In our Torah portion for this week (Shoftim) we read: “You shall be wholehearted with the LORD your God” (Deut. 18:13). Note that the word “wholehearted” in this verse (i.e., tamim: תָּמִים) is often translated as “perfect” or “blameless” in many Bible versions, though it is better to understand the word to connote being made “complete” or “whole.” When God said to Abraham, “I am El Shaddai; walk before me and be tamim (Gen. 17:1), he was not saying “be perfect” or “don’t ever make a mistake,” but rather be fully engaged, that is, to walk before God passionately, sincerely, with all his heart, and by doing so to “walk out” the relationship with full assurance that he is accepted and beloved by God. Likewise when Yeshua said “Be therefore perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48), he meant that we should be complete, finished, and “made whole” by knowing and receiving the overflowing love and light of God.
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“You shall be wholehearted” is a mandate to know who you are, to know what is truly good as distinguished from what is evil, and to be united with God’s passion to be healed from your inner conflicts and ambivalence (δίψυχος). We are made “whole” or “perfect” (i.e., complete) when we resolutely turn to God for healing of what divides our hearts, as it says: “The Torah of the LORD is perfect (תָּמִים), returning the soul” (Psalm 19:8). Understand the Torah’s commandment, then: “You shall be tamim (i.e., whole and wholehearted) with the LORD your God,” to be a prophecy of transformation for your life, friend… Amen: May you know “the love of Messiah that surpasses knowledge and be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19).
In the Sefer Torah (i.e., the handwritten Torah scroll), the first letter of the word tamim (“wholehearted”) is written extra LARGE in order to emphasize the importance of the word. Notice also the little word “with” (עִם) that follows in this verse. This hearkens to Micah 6:8: “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice (mishpat), and to love kindness (chesed), and to walk humbly (hatznea lechet) with your God?” Having a humble heart walks with the LORD. Humility begins with the awareness that 1) there is a God and 2) you are not Him…. It is the practice of da lifnei mi attah omed: “knowing before whom you stand” and living your life in light of this fundamental truth.
Again, the Hebrew word tamim (תָּמִים) means “finished,” “complete,” or “thoroughly made.” For example, tamim is used to describe completed years (Gen. 47:18); healthy animal sacrifices (Lev. 22:21-22); nourishing vines (Ezek. 15:5); truthful speech (Amos 5:10); finished building projects (1 Kings 6:22); and so on. In our relationship with God, tamim means being “blameless” in the sense of being wholehearted, resolute, and entirely committed to walking “with” Him in this world. Psalm 119 begins, “Blessed are the wholehearted (i.e., tamim) in the way, who walk in the Torah of the LORD.”
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Here we see that “walking in the instruction (Torah) of the LORD” is the means by which we are able to walk humbly with God. The study and practice of Torah, then, helps us to become tamim: wholehearted, resolute, and committed to God. Walking in God’s truth also makes us happy (i.e., me’ushar: מְאֻשָּׁר, from the verb ashar that means to “walk straight”). As we walk in the truth of God, we begin to experience inner peace and a sense of abiding joy…
So how long will you go “limping” between two different opinions? How long will you live in the pain of a divided heart? Our Torah reading reminds us to make up our minds and return to the LORD and find wholeness…. In this connection note that where it is written, “Let us hear end of the matter: Fear God and love his commandments, the text adds: ki zeh kol-ha’adam (כִּי־זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם), “for this is the whole man,” suggesting that those who return will be healed of their double-mindedness (Eccl. 12:13). Ultimately we are made whole when we are united to God in Messiah, for then we are “with the LORD our God” and the Holy Spirit writes Torah within the heart of faith (Jer. 31:33). May God make us each “whole” in Him!
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For more on this topic please see: “Make Up Your Mind: Further thoughts on Shoftim.”
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