The Siddur Project

Intro to the Shema (Part I)

By Aaron Eby  | Comments (1) | Posted on May 18, 2007

One of the most well-known elements of Jewish prayer is the Shema. The Shema is a core part of the prayer services every day, in the morning and in the evening.

The Shema means much more to Judaism than simply a Scripture reading or a daily prayer. It is a summary of faith, mission, and identity all in one. It is often the first verse of the Bible that a Jewish child learns by heart. It is recited twice daily by faithful Jewish people for as long as they live. Many people, especially martyrs, utter the words of the Shema with their dying breath.

There is enough to say about this sequence of passages to fill volumes. I think the best approach for me in this blog is to begin with a basic overview. In later posts, perhaps I will focus in on more of the details. This will take some time, so please be patient!

Components of the Shema

The Shema is named for its first line, Deuteronomy 6:4, which says: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God; the LORD is One.” The word shema (שמע) means “hear” or “listen” and it is in the imperative form, that is, the command form. Shema can also have the sense of “obey,” meaning that the one does not merely accept sounds passively into their ear but takes them seriously and carries them out.

The Shema is more than this first line, however. After Deuteronomy 6:4, a quiet response is added: “Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever,” (translations vary). Then the Shema continues with Deuteronomy 6:5-9, which gives us the commandment to love God “with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your might,” and continues to communicate the importance and value that we should place upon the Torah.

Next, a second passage is read: Deuteronomy 11:13-21. This passage echoes many of the terms in the first passage, but it is also different in some respects. Like the first passage, it speaks of hearing God, loving God and treating His words with importance and value. However, it continues by offering promises for proper observance and warnings for disobedience.

The third and final passage is from Numbers 15:37-41. This reading is very different from the other two. It describes the commandment to attach tzitziyot (tassels) to the four corners of the garments, and then concludes with a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.

Questions

Clearly, these passages would not have been selected arbitrarily, since the Shema is considered so fundamental to Jewish thought. But if their selection and arrangement is intentional, several questions arise.

First, what makes the first reading so important that it should be included? Also, why is it placed first out of the three passages?

We can easily see the connection between the first and second readings. But if the second section repeats so many parts of the first section practically verbatim, why is it even necessary? It would appear that what makes it important are the differences, so what are those differences and what are their significance?

Since the first and second passages are so clearly connected, the third passage appears to be an odd one out. It is very different in content, and it even comes from a different book of the Torah. How is this passage connected to the others that would merit its inclusion? Also, why would it be placed at the very end of the reading?

Surrounding Blessings

Before we answer these questions, however, it should be noted that when the Shema is read as a part of the prayer service, it is surrounded by a sequence of blessings. While the content is a little different between the morning and the evening, the topic is the same each time.

The first blessing is one that acknowledges God as the Creator. In the evening, the blessing reads, “Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, who causes it to become evening with His word, opens gates with wisdom, changes times with discernment, changes the seasons, and orders the stars in their watches in the sky according to His will.” It is an allusion to the creation narrative in the beginning of Genesis. In the morning, the blessing begins, “Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all things,” which is a direct allusion to Isaiah 45:7.

The second blessing focuses on the love relationship between God and Israel. In the evening it begins “With an eternal love You have loved the House of Israel, Your people.” The morning version begins “You have loved us with an abundant love, O LORD, our God, and with very great pity you have pitied us.” Both the morning and evening blessings identify the Torah as the expression of this love relationship.

After the Shema is read, a third blessing is recited that identifies God as Redeemer. Again, it is different in the morning and evening, but not as different as the previous two. It recounts the Exodus from Egypt, particularly the crossing of the Red Sea and the song the Israelites sang on the shore. In both versions, it ends, “Blessed are You, O LORD, who has redeemed Israel.”

These blessings raise an additional question. What do the topics contained in these blessings have to do with the Shema?

A Natural Progression

Far from being a random assortment, a close examination of the three passages of the Shema reveals that they form a logical, natural progression of thought.
Examining the first passage, we can draw out three important themes:

• God’s Oneness: “The LORD is our God, the LORD is One…”
• Love of God: “And you shall love the LORD, your God…”
• Knowledge of God: “Teach them repeatedly to your children…”

In the second and third passages, the themes continue:

• Obedience: “If you dutifully hear my commandments…”
• Sanctification: “You will be holy for your God.”

God’s Oneness: Deserves Exclusive Worship

God’s oneness can be understood in a few different ways. The immediate context of Deuteronomy provides a clear context for the Shema as a part of Moses’ plea that the Israelites remain faithful to God. See how his statement “the LORD is One” is in the midst of a repeating refrain asking the Israelites not to commit idolatry.

• To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him. (Deuteronomy 4:35)
• the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. (Deuteronomy 4:39)
• I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them… (Deuteronomy 5:6-9)
• Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God; the LORD is One. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
• You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you…” (Deuteronomy 6:13-14)

Thus, we can see that one primary element of God’s oneness is that he is deserving of exclusive worship.

Isaiah 45 makes direct allusions to the Shema and picks up on Deuteronomy’s anthemic adjuration:

• I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God… (Isaiah 45:5)
• ...And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:21-22)

God’s Oneness: Ultimate Sovereignty

However, Isaiah 45 presents the oneness of God in another light. The verse cited in the blessing before the Shema teaches us that God is:

• The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being [peace] and creating calamity [evil]; I am the LORD who does all these. (Isaiah 45:5-7)

In other words, there is not a dualistic good god/bad god system as is taught by Zoroastrianism and other religions. Instead everything, good and bad, is under God’s exclusive control. Thus, we learn that another aspect of God’s oneness is that He does not share sovereignty with anyone else. He is exclusively sovereign.

But when Isaiah identifies God as Creator of all things, another idea is brought to mind. We see God as entirely independent from His creation. He is not contained in it or bound by it. Creation exists because He continues to make it exist. Our existence depends on Him, but His existence does not depend on anything. Thus, we see God as the ultimate, independent existence. Additionally, since God existed before all things and created everything, we can know that there is no other god whatsoever. God is independent and exclusive in His existence.

This answers our question about the first blessings before the Shema. We see that knowing God as Creator is an integral part of acknowledging His oneness.

The LORD is Our God

But there is another element in the statement of God’s oneness that we have not addressed. That is the declaration that “the LORD is our God.”

This statement identifies the God who chose Israel as the God who rules supreme over the entire world. No other nation is able to make that claim, because the relationship that the LORD initiated with Israel is unique.

Notice how the Ten Commandments (in Deuteronomy 5) form an immediate context for this line of the Shema (in Deuteronomy 6). Even the phrase “Hear O Israel” was previously stated in Deuteronomy 5:1. It should not be surprising, then, that the two passages bear a strong connection:

• The LORD is our God / I am the LORD, your God
• The LORD is One / You shall have no other gods before Me

The statement that “the LORD is our God” is a reference to the phrase that echoes throughout the Torah and the Prophets: “You will be My people, and I will be your God.” This promise is formulated in covenantal terms, and evokes an image of Israel as a bride and God as a groom. The story of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai is presented as a betrothal or wedding. Thus, it follows that the Torah itself represents the love relationship between God and Israel, like a ketubah (marriage contract) represents the union between a man and his wife.

To Be Continued…

In a later post, God willing, I will continue this discussion of the Shema by showing how the realization of God’s oneness leads us into a love relationship with Him.

Aaron Eby
Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5767

About the Author: Aaron Eby writes for messiah magazine and other FFOZ publications. He is also the author of the forthcoming siddur project, as well as the forthcoming Hebrew lesson DVD.

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