Sh’ma and Its Blessings

k'ri-at sh'ma uvirchoteha

קריאת שמע וברכותיה

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Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

Second B’rakhah preceding the Sh’ma: God’s Abundant Love

Hebrew

אַהֲבָה רַבָּה אֲהַבְתָּנוּ, יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ,
חֶמְלָה גְדוֹלָה וִיתֵרָה חָמַלְתָּ עָלֵינוּ.
אָבִינוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ, בַּעֲבוּר אֲבוֹתֵינוּ [וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ]
שֶׁבָּטְחוּ בְךָ וַתְּלַמְּדֵם חֻקֵּי חַיִּים,
כֵּן תְּחָנֵּנוּ וּתְלַמְּדֵנוּ.
אָבִינוּ, הָאָב הָרַחֲמָן, הַמְרַחֵם,
רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ וְתֵן בְּלִבֵּנוּ לְהָבִין וּלְהַשְׂכִּיל
לִשְׁמֹעַ, לִלְמֹד וּלְלַמֵּד, לִשְׁמֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת
וּלְקַיֵּם אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵי תַלְמוּד תּוֹרָתֶךָ בְּאַהֲבָה.
וְהָאֵר עֵינֵינוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ,
וְדַבֵּק לִבֵּנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיךָ,
וְיַחֵד לְבָבֵנוּ לְאַהֲבָה וּלְיִרְאָה אֶת־שְׁמֶךָ,
וְלֹא נֵבוֹשׁ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.
כִּי בְּשֵׁם קָדְשְׁךָ הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא בָּטָחְנוּ,
נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ.

Israeli

ahavah rabah ahavtanu, Adonai Eloheinu,
chemlah g'dolah viterah chamalta aleinu.
avinu malkenu, ba-avur avoteinu [ve-imoteinu]
shebatechu v'cha vatlamedem chukei chayim,
ken t'chanenu utlamedenu.
avinu, ha-av harachaman, hamerachem,
rachem aleinu veten b'libenu lehavin ulehaskil
lishmoa, lilmod ulelamed, lishmor vela-asot
ulekayem et-kol-divrei Talmud Toratecha be-ahavah.
veha-er eineinu b'Toratecha,
vedabek libenu b'mitzvotecha,
veyached levavenu le-ahavah uleyirah et-sh'mecha,
velo nevosh le-olam va-ed.
ki b'shem kodshcha hagadol vehanora batachnu,
nagilah venismechah bishu-atecha.

English

Deeply have You loved us, Adonai our God, and poured upon us compassion without bound. Avinu Malkeinu, for the sake of our ancestors who placed their trust in You and whom You taught the laws of life, so may You be gracious toward us and teach us. Kind maker, have compassion upon us; open our hearts that we may discern and understand, study and hear, observe, perform, and fulfill in love all the teachings of Your Torah. Illumine our eyes by Your Torah; bind our hearts to Your mitzvot; unite our hearts to love and revere Your name, that we never lose hope. Trusting in Your great, holy, awe-inspiring name, we shall delight and rejoice in Your deliverance.

Some collect their tzitzit before saying this line:

Hebrew

וַהֲבִיאֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָרֶץ,
וְתוֹלִיכֵנוּ קוֹמְמִיּוּת לְאַרְצֵנוּ,
כִּי אֵל פּוֹעֵל יְשׁוּעוֹת אָתָּה,
וּבָנוּ בָחַרְתָּ מִכָּל־עַם וְלָשׁוֹן,
וְקֵרַבְתָּנוּ לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל סֶלָה בֶּאֱמֶת,
לְהוֹדוֹת לְךָ וּלְיַחֶדְךָ בְּאַהֲבָה.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה, הַבּוֹחֵר בְּעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַהֲבָה.

Israeli

vahavi-enu leshalom me-arba kanfot ha-aretz,
vetolichenu komemiyut le-artzenu,
ki El po-el yeshu-ot atah,
uvanu vacharta mikol-am velashon,
vekeravtanu leshimcha hagadol selah be-emet,
lehodot lecha uleyachedcha be-ahavah.
baruch atah Adonai, habocher be-amo Yisra-el be-ahavah.

English

From the earth’s four corners bring us in safety, and in dignity lead us to our land, for You are the God who works deliverance. From all other peoples and tongues You have chosen us, ever drawing us nearer to Your name, that we may truly acknowledge You and with love proclaim Your oneness. Barukh atah Adonai, who with love cares for the people Israel.

Commentary

YOU HAVE LOVED US DEEPLY אַהֲבָה רַבָּה. The Hebrew root alef-hei-vet, meaning “love,” appears six times in this passage (both as the noun and a verb). Reuven Hammer points out that three of them speak of our love for God and three speak of God’s love for us. While reciting this b’rakhah, the worshipper can anticipate the seventh occurrence, which is found in the first paragraph of the Sh’ma: “You shall love Adonai your God.”

AVINU MALKEINU אָבִינוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ. Literally, “our father, our king.” The pairing of the two words emphasizes that God is at once both intimate as a close relation and distant as a monarch. The word av, “father,” suggests the image of God as source or progenitor, and therefore it may also be translated as “creator.”

LAWS OF LIFE חֻקֵּי חַיִּים. The word “Torah” encompasses many different meanings. In its most limited usage, it refers to the Five Books of Moses. But in a larger sense it refers to all of Scripture, and even to all of later Jewish teaching. Thus, the rabbis of the Talmud spoke of the “Written Torah” and the “Oral Torah,” the latter referring to the teachings of the Midrash, Mishnah, and Talmud—and even to “whatever new teaching a student of wisdom might impart until the end of time” (Leviticus Rabbah 22:1). In this prayer, “Torah” embraces the widest meaning: the laws of life—all those teachings that instruct us concerning a full ethical and religious life.

TO UNDERSTAND AND DISCERN . . . OBSERVE, FULFILL, AND PERFORM לְהָבִין וּלְהַשְׂכִּיל . . . לִשְׁמֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת וּלְקַיֵּם. This sequence implies that study is intimately linked with action—indeed, that study should lead to action.

GATHERING THE TZITZIT. Many observe the custom, originating in the late Middle Ages, of gathering the four tzitziyot (plural of tzitzit) of the tallit while reciting the words “bring us safely from the four corners of the earth,” thus symbolizing Israel’s unity and ingathering. The tzitziyot are then held through the third paragraph of the Sh’ma, and kissed when reciting the word tzitzit (which appears three times in that paragraph). By this practice, we indicate that we are lovingly undertaking to observe these words of Torah, and we hope that our commitment to strive for holiness will lead to greater unity. We are also gathering within us all our positive intentions.

The Blessings of the Priests before the Sh’ma The priests in the Temple would say the following b’rakhah before the Sh’ma: “May the one who dwells in this House always grant you love, harmony, peace, and friendship.” —TALMUD OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL …

You Have Loved Us Deeply With a great love (ahavah rabah) You have loved us (ahavtanu). The love of God for the people Israel is declared here just before the Sh’ma. It prepares us for the Sh’ma. Now you might expect a listing of gifts to us—God’s freeing us, feeding us, delivering us. Instead, we thank God for one gift: God’s teaching, God’s opening our minds and hearts to Torah. What You’ve given us is the ability to listen to You, so we can thank and draw close to You. Your compassion is expressed in teaching our hearts to know compassion, to love You, giving us not personal freedoms but, in fact, boundaries bringing us close to the Unbounded, the One. By giving us Torah, You’ve shown us how to live. We can now offer thanks and say: “Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one.” —JOHN J. CLAYTON …