BUMPER STICKERS

   Traveling the highways and the byways of our state I enjoy reading the many bumper stickers that pass my way. Many that I read  reflect the success of children in school or sports and many are just statements that express that the occupants of the car are just happy to be alive. Beyond the sports  or political bumper stickers, there are many religious bumper stickers. As I was driving I began to think of some slogans that I would attach to the bumper of my car.

   My first reaction was " Love  G-D and Express That Love Through the Performance of Good Deeds". 

  This expression, I believe, reflects the Ten  Commandments which we will read in this week's Parsha of Va'eschanan. 

  It is well to realize that Jewish philosophy emphasizes that just expressing our love for 

Hashem, ואהבת את הי אלוקיך which is the essence of Judaism demands much more  of us. Judaism demands that we take our feelings of love for G-D and concretize them through the performance of the Mitzvos. Our Torah asks that we live our lives based upon a disciplined religious commitment.  

    Understandably, what Yahadus is searching for is living Judaism in its totality. To do so we must continuously express our profound love for Hashem, encouraging us to a greater fulfillment of Mitzvot. For this to have a lasting affect upon us we need to do so with greater  passion. 

    We are acting as Jews but too often our performances are so rote it does not seem to have a lasting affect upon us. 

  Doing more is not the answer. Rather how we perform, what are our motivations, what are our thoughts,and how does it affect our way of life, is the criteria.

   Life seems to be in a turmoil for  different reasons. We must see this time in our lives as the most propitious hour to bring a greater sense of civility and humanitarianism to our very confused world.

   To begin with, our  Ten Commandments must, once again, be the hallmark for humanity.  We as Jews must become the אור לגויים. To achieve this goal we are to combine our אהבת השם with our אהבת הבריות, and infuse our relationships with a greater passion to act as "Menchen"  in all our 

dealings with one another.

  The Rav interprets the first words of the Decalogue  אנכי הי אלוקיך , as G-D describing Himself as 'the G-D who redeemed the Jewish  People in the past and will be the G-D that will redeem the Jewish  People and Humanity in the future.    ברוך אתה הי גאל ישראל. 

    Let us be  deserving  of our redemption by a greater adherence to our Torah way of life. 

   So now look and read my bumper sticker, 

     "Redemption is the way of Torah"

                        לא המדרש עיקר אלא המעשה

Shabbat Shalom and may this שבת נחמו be a true sense of Nechamah for כלל ישראל.