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    A hole in the heart – Shof’tim

    When people first began to talk about hole-in-the-heart babies there were some Bible readers who almost suspected that the terminology was a play on words derived from the portion we read this week with its command, Tamim tih’yeh, “Be whole-hearted with God” (Deut. 18:13).

    Actually, there really is no connection apart from the similar sound. The Hebrew tamim, though hard to translate, means “complete”, the opposite of having a hole.

    The person who is whole-hearted with God is holistic, blessed with inner balance and harmony. Their lives are not fragmented. They are not pulled in two directions at once, both to God and to Baal. They do not praise God and blaspheme against His Name at the same time.

    They may have their problematical moments of doubt about the Almighty and the way He runs the universe, but this does not mean that even temporarily they turn away from Him. They say, “God, You sometimes make it very difficult for me”.

    Nonetheless nothing causes them to turn against Him. They remain in the belief loop. They try to grapple with the difficult moments. Even when it is hardest they still say, Yitgaddal v’yitkaddash sh’mei rabba.

    As someone put it, not even a moment of crisis will stop them davening Minchah.

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