​Parashat Va’etchanan 5785, 2025: Ain Od: There is None Other

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 

 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha contains one of the most often recited pasukim in the Torah, as it is found at the end of the first paragraph of the Aleinu: “V’yadata hayom v’hashavota el l’vavecha —And you shall know this day and consider it in your heart [that is, your mind], that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth below; ain od—there is none other than He.” (Sefer Devarim 4:39, this and all Torah translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) The expression “and you shall know--v’yadata” is difficult to interpret, since it can either be a narrative statement describing what will be, or a tzivui, an imperative statement prescribing what we must do.
 
In his Commentary on the Torah on this pasuk, Rabbeinu Bahya ben Asher (1255-1340) adopts the position that our pasuk is a straightforward tzivui:

“And consider it in your heart:” This is a positive commandment from the Torah to know Hashem may He be blessed. For we are commanded to know Him and to [actively] analyze His unity and not rely solely upon accepted tradition in this matter. And this knowledge [is acquired through a recognition] of His works and His awe-filled actions, as well as [a cognizance] of all His creations, be they heavenly or terrestrial in nature. (This and the following translations my own)
 
In sum, Rabbeinu Bahya asserts that there is a positive Torah commandment to know Hashem that is experience-based, since knowledge of Him may be obtained through an appreciation and recognition of His creatures and the majesty of His Creation. Moreover, we must actively try to comprehend His unity, rather than accept this aspect of His Divine Being based solely upon Massorah. As such, for Rabbeinu Bahya, “v’yadata,” requires active engagement in order to build a dynamic relationship with the Almighty.
 
Rabbeinu Bahya now focuses on the phrase “v’hashavota el l’vavecha—and consider it in your heart [mind],” and maintains that experiential knowledge of Hashem is not the same as acquiring actual knowledge of His essence and being, for that ever eludes our understanding. As Shlomo HaMelech teaches us in Sefer Mishle: “The honor of God is to conceal a matter…” (25:2) Since the Almighty conceals far more than he reveals to humankind, Rabbeinu Bahya opines we must implement “v’hashavota el l’vavecha” in our daily lives “like a man who thinks deeply regarding a particular matter and must return and think about it [time and time again].” For then, and then only, may we finite beings perceive the faintest reflections of reflections of the Infinite.
 
Rabbeinu Bahya further elaborates on hashavat halev, focusing your mind upon the existence and reality of Hashem, and combines it with the concluding words of our verse, “that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is no One else:”
A person’s mind must ever focus on the notion that Hashem is Elokim in the sense that He is the One Who guides the Universe: in the Heavens, the planets, and Above — the Angels, and upon the earth, the terrestrial plane, and below, the very depths of the deep… Ain od, there is none other than He in all these worlds.
 
May these insights regarding the Holy One blessed be He enhance our understanding of the Torah’s expression “ain od melvado,” (Sefer Devarim 4:35) and help us forge a powerful relationship with Him. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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