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

קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע

Reciting the Sh’ma

Some persons may wish to pause here briefly. Some may shut their eyes; others may cover their eyes with a hand. The aim is to focus upon God’s oneness.

The words below are inserted when a minyan is lacking:

Hebrew

אֵל מֶלֶךְ נֶאֱמָן

Israeli

El melech ne-eman

English

God is a steadfast sovereign.

Hebrew

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהֹוָה אֶחָד׃

Israeli

sh'ma Yisra-el Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.

English

Hearken, O Israel: Adonai is our God, Adonai is one.

Spoken softly:

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד׃

Israeli

baruch shem k'vod malchuto le-olam va-ed.

English

Blessed be the name of the One whose glorious reign endures forever and ever.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9

Hebrew

וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ
וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶךָ׃ וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ
הַיּוֹם עַל־לְבָבֶךָ׃ וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ
בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃
וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל־יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ׃
וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל־מְזוּזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ׃

Israeli

ve-ahavta et Adonai Elohecha b'chol-levavcha uvchol-nafshecha
uvchol-me-odecha. vehayu hadvarim ha-eleh asher anochi metzavcha
hayom al-levavecha. veshinantam levanecha vedibarta bam b'shivtecha
beveitecha uvlechtecha vaderech uvshachbcha uvkumecha.
ukshartam le-ot al-yadecha vehayu letotafot bein einecha.
uchtavtam al-mezuzot beitecha uvisharecha.

English

You shall love Adonai your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all that belongs to you. Take to heart these words that I command you this day. Repeat them to your children again and again; speak of them while you sit in your house, while you walk upon your way, while you lie down, and while you rise up. Fasten them as a sign on your hand and as a mark above your eyes; write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

Commentary

THE RECITATION OF THE SH’MA. Rabbinic literature refers to the Sh’ma as a k’riah, a reading aloud of a passage of the Torah. Later it became a meditation as well, a way to focus on God’s “oneness”—so much so that for some it became a moment to experience a mystical union with God. The Babylonian Talmud reports: Rabbi Judah the Prince was teaching and needed to stop, since the hour for reciting the Sh’ma was passing, so he covered his eyes for a moment and then continued teaching (Berakhot 13b). In this story, reciting the Sh’ma was but a momentary interruption. Later, Rabbi Judah’s act of covering his eyes came to be seen as a sign of deep contemplation, and so it became the custom of many to cover the eyes while reciting the Sh’ma, as a moment to meditate on God’s unity.

GOD IS A FAITHFUL SOVEREIGN אֵל מֶלֶךְ נֶאֱמָן. These words form an acronym of amen. When we recite the Sh’ma with a minyan, the leader concludes with the words Adonai eloheikhem emet, “Your God truly”; when, in the absence of a minyan, that affirmation is not recited, we add this private affirmation at the beginning of the Sh’ma. The Kabbalists noted that the Sh’ma contained 245 words and so, by adding three additional words, we reach 248—the number of limbs in the body, according to the belief of the ancient rabbis. Thus we affirm, whether by adding words at the beginning or the end of the Sh’ma, that our entire being is dedicated to God.

SH’MA YISRAEL שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל. To whom are these words addressed? Certainly, we are speaking to ourselves, enjoining ourselves to truly hear what our lips are saying. We may also be speaking to each other—the collective people Israel—reminding each other that we are a people united by values, nurturing our own sense of peoplehood. A moving midrash imagines these words recited by Jacob’s sons, addressed to their father Jacob/Israel, reassuring him on his deathbed that they remain true to his teachings, and that the God of Jacob is and will remain “their God” (Genesis Rabbah 98:3). And so, we too may be speaking to our forebears, reassuring our ancestors (all the way back to Jacob!) that their legacy continues in us.

ONE אֶחָד. The Hebrew word eḥad, “one,” has been variously interpreted. It can mean that God is totally unified and not made up of parts, as is the case with everything else we encounter in the universe. It can mean unique, that God is different from all else we encounter. It can mean “only,” that there is no other being who is divine. Mystics interpret it as meaning that God is one with the universe—or in another formulation, present throughout the universe.

PRAISED BE THE NAME בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם. This phrase is not part of the biblical text but was the customary response of those assembled to hearing the name of God as part of priestly prayers in the Temple. To differentiate it from the actual biblical text, it is recited silently. In the legend mentioned above, this sentence constituted Jacob’s response to his children’s affirmation, and so it is voiced differently.

INSCRIBE THEM UPON THE DOORPOSTS וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל מְזוּזוֹת. The observant Jew lives a life surrounded by the Sh’ma: reciting it in the morning upon arising and at night before going to sleep, walking past its inscription on the mezuzah when entering one’s home, and even adorning oneself with the words on weekday mornings upon one’s head and near one’s heart when putting on t’fillin, phylacteries.

Hear, O Israel The core of our worship is not a prayer at all, but a cry to our fellow Jews and fellow humans. In it we declare that God is one—which is also to say that humanity is one, that life is one, that joys and sufferings are all one—for God is the force that binds them all together. There is nothing obvious about this truth, for life as we experience it seems infinitely fragmented. Human beings seem isolated from one another, divided by all the fears and hatreds that make up human history. Even within a single life, one moment feels cut off from the next, memories of joy and fullness offering us little consolation when we are depressed or lonely. To assert that all is one in God is our supreme act of faith. No wonder that the Sh’ma, the first “prayer” we learn in childhood, is also the last thing we are to say before we die. —ARTHUR GREEN …

The Challenge of Faith The Israeli poet Yoram Nissonovitch remarks that religious questions may not constitute the subversion of our faith; rather, they may help us get past tired notions that narrow our vision, and it may open our souls to new and deeper understandings. His colleague Elḥanan Nir adds: Doubts lead to a strong, surprising, and deep faith that cannot be compared with classical faith. This is a faith for which nothing is taken for granted.