Dear Friends,
Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad! Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is One!
Arguably, the most known and compelling Jewish prayer or statement of Jewish thought is the Shema, which is found in the heart of this week’s Torah portion.
It is recited at nearly every weekday, Shabbat or Festival worship. It is to be the last words one utters before closing one’s eyes to sleep, and if possible, the final words one utters at the close of one’s lifetime. It is unparalleled in its import for Jews.
Many assert that it is the singular statement of Jewish belief or theology. Though many sages of both antiquity and modernity have argued for and offered other all-encompassing statements of Jewish theology, the Shema still bubbles to the top. Moreover, I believe, anecdotally, that most of our community could not countenance the concept of any other core statement supplanting the Shema.
So what is it about the Shema which anchors it as the foundation of Jewish thought – or, as a previous generation of rabbis commonly called it, “The Watchword of our Faith?”
Is it the statement’s pure simplicity? After all, it is but six words in Hebrew, and it captures so much? There are few other community foundations stones which say so much so concisely. Perhaps “We, the people…” Brevity is powerful.
Or, is it the Shema’s ambiguity? Although it is only six Hebrew words, they are deeply nuanced and offer multiplicities of possible meanings. For instance, is the final word “echad” best understood as “One?” Maybe, it connotes, “Alone?” Or, perhaps, “Singular?” Or, “Undivided?” Or, the metaphysical and mystical, “Oneness?” Each of possibility has been offered as the most authentic rendering of Echad.”
Maybe, the Shema gains its power from its centrality? It is recited in the middle of an envelope of prayers which bracket it with authority and import, as if it is the center of a frame in a museum’s most exalted exhibit hall. We arrive to the Shema, and we rise to pronounce it as a monument to our ethics.
And, possibly the Shema derives its importance because we ascribe it love and a devotion unlike perhaps any other Jewish recitation, other than the Kaddish. The Shema warms us, unites us, quiets us, comforts us and galvanizes us. It strengthens us for our daily task, and it tucks us in for our nightly rest.
These are my thoughts on the Shema as we approach it this week. What does it mean to you?
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad! Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is One!
Arguably, the most known and compelling Jewish prayer or statement of Jewish thought is the Shema, which is found in the heart of this week’s Torah portion.
It is recited at nearly every weekday, Shabbat or Festival worship. It is to be the last words one utters before closing one’s eyes to sleep, and if possible, the final words one utters at the close of one’s lifetime. It is unparalleled in its import for Jews.
Many assert that it is the singular statement of Jewish belief or theology. Though many sages of both antiquity and modernity have argued for and offered other all-encompassing statements of Jewish theology, the Shema still bubbles to the top. Moreover, I believe, anecdotally, that most of our community could not countenance the concept of any other core statement supplanting the Shema.
So what is it about the Shema which anchors it as the foundation of Jewish thought – or, as a previous generation of rabbis commonly called it, “The Watchword of our Faith?”
Is it the statement’s pure simplicity? After all, it is but six words in Hebrew, and it captures so much? There are few other community foundations stones which say so much so concisely. Perhaps “We, the people…” Brevity is powerful.
Or, is it the Shema’s ambiguity? Although it is only six Hebrew words, they are deeply nuanced and offer multiplicities of possible meanings. For instance, is the final word “echad” best understood as “One?” Maybe, it connotes, “Alone?” Or, perhaps, “Singular?” Or, “Undivided?” Or, the metaphysical and mystical, “Oneness?” Each of possibility has been offered as the most authentic rendering of Echad.”
Maybe, the Shema gains its power from its centrality? It is recited in the middle of an envelope of prayers which bracket it with authority and import, as if it is the center of a frame in a museum’s most exalted exhibit hall. We arrive to the Shema, and we rise to pronounce it as a monument to our ethics.
And, possibly the Shema derives its importance because we ascribe it love and a devotion unlike perhaps any other Jewish recitation, other than the Kaddish. The Shema warms us, unites us, quiets us, comforts us and galvanizes us. It strengthens us for our daily task, and it tucks us in for our nightly rest.
These are my thoughts on the Shema as we approach it this week. What does it mean to you?
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
