The first paragraph of the Shema continues: “Let these matters that I command you today be on your heart.”

Rashi, citing the Midrash, eloquently depicts to us how we should approach our relationship with Hashem and His Mitzvot. Placing the emphasis on the word “today,” Rashi exhorts us to relate to the Mitzvot as if they are brand new. Not to treat them as if they are boring, dusty relics. Our verse is truly inspirational, as it speaks to the hearts of each and every one of us! Unfortunately, due to a person’s many sins, it is entirely conceivable that they may conclude that they no longer have any right to approach Hashem. Our verse is teaching us that this conclusion is completely incorrect. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth because we can always turn to our Father in Heaven.

Our verse is teaching us that it is never too late. In the same way, there is an old Chinese saying that the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, and the second-best time is today! This beautiful idea of relating to the Mitzvot as if they have just been given to us repeats itself in the Torah. In Devarim (26:17), the Torah commands us, “This day Hashem, your G-d, commands you to perform these decrees and statutes, and you shall observe and perform them with all your heart and all your soul.” Rashi, in a similar fashion to our verse, cites the Midrash Tanchuma, that our approach to the Mitzvot and the way that we perform them should be as fresh and as new in our eyes as if they were given to us this very day.

Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner points out that it is no coincidence that the command to build a healthy and enduring relationship with Hashem appears in the most famous – and possibly the most repeated – Tefillah in the Jewish world. We are being taught that we must always approach our Avodat Hashem with a passion. Our verse is instructing us that one of the most basic and effective ways of “remembering” Hashem in all that we do is by not performing the Mitzvot by rote. I am often asked by my Talmidim and Talmidot how it is possible to approach praying Mincha, for example, with a newness and a freshness every single day. Somewhat ironically, I always offer the same response, “It is true that you prayed exactly the same Mincha yesterday and the day before and the day before that, too. But, this is the first and only time that you will recite Mincha today. And that means that today’s Mincha is absolutely unique!”

Winnie the Pooh, beloved by children all over the world, asks his good friend Piglet, “What day is it?”

“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.

“My favorite day!” said Pooh.

It is the “today” that Rashi is emphasizing in our verse. Because every day is a new opportunity to fulfil the Will of Hashem in a way that it can never be fulfilled again.

The Talmud (Brachot 29b), characterizing what is considered to be insincere prayer, offers several possibilities. The third option states in the names of Rabbah and Rav Yosef that it is a Tefillah that contains nothing new or different from past Tefillot. As Rashi explains, it is the same Tefillah as yesterday and it will be the same Tefillah as tomorrow.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager of Kosov (1768-1825), homiletically interprets the verse, “…Why did Ben Yishai [David, the son of Yishai] not come yesterday or today…?” (Shmuel 1 20:27) as meaning, “Why hasn’t Ben Yishai (i.e., the Mashiach, who will be a direct descendent of King David) come? Because our today is like our yesterday!”

To be continued…