Devar/5769/Sukkot
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עברית
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The LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with Him (Deut 32:12)
During the Days of Awe we mentioned numerous times the idea of God's Kingship -- and we even changed the wording of the prayers to say "the Holy King", and the "King of Judgment". And in our Torah portion there is a reminder of the uniqueness of the King God, that He is not only the King, but also He is God; there is none else beside Him (Deut 4:35).
And since that is so, we need to internalize the message that God has the power to bring to life and to kill, and all our deeds are before Him may He be blessed, as if they were written in a book. Therefore it is proper to be in awe of Him, and to strive to do that which is good in His eyes. This is one level of worshipping Him.
An elevated level is worshipping Him from love. And the manner in which one attains this level is spelled out by the Rambam: When a person examines these matters closely, and knows all the creatures from angel and heavenly sphere and person and so forth, and sees His wisdom may He be blessed, reflected in all the forms and creatures -- he increases his love for God… (Laws of the Fundamentals of Torah 4:19). That is, by observing nature, and learning sciences and mathematics; because by those means the sage learns a small portion of God's wisdom, may He be blessed, and will become filled with awe and love for the Rock of the universe.
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