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Weekly Devotional

July 20, 2009

God’s Peace be with you all.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9   Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  ⁶ Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.  ⁷ Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead,  ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

And in Hebrew (Read from Right to Left):

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

 `dx'(a, hw"ïhy> WnyheÞl{a/ hw"ïhy> lae_r"f.yI [m;Þv. ⁴

 ^ßv.p.n:-lk'b.W ^ïb.b'l.-lk'B. ^yh,_l{a/ hw"åhy> taeÞ T'êb.h;a'äw> ⁵

`^d<)aom.-lk'b.W

`^b<)b'l.-l[; ~AYàh; ^±W>c;m. ykiónOa' rv,’a] hL,aeªh' ~yrIåb'D>h; Wyùh'w> ⁶

 ^åT.k.l,b.W ‘^t,’ybeB. ^ÜT.b.viB. ~B'_ T'Þr>B;dIw> ^yn<ëb'l. ~T'än>N:viw> ⁷

`^m<)Wqb.W ^ßB.k.v'b.W* %r<D<êb;

`^yn<)y[e !yBeî tpoßj'jol. Wyðh'w> ^d<+y"-l[; tAaßl. ~T'îr>v;q.W ⁸

`^yr<(['v.biW ^t<ßyBe tzOðWzm.-l[; ~T'²b.t;k.W ⁹

Many of you asked me yesterday about the Shema bracelets that Robert and I were wearing.  As I mentioned during announcements, the Shema (the first word in Hebrew is pronounced SHEH-MA) is a call to prayer for the Hebrews.  Perhaps you have seen an orthodox Jew who has a small box either tied to the forehead or to their wrist.  If you were to open this box, you would see the above verses printed on a piece of paper.  Another place that you might find these verses written is on a mezuzah.  What is a mezuzah?  Glad you asked.  A mezuzah is a small box of wood or metal that is screwed onto a wall or doorpost.  It is carved out on the inside so that a piece of paper with the Shema printed on it can be placed inside.  Below is the explanation courtesy of Wikipedia, and if you would like to see one up close, Addison has one mounted in her room next to her doorpost.

“A mezuzah is affixed to the doorframe of Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah (Biblical commandment) to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house" (Deuteronomy 6:9). Many families place a mezuzah on the front door only, but some Jews believe that this is insufficient, and affix one on every doorway in the home apart from bathrooms, as well as closets too small to qualify as rooms.^[1] The parchment is prepared by a qualified scribe (a "sofer stam") who has undergone many years of meticulous training, and the verses are written in black indelible ink with a special quill pen. The parchment is then rolled up and placed inside the case.”

For more information just Google it, or follow this link to the Wiki page:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezuzah

In our prayers this week:

Doris, Mary Netta, Ann, Joseph, Jane, Irene, St. John’s Lutheran Church, and Michael, who is serving our country in Iraq.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Judson