(Almighty, faithful King)

Hear, Israel:

Adonoy is our God,

Adonoy is One.⁵⁹

footnotes: ⁵⁹ Deuteronomy 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 God’s unity.— Avudraham Customarily one closes his eyes when pronouncing this testimony in order to shut out all distractions, and to concentrate all one’s thought on God’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 God, the Giver and Sustainer of life Whose Providence guides the destinies of all men, is the unique God of Israel, 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.⁶⁰

footnotes: ⁶⁰ Jacob 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 Israel” etc., just as there is only One in your heart so is there only One in our heart. Ben Lakish explained that Jacob said “Blessed [is His] Name” in response to his sons’ exclamation. The Sages wondered, “Shall we recite it aloud when our teacher Moses did not say it? Shall we not say it at all, when Jacob ordained it?” Thus the Rabbis enacted that it be said quietly.—Maseches Pesachim 56a. When Moses went up to the heavens, he heard the angels praise God 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 Deuteronomy

And you shall love Adonoy your God

with all your heart⁶¹

footnotes: ⁶¹ Our Sages (Sifrei to Deuteronomy 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 God’s Law and make them instruments for His service.

and with all your soul⁶²

footnotes: ⁶² 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 God 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.

and with all your possessions.⁶³

footnotes: ⁶³ The Sages (ibid.) explain, “With whatever lot Providence has assigned to you,” i.e., despite whatever material sacrifice your loyalty to God and to Torah might entail.

And these words

which I command you today,⁶⁴

footnotes: ⁶⁴ The teachings of the Torah should be ever fresh in your minds, as though you received it today.—Ibid.

shall be upon your heart.

And you shall teach them sharply⁶⁵

footnotes: ⁶⁵ See to it that your children have a clear, and not a confused, stammering knowledge of the Torah.—Ibid.

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.⁶⁶

footnotes: ⁶⁶ Deuteronomy 6:5-9. This paragraph contains 10 commandments: 1) accepting the “yoke” of heaven; 2) proclaiming the Unity of God; 3) loving God; 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 door posts.

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 hearts⁶⁷

footnotes: ⁶⁷ The service of the heart is prayer, as David said (Psalms 141:2) “May my prayers be acceptable to You as an incense [service].”

and with your entire souls—

that I will give rain for your land

in its proper time,⁶⁸

footnotes: ⁶⁸ God will make it rain at night so as not to cause you discomfort.—Rashi

the early (autumn) rain

and the late (spring) rain;⁶⁹

footnotes: ⁶⁹ Reward and punishment are here connected with the rainfalls vital to the Land of Israel. 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.

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 swayed⁷⁰

footnotes: ⁷⁰ One who is satisfied can easily be induced to forget the Source of his fullness.—Rashi

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 swiftly⁷¹

footnotes: ⁷¹ No extension will be given. The “generation of the flood” was granted a reprieve of 120 years (Genesis 6:3) because they did not have from whom to learn; but you do have from whom to learn.—Sifrei, cited by Rashi

from the good land

which Adonoy gives you.

Place these words of Mine⁷²

footnotes: ⁷² Even in exile you must fulfill God’s commandments—Sifrei cited by Rashi

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.⁷³

footnotes: ⁷³ 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.

And you shall teach them to your sons,

to speak them⁷⁴

footnotes: ⁷⁴ From the moment your son knows how to talk, begin teaching him the Torah.—Rashi.

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.

And Adonoy spoke to Moses saying:

Speak to the children of Israel,

and tell them⁷⁵

footnotes: ⁷⁵ Rabbi Yehuda bar Chaviva said that this third section was added to Sh’ma 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 God’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

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,⁷⁶

footnotes: ⁷⁶ 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 God.

and you will perform them;

and you will not turn aside after your hearts⁷⁷

footnotes: ⁷⁷ 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.

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 Egypt

to be your God:

I am Adonoy, your God—⁷⁸

footnotes: ⁷⁸ Numbers 15:37-41.

is true—

Adonoy, your God, is true.

—and firm,

certain and enduring,

upright and faithful,

beloved and cherished,

desired and pleasant,⁷⁹

footnotes: ⁷⁹ The Jew declares his commitment to God, and states that His precepts are not forced upon him. On the contrary, they are beloved, cherished, delightful and pleasant to him.—Siach Yitzchok

awesome and mighty,

correct80 and acceptable,⁸¹

footnotes: ⁸¹ Even those precepts that are not easily understood and appear to contradict human nature, are accepted by us.—Siach Yitzchok

good and beautiful

is this⁸² [affirmation] to us for all eternity.

footnotes: ⁸² All that was affirmed above in Shema.

It is true,

that the God of the Universe, is our King,

the Stronghold of Jacob

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,⁸³

footnotes: ⁸³ 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

for our children and for our generations,

and for all generations

of the seed of Israel, 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

which is Your Name from old,

and we have no other God

besides You, ever.

The help⁸⁴ of our fathers

footnotes: ⁸⁴ 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 God “helped” them. Since we are not that righteous, God shields and delivers us even though we have no merit.—Siach Yitzchok

You have always been.

A Shield and a Deliverer

to them and 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.⁸⁵

footnotes: ⁸⁵ Alternatively: “Affect mankind to the end of earthly time.” —Avudraham

Truly fortunate is man

who heeds Your commandments;

and Your Torah and Your word⁸⁶

footnotes: ⁸⁶ “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

he takes to his heart.

Truly, You are the Master of Your people

and a mighty King to defend their cause.

for the fathers and [their] sons:

Truly, You are First

and You are Last,⁸⁷

footnotes: ⁸⁷ We refer to God 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

and besides You

we have no king, redeemer, or deliverer.

Truly Your redeemed us from Egypt.

Adonoy, our God,

from the house of bondage You liberated us.

All their firstborn You slew,

and Israel, Your firstborn, You redeemed.⁸⁸

footnotes: ⁸⁸ See Exodus 4:22.

The Sea of Reeds, You split for them,

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 to the ground.

and raises the lowly,⁸⁹ to the heights.

footnotes: ⁸⁹ God humbled the Egyptians who were haughty and raised high the Jews who had been lowly captives in Egypt.

He frees the captives

and redeems the humble,

(and) helps the impoverished,⁹⁰

footnotes: ⁹⁰ God also helps those who are spiritually impoverished.—Rabbi Yehuda ben Yakar

and He answers His people Israel

when they cry out to Him.

Praises to the most high Almighty

their redeemer,

blessed is He,91 and He is blessed.⁹²

footnotes: ⁹² By others.

Moses and the Children of Israel

sang a song to You with great joy,

and they all proclaimed:

“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 great 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 Israel,

arise to the aid of Israel,

and liberate

Judah and Israel as You promised.⁹³

footnotes: ⁹³ As it is said, “And a redeemer will come to Zion and to those of Jacob who repent of their transgression, said Adonoy” (Isaiah 59:20).

Our Redeemer—

‘Adonoy of hosts' is His Name,

the Holy One of Israel

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who redeemed⁹⁴ Israel.

footnotes: ⁹⁴ While God is always referred to as the Redeemer of Israel, this blessing utilizes the past tense, “Who redeemed Israel,” as it refers specifically to our redemption from Egypt.—Tzelosa d’Avrohom Our faith in the Redeemer of Israel 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