שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our G–d, the Lord alone.” This verse would not be complete unless G–d’s name had appeared in it three times. If the Torah had only written: שמע ישראל ה' אחד, “Hear Israel, the Lord is one,” every other nation in the world would have claimed that their national deity was also unique for them. By adding the word: אלוקינו, “our G–d,” every reader would know that the subject is the G–d of Israel. If we would only say: “the Lord our G–d is one,” the impression would be left that He is one of a number of deities. The correct translation of the way Moses described G–d in our verse is: “the Lord Who is our Master is unique as a Master, and there is none beside Him.” When reciting this line in our prayers it is necessary to introduce this prayer with the words: א-ל מלך נאמן, “G–d who is a true king.” The reason that the authors of the prayer book have seen fit to add these three words is that by adding them the three paragraphs of this prayer including the line ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו, “blessed be the glory of His Kingdom,” total 248 words, a number which equals the 248 limbs in our bodies. This is hinted at by Solomon in Proverbs 4,4: שמר מצותי וחיה “Keep My commandments and you will live.” G–d is portrayed as saying that if you (Israel) keep My commandments, I will keep you alive.” Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta explained this concept by means of a parable: a king possessed a vineyard in the central part of the land of Israel, whereas his residence was in the northern part of the country. Another king possessed a vineyard in the northern part of Israel, whereas his residence was in the central part of the country. Each king had to travel at least once a year from his residence to his vineyard to make sure the vineyard was being tended properly. Eventually, these two kings met one another and each complained to the other about the inconvenience of having to visit his vineyard every year. They made an agreement that each king would take care of the other’s vineyard, an arrangement that saved each of them a lot of time and inconvenience.

כי ישאלך בנך מחר, “when your son will ask you tomorrow (in the future), etc.” The question posed here is that attributed to the wise son (one of the four) during the recital of the haggadah on the night of the seder. Although this son addresses his parents with the word אתכם, which is almost the same as לכם, when he describes them as having been commanded to observe this commandment, i.e. he excludes himself just as the wicked son does, the fact that he adds that it is אשר צוה ה' אלוקנו, “which the Lord our G–d commanded, means that he does not exclude himself from the people assembled to observe the Passover. He had, after all not been redeemed from Egypt, seeing that he had not yet been alive, as had his parents.