts.

Taken together, these point to a very robust response to God on a daily basis, even when “the world” would distract us with its noise and commotion and its demands on us. We should never lose our focus.

I am especially inspired about loving God with all my “strength” because this is where I seem to be so lacking. I ask myself, am I doing this “good thing” with all my strength? or am I half-hearted about the whole thing? controlling my passions “with all [my] strength?”

There is an entire book devoted to the Shema from the Jewish Publication Society, written by a rabbi.

Anyone who criticizes Judaism as an empty or pro forma religion does not know how devoted they are in a thorough longing for God – those who are not secular or atheist.

I think very devout Jews are happy (see Psalm 119) because they feel that they are so in-touch with God.

Yesterday, on EWTN daily Mass, Fr. Mark used a Jewish expression in English, the evil impulse (yetzer hara) without attributing it, but yetzer hara is the internal nemesis that we all fight to overcome, to live up to the Shema which we profess.

 

[Crumpy]

the Jewish commentaries go on to say that the commands get harder from one to another.

In other words, loving God with all our soul is harder than loving God with all our heart, and so on.

Nevertheless, these forms of loving God are not sequential, one then another. We are working at all four levels at the same time.

meltzerboy has pointed out in a different thread that the Jewish commentaries point out that we may have to break all the other commands in the Bible but we must always be faithful to God. We cannot worship other gods or turn away from God – if it seems that there is a conflict otherwise with the commandments of God.

 

[fhansen]

Good point. I have a couple of comments.

1. The law was given by God and written on every person’s heart.

Well, yes, but we don’t necessarily heed it or even acknowledge it, and that’s where the problem lies, and that’s why God had to write His laws externally, on tablets of stones-He wouldn’t have needed to otherwise.

1. The Fall points to our own nature more than just a mortal sin.

I wasn’t reducing the Fall to a mortal sin, I was drawing a comparison to the fact that all sin is an act against love of God and all sin tends towards death, which is why the wages of sin are said to be death, and that affects human nature tremendously. The Catechism states the relationship of the Original sin to all following sin this way:

**397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of.278 All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness. **

1. Understanding salvation and justification from the author’s point of view is different than it is today. The Holy Spirit is the sanctifier, and the One speaking through the prophets, and has an important role to play in grace and love (back then and now).

Yes the NC, for one thing, is different from the OC.

 

[Crumpy]

What did the author intend when he wrote about the greatest commandment?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Also, anyone know any good sites on exegesis on this commandment? Thanks.

Comments welcome.

I think it’s a long-standing question, about what the original author intended about any of the books of the Bible. and, Deuteronomy seems to have a different tradition to it than the other early books of the Torah (first five books).

Traditionally and internally, Deuteronomy is ascribed to Moses, more explicitly than the other books of the Torah, which are also traditionally ascribed to Moses. He is the lawgiver, through whom God spoke to Israel.

I get the sense, which is obviously intended in the text of Dt, that it is a very important book of teachings.

It comes across that the commands of the covenant are very important to maintaining the right relationship with God, which in these verses rise to the heights of being described as love, which is later paralled by Jesus, who says that if we love him, we must keep his commandments.

And, something else is involved here which is often expressed this way, that love is a decision, not an emotion – and everything that this entails for our involvement with God.

 

[PJM]

=Crumpy;8470885]I think it’s a long-standing question, about what the original author intended about any of the books of the Bible. and, Deuteronomy seems to have a different tradition to it than the other early books of the Torah (first five books).

Traditionally and internally, Deuteronomy is ascribed to Moses, more explicitly than the other books of the Torah, which are also traditionally ascribed to Moses. He is the lawgiver, through whom God spoke to Israel.

I get the sense, which is obviously intended in the text of Dt, that it is a very important book of teachings.

It comes across that the commands of the covenant are very important to maintaining the right relationship with God, which in these verses rise to the heights of being described as love, which is later paralled by Jesus, who says that if we love him, we must keep his commandments.

And, something else is involved here which is often expressed this way, that love is a decision, not an emotion – and everything that this entails for our involvement with God.

***It occours to me that the “hidden message” is “LOVE.”

No matter what the issue; or what the question at least in part the answer has to include LOVE.***

God Bless,
Pat

 

[Crumpy]

***It occours to me that the “hidden message” is “LOVE.”

No matter what the issue; or what the question at least in part the answer has to include LOVE.***

God Bless,
Pat

Yes, it involves love. But the orginal question was exactly, what is love?

 

[PJM]

=Crumpy;8472541]Yes, it involves love. But the orginal question was exactly, what is love?

LOVE IS:

The unselfesh giving of oneself in thought, word or deed without counting the cost to self. Love is sharing and caring more about others than oneself. Love is doing to and for others as you would have them do to you before being asked; with a willing and humble spirit.

God Bless and Love you,
Pat

 

[Crumpy]

LOVE IS:

The unselfesh giving of oneself in thought, word or deed without counting the cost to self. Love is sharing and caring more about others than oneself. Love is doing to and for others as you would have them do to you before being asked; with a willing and humble spirit.

God Bless and Love you,
Pat

Let me rephrase the question, perhaps in two ways:

What is love, in the Biblical covenant context?

Alternately, what is love in the verses cited in the OP?

 

[PJM]

=Crumpy;8476844]Let me rephrase the question, perhaps in two ways:

What is love, in the Biblical covenant context?

Alternately, what is love in the verses cited in the OP?

Actually my friend; because God cannot change; LOVE and its meaning cannot change. Therefore by prior post answers both of your questions.

I’m NOT trying to be difficult, but am unclear as to exactly what it is your seeking? Old age I guess

The definitions and meanings of LOVE it seems to me cannot an do not change; only there application does.

Deut.6: 4 to 9

[4] "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; [5] and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
[6] And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; [7] and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. [8] And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. [9] And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

[Mt. 22: 36] “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” [37] And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

These are teaching what must be our lives priorities:

God First
Family Second
Work Third
And love our neighbors as ourselves.

If I still [dumb old me] have not answered your question PLEASE let me know,

God Bless you,
Pat

 

[Crumpy]

I thought I was at mental equibilbrium about the greatest commandment, but I am pleasantly surprised that I personally have a new insight.

It’s not totally independent of the remarks I posted from the Jewish commentaries, but I think my emphasis here is a bit different, following the scripture:

I now conclude that there are at least five expressions of love that we need to expand on:

love God with all our heart
love God with all our soul
love God with all our mind
love God with all our strength
love our neighbor as ourself

So, if love were just “love” then God wouldn’t have given us five different targets or objects for our love. So, these must be different if God says they’re different.

Therefore, I conclude by referring to my earlier posts as to what differentiates each of these.

 

[jochoa]

I thought I was at mental equibilbrium about the greatest commandment, but I am pleasantly surprised that I personally have a new insight.

It’s not totally independent of the remarks I posted from the Jewish commentaries, but I think my emphasis here is a bit different, following the scripture:

I now conclude that there are at least five expressions of love that we need to expand on:

love God with all our heart
love God with all our soul
love God with all our mind
love God with all our strength
love our neighbor as ourself

So, if love were just “love” then God wouldn’t have given us five different targets or objects for our love. So, these must be different if God says they’re different.

Therefore, I conclude by referring to my earlier posts as to what differentiates each of these.

I am very glad you noted the necessity to expand on those statements. I would like to offer some understandings.
For simplicity of presentation, please consider some basic logic:
Love=Patience and Kindness, and It yields Peace and Happiness
True Love/God’s Nature=The Greatest Commandments Lived Perfectly According to the Desires of God - The Purpose of Man and Humanity.
Heart=All Parts of the Body
Soul=The Immaterial Version of the Person, including the Nature of the Person
Mind=All Thoughts of the Mind
Strength=All Actions of the Will, which proceeds from the Body and Mind
Neighbor=All Others
Yourself=The Self
God=God
Nature=The How and Why the Person does what s/he does.
Result=Unbreakable Peace, Limitless Happiness, and Unstoppable Energy
Therefore…
T=LG(H+S+M+W)(N+Y)
Expansion…
T=LGHN+LGHY+LGSN+LGHY+LGMN+LGMY+LGWN+LGWY
Therefore…
A Truly Loving Action will satisfy all Factors in the above equation.

I approached my practice of the Greatest Commandments with the mindset of Loving God First, then Others, then Myself. Then I found myself in a confusing and striven state of, how am I supposed to Love God at the same time as Loving Others and Myself.

Reflection on Reconciling the issue of Loving God with All the Self and Loving Others and the Self
When I began to work on these commandments, I experienced struggles in trying to be Patient and Kind towards God All the Time and trying to be Patient and Kind towards Others and Myself at other times.
I reconciled the confusion by recognizing Motivation. I realized I could be Motivated for God All the Time, while being Patient and Kind towards Others and Myself.
Then I experienced a taste of the Energy that comes from being Motivated for God. It feels somewhat like an Adrenaline Rush, however I feel I am in greater control of the “dosage,” and the only side effects were greater peace, happiness, and energy in myself and my relationships.
My initial method to experience this feeling was: Given a chore I did not necessarily want to do, I would state, “Let it be Your Will Lord, and not mine.” Then I would stop thinking and just do it.

Personal Interpretation of the Greatest Commandments and a Method of Quantifying the Quality of Love
Always be Patient and Kind and Motivated/Energetic for God with all your body, mind, will, and soul towards others and the self, and you will inherit All the Blessings (Unbreakable Peace, Limitless Happiness, Unstoppable Energy, and Content Wisdom) of God.
Guiding Questions to determine the Quality of Practice

1. If your body is feeling tense, or your mind is thinking stressful thoughts: Why or How are you not being Patient?
2. If your body is feeling hurt or angry, or your mind is thinking sad or frustrated thoughts: Why or How are you not being Kind?
3. If your body is feeling tired of being Patient and Kind, or your mind is fatigued of being Patient and Kind: Why or How are you not being Motivated for God?
4. If your relationships are experiencing strife or boredom or sadness: Why or How are you not being, respectively, Patient or Kind?
   *Please Note: An action of Patience and Kindness requires consideration of situation, relation, recognition of Complete Purpose, and others I have yet to realize.

Thoughts?

 

[fhansen]

I thought I was at mental equibilbrium about the greatest commandment, but I am pleasantly surprised that I personally have a new insight.

It’s not totally independent of the remarks I posted from the Jewish commentaries, but I think my emphasis here is a bit different, following the scripture:

I now conclude that there are at least five expressions of love that we need to expand on:

love God with all our heart
love God with all our soul
love God with all our mind
love God with all our strength
love our neighbor as ourself

So, if love were just “love” then God wouldn’t have given us five different targets or objects for our love. So, these must be different if God says they’re different.

Therefore, I conclude by referring to my earlier posts as to what differentiates each of these.

Don’t you think it’s a bit of hyperbole, to drive home the point that we’re to love God-putting Him above all else- with our whole being, every part of us?

 

[Crumpy]

TLA)

will satisfy all Factors in the above equation.

Thoughts?

Yes. There **might **be a TLA that satisfies all the factors in your equation. But, I think Jesus (to agree with you, or vice versa) would say that each of the factors requires an action. That is the point (of the Jewish commentaries I cited earlier).

But, before we identify a TLA that satisfies ALL of the conditions, we need to enumerate and focus on TLA’s that satisfy each of Jesus’ conditions or commands of Love.

As a comment, I think it might be easier to identify actions that satisfy the conditions, one at a time. But, that was also my recent point, that there are primarily DIFFERENT actions or TLA’s that satisfy each of His conditions. That is why He enumerated them separately.

We don’t need and really shouldn’t throw away TLA’s that satisfy one or other of the conditions, because it is not a golden TLA that satisfies all of them. I think that may be throwing away the baby with the bathwater.

For example, as I mentioned earlier, the Jewish commentaries say that the action of prayer to God is the main action that is commanded by “love God with all your heart.”

This is non-overlapping with loving God with all your soul – which they interpret as loving God even to the point of losing your life.

Prayer to God and sacrificing your life are two different actions which lose nothing in value by not satisfying all the conditions simultaneously.

Perhaps in the economy of New Testament salvation there are replacement or expanded actions for those mentioned by the Jewish commentaries, inasmuch as Jesus added the command to love with all our mind. That requires a new, New Testament action, to which I have offered a possible explanation, in a previous post.

 

[jochoa]

Yes. There **might **be a TLA that satisfies all the factors in your equation. But, I think Jesus (to agree with you, or vice versa) would say that each of the factors requires an action. That is the point (of the Jewish commentaries I cited earlier).

But, before we identify a TLA that satisfies ALL of the conditions, we need to enumerate and focus on TLA’s that satisfy each of Jesus’ conditions or commands of Love.

As a comment, I think it might be easier to identify actions that satisfy the conditions, one at a time. But, that was also my recent point, that there are primarily DIFFERENT actions or TLA’s that satisfy each of His conditions. That is why He enumerated them separately.

We don’t need and really shouldn’t throw away TLA’s that satisfy one or other of the conditions, because it is not a golden TLA that satisfies all of them. I think that may be throwing away the baby with the bathwater.

For example, as I mentioned earlier, the Jewish commentaries say that the action of prayer to God is the main action that is commanded by “love God with all your heart.”

This is non-overlapping with loving God with all your soul – which they interpret as loving God even to the point of losing your life.

Prayer to God and sacrificing your life are two different actions which lose nothing in value by not satisfying all the conditions simultaneously.

Perhaps in the economy of New Testament salvation there are replacement or expanded actions for those mentioned by the Jewish commentaries, inasmuch as Jesus added the command to love with all our mind. That requires a new, New Testament action, to which I have offered a possible explanation, in a previous post.

Excellent Points on all accounts! Please consider the following understanding of the Extensions of TLA’s.
Once a person has understood and accepted the challenge, purpose, goal to learn and do TLA’s all the time, this is the point as to which the Relationship with God Develops somewhat Personally because now the person must recognize that the TLA’s are Varied based on Role, Relationship, and Situation. However, there are still many Universal TLA’s given various Roles, Relationships, and Situations to be recognized.

Regarding “Do not throw away the baby with the bathwater.”
I agree with you. I personally believe this is why God’s Mercy is So TREMENDOUS. ALL people want and do some parts of True Love/God’s Love.

Please consider the Inseparability of the Person’s Components
A Person/Soul has a Body/Heart, Thoughts/Mind, a Will/Strength, and a Nature(the How and Why the Person/Soul does what s/he does).
Every Action a Person does has to be fully collective of the Components of the Person.

Reflection on the Example of Prayer
When a person/soul prays, S/He uses the…
Body by being still, kneeling down, relaxed muscles, etc.
Mind by thinking about the words, phrases, and meanings of the prayer
Will by saying the prayer aloud, placing the hands together, closing the Eyes
Nature by being Patient and Kind and Motivated for God with All the Body and All the Mind and All the Will and All the Soul towards God, Others, and the Self, depending on what the purpose of praying is.

Thoughts?

 

[healonzo]

Always be Patient and Kind and Motivated/Energetic for God with all your body, mind, will, and soul towards others and the self, and you will inherit All the Blessings (Unbreakable Peace, Limitless Happiness, Unstoppable Energy, and Content Wisdom) of God.
Thoughts?

I like your TLA. I have been praying about your reflections and I first wanted to start with this interpretation. I like being patient, kind, and motivated for God, but I was researching charity and thought that would be a good fit for love in a Catholic sense. My thoughts were that charity incorporates all social ethics. My other thoughts were that while it is good to be patient, kind, and motivated: I came to the conclusion that I have limits and weaknesses that inhibit those characteristics. I thought more of senses like thoughts, words, and deeds in being charitable.
Another thing I thought about was that the author indicated the supremacy of God in the passage, and I also noticed many indicating that the Shema incorporated all of the Decalogue. Which included actions towards others as well as God.

Thoughts?

 

[healonzo]

I think it’s a long-standing question, about what the original author intended about any of the books of the Bible. and, Deuteronomy seems to have a different tradition to it than the other early books of the Torah (first five books).

Traditionally and internally, Deuteronomy is ascribed to Moses, more explicitly than the other books of the Torah, which are also traditionally ascribed to Moses. He is the lawgiver, through whom God spoke to Israel.

I get the sense, which is obviously intended in the text of Dt, that it is a very important book of teachings.

It comes across that the commands of the covenant are very important to maintaining the right relationship with God, which in these verses rise to the heights of being described as love, which is later paralled by Jesus, who says that if we love him, we must keep his commandments.

And, something else is involved here which is often expressed this way, that love is a decision, not an emotion – and everything that this entails for our involvement with God.

Thank you. This was very helpful.

 

[jochoa]

I like your TLA. I have been praying about your reflections and I first wanted to start with this interpretation. I like being patient, kind, and motivated for God, but I was researching charity and thought that would be a good fit for love in a Catholic sense. My thoughts were that charity incorporates all social ethics. My other thoughts were that while it is good to be patient, kind, and motivated: I came to the conclusion that I have limits and weaknesses that inhibit those characteristics. I thought more of senses like thoughts, words, and deeds in being charitable.
Another thing I thought about was that the author indicated the supremacy of God in the passage, and I also noticed many indicating that the Shema incorporated all of the Decalogue. Which included actions towards others as well as God.

Thoughts?

Awesome! I have been in great reflection over including charity and God as well. I thought of it in slightly different terms: I definitely agree that spreading the means to achieve the blessings is an act of Great kindness, therefore it should be included. I also like your reference to society.
Here is an updated understanding of the Truly Loving Nature: Always being and spreading the means to being perfectly patient, kind, and motivated for God with all your body, thoughts, will, and spirit towards God, others and the self, and you will inherit all the blessings (Unbreakable Peace, Limitless Happiness, Unstoppable Energy, and Content Wisdom) of God.

Please note, the following is only a personal concept, which I am considering, which is currently over-analysis in hopes to shed light on greater wisdom.
I am currently reflecting and searching for a better phrasing of “towards God, others, and the self.” For when I read and try to practice “Love others as yourself” I am sensing the following necessity:
-We should be exactly the same loving towards the self as we are are to others.
-I sense that there can possibly be a breakdown and allotment of time spent loving separate persons.
In other words, the time should be half and half, others and the self.
Although God will always be the Motivation for the person, God wants us to spend time loving others, other than Him, and ourselves. Therefore, we can recognize that God is a other person than our person, therefore, we should directly be patient and kind towards Him part of the time we are directly patient and kind towards others.
Therefore, one must consider all the personal relationships of his/her life. Others include: God, Sacrament/family-related persons, work-related persons, and friends. Then there is the self.
-I also sense a secondary/generalized definition of how to be patient and kind to the self, which can be exactly applied to others, while leaving room for varied actions of various qualities of patience and kindness. Something like: 5:1 ratio of positive to negative. In other words, Achieve the blessing through direct and unconditional patience and kindness 5 times to every one time of spreading the means to achieve the blessings.

I apologize if my extended thoughts on “loving others as yourself” are overly complicated. Please disregard them if they are too confusing, for it is my first time to write on this topic.

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts! I am really enjoying and learning from our discussion!

Thoughts?