VaEtchanan-Mitzvah 418 – Concept 4: Shema: With All Your Might
“And with all your might/possessions”
Contrary to common opinion, this doesn’t mean that you have to give Tzedaka. Of course, you do. But the proscription to do so does not originate from this passage. This passage is saying that because you know that all your possessions come from God, you want to share what you’ve been given with others.
Imagine for a moment that someone gave you a pen. Not just any pen but the very pen which Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords. Imagine that Menachem Begin himself gave it to you. It would be terribly meaningful to you. So if the Almighty God gives you something, shouldn’t that make you more appreciative of it? And wouldn’t it make it more important to you? Who gave you your body? Who gave you everything that you have? All you have—all your possessions—come from God. And that is what it means that you should love God with all your might. With everything. Not just your monetary possessions—with everything that comes from God.