In Your Head abd Doorpost

Mateo 22,34-40 — The Greatest Commandment, 30th Sunday Year A

Mateo 22,34-40 - "Buo o Hindi Talaga"

May exam ulit si Jesus.

Nung nakaraang Linggo — Mateo 22,15-21 — pinagtulungan siya ng Pariseo at Herodiano: "Magbayad ba ng buwis kay Cesar?" Trap ng pulitika.

Ngayon naman, isang nomikos — hindi lang basta Pariseo, kundi abogado ng Torah. Expert sa 613 na utos — 248 na dapat gawin, 365 na bawal. Ang tanong ng mga rabbi noon, hindi "ano ang dapat gawin" kundi "alin ang pinakamabigat?"

Kaya tanong niya:

"Guro, alin ang pinakadakilang utos sa Kautusan?"

Hindi siya naghahanap ng sagot. Naghahanap siya ng butas. Kasi kung sasabihin ni Jesus na Sabbath lang ang mahalaga, kalaban niya ang mga pro-Temple. Kung sasabihin niyang paglilinis lang, kalaban niya ang mga moralist.

Anong ginawa ni Jesus? Hindi siya pumili ng isa sa 613. Bumalik siya sa dasal na alam ng bawat batang Judio paggising sa umaga at bago matulog.

Ang SHEMA.

"Ibigin mo ang Panginoon mong Diyos nang buong puso, nang buong kaluluwa, at nang buong pag-iisip." — Deut. 6:5

Every Jew wears it — sa tefillin sa noo at sa braso, sa mezuzah sa pintuan. Dasal na kabisado bago pa matutong magsulat.

Pero tingnan mo, iba ang version ni Jesus. Sa Deuteronomio: puso (leb), kaluluwa (nephesh), at lakas (me'od). Pero sa Mateo 22:37: puso, kaluluwa, at pag-iisip (dianoia).

Bakit pinalitan ang "lakas" ng "pag-iisip"?

Dahil kausap niya mga eskribang puro isip, puro debate, puro utak lang ang ginagamit sa Diyos. Sabi ni Jesus: Hindi sapat ang matalino ka sa Bible. Kailangan ang utak mo, nagmamahal din.

Ano ibig sabihin ng BUO?

1. Buong PUSO (kardia) — sa Hebreo, hindi emotion ang puso, kundi decision center. Ang puso ang manibela. Ibig sabihin, ang Diyos hindi part-time. Hindi "Panginoon pag Linggo, ako naman pag Lunes."

2. Buong KALULUWA (psyche / nephesh) — ang buong buhay, pati hininga. Pati pag natutulog ka, pag nagtatrabaho ka sa bukid, pag nag-aalaga ka ng anak. Lahat ng hininga mo, sa Kanya.

3. Buong PAG-IISIP (dianoia) — pati talino mo. Ibig sabihin, hindi bawal mag-isip ang Kristiyano. Ang pananampalataya hindi anti-intellectual. Gamitin mo utak mo para unawain ang Diyos, hindi para dayain ang Diyos.

Buo. Hindi 50%. Maraming Katoliko, 10% lang kay Lord — yung natira pag wala nang Netflix.

Pero hindi tumigil si Jesus sa isa. Dinugtungan niya agad — at ito ang revolutionary:

"Ang pangalawa ay katulad ng una: Ibigin mo ang iyong kapwa gaya ng iyong sarili."

Ito galing sa Leviticus 19:18. Pero sa original, "kapwa" means kapwa Judio. Pinalawak ni Jesus — sa parabola ng Good Samaritan (Lucas 10), ang kapwa ay pati kaaway.

Bakit sinabi ni Jesus na KATULAD ng una? Sa Greek, homoia — same kind, same weight.

Ibig sabihin:

Hindi mo pwedeng sabihing mahal mo ang Diyos na hindi mo nakikita kung hindi mo mahal ang kapwang nakikita mo.

At hindi mo rin pwedeng sabihing mabait ka sa tao pero wala kang Diyos — kasi saan mo huhugutin ang lakas magmahal sa taong hindi kaibig-ibig?

Kaya maraming Kristiyano, split:

May maka-Diyos daw pero masungit sa kasambahay. Laging nasa simbahan, pero tsismosa sa kapitbahay, hindi nagpapasensya sa asawa. Dasal nang dasal, pero hindi marunong magpatawad.

May maka-tao daw pero walang Diyos. Very charitable, very active sa NGO, pero never nagdarasal, never nagsisimba. Pagod na pagod kasi ang pinagkukunan ng pagmamahal ay sarili lang, hindi ang Diyos.

Sabi ni Jesus: Hindi pwede hati. Iisa lang ang utos na may dalawang mukha. Parang coin — heads and tails, pero iisang coin lang.

At ang pinakahuling linya ang pinakamahalaga:

"Sa dalawang utos na ito nakasalalay ang buong Kautusan at ang mga Propeta."

Sa Tagalog, "nakasabit" — kremannymi sa Greek — parang pinto na nakasabit sa bisagra. Tanggalin mo ang dalawang utos na ito, babagsak lahat.

Hindi binura ni Jesus ang 613. Ibinitin niya lahat sa dalawa.

Kaya tatlong tanong para sa ating examen ngayong Linggo:

1. Buo ba ang puso ko? May ibang sinasamba ba ako bukod sa Diyos — pera, cellphone, barkada, sarili? Sabi ni San Agustin: "Ang puso natin ay ginawa para sa Diyos, at hindi mapakali hanggat hindi nagpapahinga sa Kanya."

2. Totoo ba ang pag-ibig ko sa kapwa, o pakitang-tao lang? Ang sabi ni Jesus: "Gaya ng iyong sarili." Hindi mo kailangang kamuhian ang sarili mo para maging banal. Ang utos, mahalin mo ang sarili mo sa tamang paraan — alagaan mo kaluluwa mo — para may maibigay ka sa iba. Kung hindi ka marunong magpahinga, magpatawad sa sarili, paano ka magmamahal sa iba?

3. Saan ako kulang — sa taas o sa tabi? Yung iba, vertical lang — taas lang, Lord Lord, pero walang horizontal. Yung iba, horizontal lang — tao lang, wala nang Lord. Ang krus ni Jesus mismo ay vertical at horizontal. Doon tayo naligtas.

Mga kapatid, sa huli, hindi tayo tatanungin ng Diyos kung gaano tayo katalino sa Biblia, o ilang beses tayo nagsimba.

Tatanungin tayo: Nagmahal ka ba? Nang buo?

Buong puso, buong kaluluwa, buong isip — sa Diyos. At gaya ng sarili — sa kapwa.

Yan ang buong Bible sa dalawang sentence.

Amen.

The 613 are not listed as a numbered list in the Bible itself — that's why even Jews need a guide to count them. Here is the scholarly background:

1. The Idea Comes from the Talmud, not the Torah text

In Makkot 23b, Rabbi Simlai (3rd century AD) preached:

"613 mitzvot were given to Moses at Sinai — 365 negative [lo ta'aseh] corresponding to the days of the solar year, and 248 positive corresponding to the bones/organs of the human body."[aseh]

The Torah itself never says "613". It just gives laws scattered across the story. The rabbis counted them.

Talmud continues: King David reduced the 613 to 11 (Psalm 15), Isaiah to 6 (Isa. 33:15), Micah to 3 (Micah 6:8 - do justice, love kindness, walk humbly), Isaiah again to 2 (Isa. 56:1), and Habakkuk to 1 (Hab. 2:4 - the righteous shall live by faith). That's the background Jesus is doing in Mateo 22:34-40 — he is doing what rabbis do: summarizing.

2. Where Are They Scattered in the Torah?

All 613 are inside the Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch). The traditional distribution:

• Genesis / Bereshit - 3 mitzvot: e.g. Be fruitful and multiply (1:28), not to eat the sinew of thigh (32:33), circumcision (17:10)
• Exodus / Shemot - 111 mitzvot: 10 Commandments (Ex. 20), laws of altar, slaves, damages, Sabbath, festivals, Tabernacle (Ex. 20-40)
• Leviticus / Vayikra - 247 mitzvot: almost half of all 613! All about sacrifices, priesthood, impurity, kashrut, holiness code (Lev. 1-27)
• Numbers / Bemidbar - 52 mitzvot: Nazirite, Sotah, priestly blessing, trumpets, cities of refuge
• Deuteronomy / Devarim - 200 mitzvot: repetition and application for entering the land — king, wars, justice, remembrance of Amalek

So when someone asks "where can I read them," the answer is: you have to read Exodus 20 to Deuteronomy 34.

3. Where Can You Find the Actual Numbered List?

Because the counting is interpretative — is "love God" one or two? Is "do not steal" different from "do not rob"? — there are different lists. The authoritative ones:

a. Maimonides (Rambam, 1138-1204) - Sefer HaMitzvot
This is the standard list Jews use today. He also organized them in his Mishneh Torah. He divided them into 14 categories.

b. Sefer HaChinuch (13th century, anonymous)
Follows Rambam's order, but adds explanation for each according to Parsha of the week. Very pastoral. This is the best for preaching.

c. Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (SeMaG) and Sefer Mitzvot Katan (SeMaK)

Today, the easiest English/Tagalog reference is Chabad.org — 613 Commandments — they list all 613 with verse.

4. What Are the 613 Made Of?

• 248 Positive — Mitzvot Aseh - "Gawin mo": e.g. to know God, to love God (Deut 6:5), to pray, to wear tefillin, to give charity, to rest on Shabbat, to celebrate Passover, Yom Kippur, Sukkot.
• *365 Negative — Mitzvot Lo Ta'aseh - "Huwag mong gawin": e.g. don't worship idols, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't eat blood, don't work on Shabbat, don't take revenge.

10 Commandments are inside the 613 — they are 10 of the 613, but for Jews and for us Catholics, they are the moral foundation that never expires.

For us Catholics, St. Thomas Aquinas divided the 613 into:

• Moral — remains (10 Commandments, love of God and neighbor)
• Ceremonial — fulfilled by Christ (sacrifices, purity)
• Judicial / Civil — expired with Israel as nation

That's why Jesus could say in Mateo 22:40 — "Sa dalawang ito nakasalalay ang buong Kautusan at Propeta." He did not abolish the 613, He showed the hanger (kremannymi) where all 613 hang.

Both come from the SAME two verses:

"You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." — Deut 6:8-9, and again Deut 11:18-20

Literal Jews took it literally. So they made two objects.

1. TEFILLIN - Also called Phylacteries

In Matthew 23:5, Jesus says "They make their phylacteries broad" — that's tefillin. Greek phylakterion = amulet, protection.

What it is: Two small black leather boxes made from ONE piece of kosher animal hide. Hand-made, no metal.

• Shel Yad — for the arm/hand: One compartment box. Worn on the weak arm (left arm for right-handed), facing the heart. The strap wraps 7 times around the arm, and forms the letter Shin and Dalet — spelling Shaddai.
  This means: what my hands do, and what my heart desires, belongs to God.

• Shel Rosh — for the head: Box with FOUR compartments. Worn on the forehead, right at the hairline, between the eyes. The straps have a knot shaped like Dalet at the back.
  This means: what my mind thinks, belongs to God.

What is inside? This is the important part. A tiny parchment scroll written by a sofer (scribe) with special ink, with 4 passages — all talking about Exodus and the Shema:

1. Exodus 13:1-10 — Sanctify the firstborn, remember Exodus
2. Exodus 13:11-16 — Law of firstborn
3. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 — Shema Yisrael — Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One... you shall love the Lord your God...
4. Deuteronomy 11:13-21 — Second paragraph of Shema — If you obey...

In the Shel Yad, those 4 passages are on ONE scroll. In Shel Rosh, on FOUR separate scrolls, one per compartment.

When worn: Weekday morning prayer - Shacharit. Not worn on Shabbat and festivals, because Shabbat itself is already a "sign." Adult Jewish men from age 13 (Bar Mitzvah). In Orthodox tradition, women are exempt.

The idea is not magic. The rabbis say: You have 613 desires — the straps bind you. Your thoughts wander — the box on head brings you back.

Jesus as a faithful Jew would have worn tefillin. That's why He could critique those who made them too big to show off.

2. MEZUZAH - From the word "doorpost"

What it is: A small case — can be wood, metal, glass, simple or very artistic — nailed on the RIGHT doorpost of every doorway in a Jewish home, except bathroom and small closets.

Slanted — Ashkenazi Jews slant it inward, Sephardi straight. Why slanted? Compromise between Rashi who said vertical and Rabbeinu Tam who said horizontal.

What is inside? Only 2 passages this time — Deut 6:4-9 and Deut 11:13-21 — the Shema. Written on one parchment, 22 lines, same sofer, same rules. At the back, the name Shaddai — which stands for Shomer Daltot Yisrael — Guardian of the Doors of Israel. And also Shaddai is one of God's names.

Every time a Jew enters or leaves, they touch the mezuzah with fingertips and kiss the fingers. It's not worshipping the object — it's remembering: This house is under God's covenant.

Archaeologists found mezuzot in Qumran — same practice from 2,000 years ago.

For us Catholics, anong lesson?

We also put signs on our doors — crucifix, Sto. Niño, holy water font at entrance. Same theology: my house is not just mine. My body is not just mine.

Tefillin = God on my body — heart, mind, hands.
Mezuzah = God on my house — doorpost, gate.

Kaya when Jesus summarized the 613 into two — Love God, Love Neighbor — He was wearing the summary on His body and seeing it on His door every day.