(Almighty, faithful King)

Hear, Yisrael: Adonoy is our God, Adonoy is One.⁵⁸

footnotes: ⁵⁸ Devorim 6:4. It is customary to recite this verse aloud, the ear hearing what the lips utter. This helps one concentrate on the meaning of this important declaration. Interestingly, the last letter of the first word שְׁמַע and last letter of אֶחָד are written larger than the others. These two letters form the word עֵד “witness”—i.e., every Jew by saying Shema testifies to Hashem’s unity. —AvudrahamCustomarily one closes his eyes when pronouncing this testimony in order to shut out all distractions, and to concentrate all one’s thought on Hashem’s unity. The last word, אֶחָד “One,” is to be said with special emphasis, drawing it out for the length of time needed to reflect that Hashem, the Giver and Sustainer of life Whose Providence guides the destinies of all men, is the unique God of Yisrael, that He is alone in His world, ruling all four corners of the universe.

Blessed [is His] Name, Whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.⁵⁹

footnotes: ⁵⁹ Yaakov wished to reveal to his sons the ‘end of the days,’ whereupon the Shechinah departed from him. Said he, “Perhaps, Heaven forbid! there is one unfit among my children.” His sons exclaimed to him, “Hear Yisrael” etc., just as there is only One in your heart so is there only One in our heart. Ben Lakish explained that Yaakov said “Blessed [is His] Name” in response to his sons’ exclamation. The Sages wondered, “Shall we recite it aloud when our teacher Moshe did not say it? Shall we not say it at all, when Yaakov ordained it?” Thus the Rabbis enacted that it be said quietly.—Maseches Pesachim 56a.When Moshe went up to the heavens, he heard the angels praise Hashem by saying, “Blessed [is His] Name, etc.” When he returned to earth, he taught it to the Jewish People. We say it in an undertone so as not to offend the angels. On Yom Kippur however, when we are considered like angels, we are permitted to say בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם aloud.—Midrash Rabba to Devorim

And you shall love Adonoy your God with all your heart⁶⁰ and with all your soul⁶¹ and with all your possessions.⁶² And these words which I command you today,⁶³ shall be upon your heart. And you shall teach them sharply⁶⁴ to your children. And you shall discuss them when you sit in your house, and when you travel on the road, and when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for totafos between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gateways.⁶⁵

footnotes: ⁶⁰ Our Sages (Sifrei to Devorim 31) explain “With all your heart” to mean “With all your desires—including the evil inclination,” i.e., subject your earthly passions and ambitions to Hashem’s Law and make them instruments for His service. ⁶¹ The Sages (ibid.) take these words to mean “With your whole life—even to the last drop of blood.” It was such an understanding that led Rabbi Akiva to say, when the executioner was tearing his flesh with iron hooks, “All my life, I have longed for this moment. I have loved Hashem with all my heart and with all my might; and now at last, I can love Him with my whole life.” It was this concept that gave Jewish martyrs the courage to lay down their lives for their faith. ⁶² The Sages (ibid.) explain, “With whatever lot Providence has assigned to you,” i.e., despite whatever material sacrifice your loyalty to Hashem and to Torah might entail. ⁶³ The teachings of the Torah should be ever fresh in your minds, as though you received it today.—Ibid. ⁶⁴ See to it that your children have a clear, and not a confused, stammering knowledge of the Torah.—Ibid. ⁶⁵ Devorim 6:5—9. This paragraph contains 10 commandments: 1) accepting the “yoke” of heaven; 2) proclaiming the Unity of Hashem; 3) loving Hashem; 4) studying Torah (and you shall speak of them); 5) teaching your children; 6—7) reciting Shema in the evening and in the morning; 8—9) putting on the tefillin of the hand and head; 10) putting up mezuzos on the doorposts.

And it will be— if you vigilantly obey My commandments which I command you this day, to love Adonoy your God, and serve Him with your entire hearts⁶⁶ and with your entire souls— that I will give rain for your land in its proper time,⁶⁷ the early (autumn) rain and the late (spring) rain;⁶⁸ and you will harvest your grain and your wine and your oil. And I will put grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Beware lest your hearts be swayed⁶⁹ and you turn astray, and you worship alien gods and bow to them. And Adonoy's fury will blaze among you, and He will close off the heavens and there will be no rain and the earth will not yield its produce; and you will perish swiftly⁷⁰ from the good land which Adonoy gives you. Place these words of Mine⁷¹ upon your hearts and upon your souls,— and bind them for a sign upon your hands, and they shall be for totafos between your eyes.⁷² And you shall teach them to your sons, to speak them⁷³ when you sit in your house, and when you travel on the road, and when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gateways. In order that your days be prolonged, and the days of your children, upon the land which Adonoy swore to your fathers to give them [for as long] as the heavens are above the earth.

footnotes: ⁶⁶ The service of the heart is prayer, as Dovid said (Tehillim 141:2) “May my prayers be acceptable to You as an incense [service].” ⁶⁷ Hashem will make it rain at night so as not to cause you discomfort.—Rashi ⁶⁸ Reward and punishment are here connected with the rainfalls vital to the Land of Yisrael. The heavy rains which open the growing season in the fall and the showers which fall while the grain is ripening are of utmost importance. ⁶⁹ One who is satisfied can easily be induced to forget the Source of his fullness.—Rashi ⁷⁰ No extension will be given. The “generation of the flood” was granted a reprieve of 120 years (Bereishis 6:3) because they did not have from whom to learn; but you do have from whom to learn.—Sifrei, cited by Rashi ⁷¹ Even in exile you must fulfill Hashem’s commandments—Sifrei cited by Rashi ⁷² Between your eyes is not to be taken literally. The correct position of the phylactery of the head (shel rosh) is at the edge of the hair line directly above the place which is between the eyes. ⁷³ From the moment your son knows how to talk, begin teaching him the Torah.—Rashi.

And Adonoy spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the children of Yisrael, and tell them⁷⁴ to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations; and they will place with the fringes of each corner a thread of blue. And it will be to you for fringes, and you will look upon it and you will remember all the commandments of Adonoy,⁷⁵ and you will perform them; and you will not turn aside after your hearts⁷⁶ and after your eyes which cause you to go astray. In order that you will remember and perform all My commandments; and you will be holy unto your God. I am Adonoy, your God, Who brought you out of the land of Mitzrayim to be your God: I am Adonoy, your God—⁷⁷ —is true—

footnotes: ⁷⁴ Rabbi Yehuda bar Chaviva said that this third section was added to Shema because of six important things contained therein: 1. the commandment of fringes, 2. mention of the Exodus, 3. the call to assume the yoke of Hashem’s commandments, 4. the warning against heretical concepts, 5. the warning against straying after sinful desires, and 6. the warning against idolatrous worship.—Maseches Berachos 12b ⁷⁵ Rabbi Meir says: “the blue thread of the fringes resembles the sea, the sea reflects the heavens, and heavens resemble the Throne of Glory” (Sifrei). The outward act of looking upon the tzitzis leads the Jew to inward spiritual conformity with the precepts of Hashem. ⁷⁶ The heart and the eyes of a person are the agents of sin—the eye sees, the heart desires, and thus the person sins.—Tanchuma cited by Rashi. ⁷⁷ Bamidbar 15:37—41.

Adonoy, your God, is true.

—and firm, certain and enduring, upright and faithful, beloved and cherished, desired and pleasant,⁷⁸ awesome and mighty, correct⁷⁹ and acceptable,⁸⁰ good and beautiful is this⁸¹ [affirmation] to us for all eternity. It is true, that the God of the Universe, is our King, the Stronghold of Yaakov is the Shield of our deliverance. Throughout the generations He endures and His Name endures, and His throne is confirmed; and His sovereignty and His faithfulness endure forever. His words are alive and enduring, faithful and desirable forever and to all eternity; for our fathers and for us,⁸² for our children and for our generations, and for all generations of the seed of Yisrael, Your servants. Upon the first and upon the last [generations] [it is] a matter that is good and everlasting. It is true and faithful, a Law that will never be abrogated. Truly you Adonoy, are our God, and the God of our fathers, our King the King of our fathers, our Redeemer, Redeemer of our fathers, our Former, Rock of our deliverance; our Liberator and our Saver is Your Name from old, there is no God but You.

footnotes: ⁷⁸ The Jew declares his commitment to Hashem, and states that His precepts are not forced upon him. On the contrary, they are beloved, cherished, delightful and pleasant to him.—Siach Yitzchok ⁷⁹ The teachings of Torah are correct in their totality. They lack nothing and are eternally valid for all situations.—Siach Yitzchok ⁸⁰ Even those precepts that are not easily understood and appear to contradict human nature, are accepted by us.—Siach Yitzchok ⁸¹ All that was affirmed above in Shema. ⁸² After having affirmed that all that was said in Shema is true, firm, certain, enduring, etc., we take an oath and testify that we accept the “yoke of heaven” upon ourselves as did our fathers before us and as will our children after us, forever and ever. Thus we say in the following prayer: “For our fathers, for us, for our children and for our descendants—Your word is good and lasting—a Law that will never be abrogated.”—Kuzari

The help⁸³ of our fathers You have always been. A Shield and a Deliverer to their children after them in every generation. The heights of the universe, is Your habitation, and Your judgments and Your righteousness [reach] to the ends of the earth.⁸⁴ Fortunate is man who heeds Your commandments; and Your Torah and Your word⁸⁵ he takes to his heart. Truly, You are the Master of Your people and a mighty King to defend their cause. Truly, You are First and You are Last,⁸⁶ and besides You we have no king, redeemer, or deliverer. You redeemed us from Mitzrayim, Adonoy, our God, from the house of bondage You liberated us. All their firstborn You slew, and Your firstborn You redeemed.⁸⁷ The Sea of Reeds, You split, and the wicked, You drowned. You caused the beloved ones to pass through, while the waters covered their enemies; not one of them remained. Because of this, the beloved ones praised and exalted the Almighty; and the beloved ones offered hymns, songs, and praises, blessings and thanksgiving to the King, the Almighty, [Who is] living and enduring. (He is) exalted and uplifted, great and awesome; He humbles the haughty and raises the lowly;⁸⁸ He frees the captives and redeems the humble, (and) helps the impoverished,⁸⁹ and He answers His people when they cry out to Him. Praises to the most high Almighty blessed is He,⁹⁰ and He is blessed.⁹¹ Moshe and the Children of Yisrael sang a song to You with great joy, and they all proclaimed:

footnotes: ⁸³ The word help indicates that the recipient also participated in his rescue, whereas the words shield and deliverer indicate that the rescue was made without any help from the rescued party. Our fathers who were righteous, participated in their rescue, and Hashem “helped” them. Since we are not that righteous, Hashem shields and delivers us even though we have no merit.—Siach Yitzchok ⁸⁴ Alternatively: “Affect mankind to the end of earthly time.”—Avudraham ⁸⁵ “Your Torah” means the basic concepts of the Torah itself, and “Your word” refers to ethical concepts, derived from events described in the Torah and by the Prophets.—Siach Yitzchok ⁸⁶ We refer to Hashem as First and Last only in order to preclude the notion that anything existed before Him, and to repudiate the idea that there is an end to His existence. We do not assert that He has a beginning or a fixed term.—Kuzari ⁸⁷ See Shemos 4:22. ⁸⁸ Hashem humbled the Egyptians who were haughty and raised high the Jews who had been lowly captives in Egypt. ⁸⁹ Hashem also helps those who are spiritually impoverished.—Rabbi Yehuda ben Yakar ⁹⁰ Intrinsically. ⁹¹ By others.

“Who is like You among the mighty, Adonoy! Who is like You— [You are] adorned in holiness, awesome in praise, performing wonders!” With a new song the redeemed people praised Your Name at the seashore! All of them in unison gave thanks and proclaimed Your sovereignty, and said:

“Adonoy will reign forever and ever.”

Rock of Yisrael, arise to the aid of Yisrael, and liberate Yehudah and Yisrael as You promised.⁹² Our Redeemer— ‘Adonoy Tzevaos' is His Name, the Holy One of Yisrael Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who redeemed⁹³ Yisrael.

footnotes: ⁹² As it is said, “‘And a redeemer will come to Tziyon and to those of Yaakov who repent of their transgression,’ said Adonoy” (Yeshaya 59:20). ⁹³ While Hashem is always referred to as the Redeemer of Yisrael, this blessing utilizes the past tense, “Who redeemed Yisrael,” as it refers specifically to our redemption from Egypt. —Tzelosa d’AvrahamOur faith in the Redeemer of Yisrael Who redeemed us from Egypt, and our hope that He will redeem us from exile, give us the spiritual energy and courage to stand before Him, to pray and beseech Him for our needs, as we proceed to the Amidah.—Yesodos haTefillah