The Morality of Love
Something implicit in the Torah from the very beginning becomes explicit in the book of Devarim (Hebrew for Deuteronomy book five) G-d is the G-d of love. More than we love Him, He loves us. Here, for instance, is the beginning of this week's parsha (this weeks bible section)
If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love [et ha-brit ve-et ha-chessed] with you, as he swore to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. (Deut 7: 12-13)
Again in the parsha we read:
To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. (Deut. 10: 14-15)
And here is a verse from last week's:
Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength. (Deut. 4: 37)
The book of Deuteronomy is saturated with the language of love. The root a-h-v appears in Shemot (Hebrew for Exodus book 2) twice, in Vayikra (Hebrew for Leviticus book 3) (both in Lev. 19), in Badmibar (Hebrew for Numbers book four) not at all, but in Sefer Devarim 23 times. Devarim is a book about societal beatitude and the transformative power of love.
The Sierra Club has created this clever 'subway-style' map of U.S. national parks, and you know we just love subway maps, so we couldn't resist sharing this one with you.
The map is a good reminder that there are lots of national parks in the country, not just the 'big names' like Yosemite and Yellowstone. Here's a full list of all national parks in the United States so your can plan your next trip in nature!
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Visit my Blog: http://yehudalave.blogspot.com
or http://www.yehudalave.com/
