Hebrew
וָעֵד. כִּי בְשֵׁם קָדְשְׁךָ הַגָּדוֹל
וְהַנּוֹרָא בָּטָחְנוּ, נָגִילָה
וְנִשְׂמְחָה בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ.
Sephardi
Va'ed. Ki veshem kodshecha hagadol
vehanora batachnu, nagilah
venismechah bishu'atecha.
English
its commandments. <b>Because we trust in Your holy, great, and awesome name,</b> we ask You to help us, <b>and we will rejoice and be happy with Your salvation.</b>
May God take us out of exile and bring us to the Land of Israel
Hebrew
וְרַחֲמֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ
וַחֲסָדֶיךָ הָרַבִּים אַל יַעַזְבוּנוּ
נֶצַח סֶלָה וָעֶד. מַהֵר וְהָבֵא
עָלֵינוּ בְרָכָה וְשָׁלוֹם מְהֵרָה,
וְהָבִיאֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם מֵאַרְבַּע
כַּנְפוֹת הָאָרֶץ, וְשָׁבּוֹר עֹל
הַגּוֹיִם מֵעַל צַוָּארֵנוּ, וְתוֹלִיכֵנוּ
מְהֵרָה קוֹמְמִיּוּת לְאַרְצֵנוּ,
כִּי אֵל פּוֹעֵל יְשׁוּעוֹת אָתָּה,
וּבָנוּ בָחַרְתָּ מִכָּל עַם וְלָשׁוֹן,
וְקֵרַבְתָּנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ לְשִׁמְךָ
הַגָּדוֹל בְּאַהֲבָה לְהוֹדוֹת לְךָ
וּלְיַחֶדְךָ וּלְאַהֲבָה אֶת שְׁמֶךָ:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, הַבּוֹחֵר בְּעַמּוֹ
יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַהֲבָה:<sup>1</sup>
Sephardi
Verachamecha Adonai Eloheinu
vachasadecha harabim al ya'azvunu
netzach selah va'ed. Maher vehavei
aleinu verachah veshalom meherah,
vehavi'einu leshalom mei'arba
kanfot ha'aretz, veshavor ol
hagoyim mei'al tzavareinu, vetolicheinu
meherah komemiyut le'artzeinu,
ki El po'el yeshuot atah, uvanu
bacharta mikol am velashon,
vekervatanu malkeinu leshimcha
hagadol be'ahavah lehodot lecha
uleyachedcha ule'ahavah et shemecha:
Baruch Atah Adonai, habocher be'amo
Yisrael be'ahavah:<sup>1</sup>
English
<b>Lord, our God,</b> may <b>Your mercy and Your great kindness never, ever leave us. Hasten and quickly bring upon us blessing and peace. Bring us peacefully</b> to the Land of Israel; gather us from the <b>four corners of the earth. Break the yoke of the nations from upon our neck,</b> removing their restrictions and oppression. <b>Speedily lead us,</b> standing <b>upright</b> and proud, to our <b>land—the Land of Israel.</b> We know that You will do all of this because <b>You are</b> the <b>God Who does acts of salvation, and You chose us from</b> among <b>all the nations</b> of the world that speak many <b>languages,</b> to receive the Torah. <b>Our King,</b> at Mount Sinai <b>You brought us close to Your great name</b> (this reminds us to erase Amalek, since God's name is not complete until Amalek is destroyed) <b>with great love</b> (not as it was after making the Golden Calf), so that we should use our mouths <b>to praise You</b> (and not for negative speech, as Miriam spoke about Moses), <b>to announce Your Oneness, and love Your name. Blessed are You, Lord, Who lovingly chooses His nation,</b> the <b>Children of Israel.</b><sup>1</sup>
SHEMA
When saying the Shema, concentrate intently on its meaning. While saying the opening line (שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל), keep in mind that you are accepting God's sovereignty; while saying the first paragraph (וְאָהַבְתָּ), keep in mind that you are accepting the commandment to love God; and while saying the second paragraph (וְהָיָה), keep in mind that you are accepting all of God's commandments. By saying the third paragraph (וַיֹּאמֶר), you are fulfilling the commandment of remembering the Exodus from Egypt.
Special care must be taken to say each word of the Shema clearly. Pause at each punctuation mark to ensure that you do not string the words together and alter their meaning.
Say the following verse aloud, covering your eyes with your right hand. For transliteration, see page 943.
We declare God's Oneness
Hebrew
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְיָ | אֶחָד:
Sephardi
Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai | Echad:
English
Every Jew should <b>listen</b> and understand that <b>the Lord is our God</b>, and that <b>the Lord is the One</b> and only Ruler and King in the seven heavens, the earth, and the four corners of the universe.
Say the following line quietly:
Hebrew
בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:
Sephardi
Baruch shem kevod malchuto le'olam va'ed:
English
<b>The name of</b> God's <b>glorious kingdom is blessed forever and ever.</b>
In the following paragraph, touch the hand-tefillin while saying וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל יָדֶךָ, touch the head-tefillin while saying וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ, and then kiss the fingertips.
Love God
Learn and teach Torah
Hebrew
וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ,
בְּכָל | לְבָבְךָ,
וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ, וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ:
וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר
אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם,<sup>2</sup> עַל |
לְבָבֶךָ: וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ
וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ,
וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ,
Sephardi
Ve'ahavta et Adonai Elohecha,
bechol | levavcha,
uvechol nafshecha, uvechol me'odecha:
vehayu hadevarim ha'eleh asher
anochi metzav'cha hayom,<sup>2</sup> al |
levavecha: veshinantam levanecha
vedibarta bam, beshivtecha beveitecha,
uvelechtecha vaderech, uveshochebecha,
English
<b>You should love the Lord, your God,</b> and keep His commandments <b>with all of your heart,</b> as one does when fulfilling his beloved's request. <b>Love God with all of your soul.</b> Be ready to fulfill all of His commandments, even if you might lose your life. <b>Love God with all of your might.</b> Be ready to fulfill all of His commandments, even if you might lose your money. <b>These words</b> of Torah, <b>which I command you</b> to do <b>today</b> and every day,<sup>2</sup> should always be new and fresh to you, and they should be engraved <b>on your heart;</b> you should always be thinking about them. You should <b>teach</b> Torah <b>to your children</b> and