Unconditional love. We know what that means when it comes to our relationships with family members and friends. What does it mean when it comes to our love for Hashem?
According to the Mishna (Brachos 54a), unconditional love of God is the mandate of the first paragraph of the Shema, “V’ahavta eit Hashem Elokecha b’chol l’vavcha uv’chol nafsh’cha uv’chol m’odecha—You shall love Hashem your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and no matter how He treats you.” We must love God even if He does not appear to be showering us with gifts. Unconditional love of God results in faith that weathers profound challenges.
Shema’s second paragraph—included in this week’s parsha—seems to tell a very different story. Here we are informed of the rewards for following God and the dire consequences of abandoning His ways. It is as if we are expected to follow Him conditionally, mindful of the resultant benefits. Notably, that paragraph speaks of serving God “b’chol l’vav’chem uv’chol nafshechem—with all of your hearts and all of your souls,” omitting the third category of “b’chol me’odchem—no matter how He treats you.” This is logical as it would be incongruous to encourage following Him “no matter what” alongside an elaborate description of the rewards coming to the faithful.
There is another notable change in the second paragraph, the introduction of a reference to prayer, “l’ovdo b’chol l’vavchem,” is interpreted by the Gemara to refer to prayer. “Eizehu avodah sheb’lev?Zu tefillah.”(Taanis 2a). Prayer may be omitted from the first paragraph of Shema because—as the Talmud (Shabbos 10a) notes—prayer addresses temporal needs, chayei sha’ah, concerning itself with plentiful rains and other worldly matters. Those are the issues addressed in Shema’s second paragraph, while the first focuses exclusively on the transcendent, constant and immortal pursuit of Torah study, what the Talmud (ibid) describes as chayei olam. In that world of unconditional love of God, where whatever He gives us is just fine, there may be no need or place for us to pray for anything to be different (see Ein Ayah, Shabbat, 43).
There is, however, an aspect of tefillah that is the ultimate expression of unconditional love. Our prayers open with praise of God, continue to our requests and conclude with expressing gratitude. That gratitude is unconditional. It is not gratitude for the current request having been granted, that remains to be seen. It is an expression of appreciation for the privilege of every day of life and for the inherent gift of life. Indeed, when that Mishna (Brachos 54a) teaches about loving God no matter what, it tells us “b’chol midah umidah she’hu moded lecha hevei modeh lo —no matter what He gives you, express your gratitude to Him.”
It is a high bar, perhaps impossibly high. Aaron Hakohen accepted the tragic loss of his sons in silence. Moshe was instructed to be silent—”Shtok!”— when he was shown what would be the torturous death of Rabbi Akiva (Menachos 29b). Only Rabbi Akiva went beyond that, not just accepting his fate in silence but loudly expressing and affirming it as the ultimate expression of his love of God (Brachos 61b).
That is what unconditional love of God looks like. Modim anachnu loch (We gratefully thank you).
Rabbi Moshe Hauer is executive vice president of the Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization.
