Rabbi Morgan writes about the message of the Sh’ma – the ultimate emphasis on the Oneness of God. He references Rashi, who separated the passage into 2 parts; that Israel will know God as “our God” and that “the nations will know God”…not that the other nations will become Jews, but that they will acknowledge the One God, and there will be unity among the nations. Yet the widespread Jewish community is not united.
Moshe is speaking primarily to the descendants of the those whom he led out of Egypt; their parents had all lost hope. When Moshe explains that “this is the instruction for you”, he offers them the Sh’ma and V’ahavta. Although he was speaking to those particular individuals, his words speak directly to us, who have inherited our name from Jacob. We are commanded to love: to love mercy, truth, meaning, and hope:
Rabbi Sacks contrasts the verse Deuteronmy 7:7 – “The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you are the fewest of all peoples” with earlier passages that reference how prolific the Israelite population was in Egypt, and that the descendants of the patriarchs would be like the stars of the heaven, etc. Targum Yonatan and Rashi interpret the phrase in Deuteronomy as one of humility. Why did God choose us then?