From the January/February, 1999 issue of *Touchstone*

Christian Halakah by Thomas S. Buchanan

Christian Halakah

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
—Deuteronomy 6:4–7

The Shema is the great prayer of the Jews. It is written upon the doorposts of Jewish homes and recited countless times by Jewish lips. It is the prayer of the Bible to the Jewish mind.

We would do well to learn from the Jews. To the devout, Judaism is seen as a halakah, a way of life. Being a Jew has an effect on what you eat, how you dress, and how you spend your Friday nights. It permeates your whole life. To be a good Jew is to pray at least four times a day: when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you arise. To be a good Jew is to teach the faith to your children.

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Thomas S. Buchanan is the George W. Laird Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware. He has studied at UCSD, Northwestern University, and MIT, and has held visiting professorships at the University of Western Australia and the University of Aix-Marseille. He has served as department chairman, deputy dean, and institute director, president of the American Society of Biomechanics, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. He is on the Board of Trustees of Saint Katherine College, the editorial board of Touchstone, and the board of The Fellowship of St. James.

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