Shema Yisrael

"Hear, O Israel! יהוה is our God, יהוה alone." (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Shema Yisrael, also known as the Shema or Sh'ma, is a Jewish prayer that serves as a centerpiece of Jewish prayer services. It is found in verse Deuteronomy 6:4 of the Hebrew Bible. A common translation is: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone." A practicing Jew may substitute the terms "HaShem" ("the Name", often abbreviated to ה׳) or "Adonai" ("my Lord") for "the Lord". In the Hebrew Bible, the Shema is directly followed by the V'ahavta.

This page lists various quotes about the Shema. For more information, see the Wikipedia articles Shema Yisrael, Va'etchanan and Book of Deuteronomy.

Quotes

Hebrew Bible

See also: Shema Yisrael (Wikipedia)

• שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֶחָֽד
  • Deuteronomy 6:4 (MT)
  • Transliteration:
    • Sh'ma Yisra'el, YHWH 'eloheinu, YHWH 'eḥad.
  • Translations:
    • Hear, O Israel! יהוה is our God, יהוה alone.
      • NJPS translation
    • Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
      • JPS translation
    • Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.
      • KJV translation
    • Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
      • NKJV translation
    • Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
      • NIV translation
    •  Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
      • NASB translation
    • Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
      • NRSVUE translation

New Testament

See also: Great Commandment

• Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν.
  • Mark 12:29 (SBL)
  • Translations:
    • Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.
      • KJV translation

Quotes about Shema Yisrael

Commentary

"[T]he ayin [ע] of Shema and the dalet [ד] of echad are enlarged." (Maimonides: Mishneh Torah)

• [In] the third passage, Shema, the ayin [ע] of [the word] Shema and the dalet [ד] of [the word] echad are enlarged.
  • Maimonides: Mishneh Torah, Sefer Ahavah, "Tefillin, Mezuzah and the Torah Scroll" 2:6

• When they recite the Shema today, Jews give it a monotheistic interpretation: Yahweh our God is One and unique. The Deuteronomist had not yet reached this perspective. "Yahweh ehad" did not mean God is One but that Yahweh was the only deity whom it was permitted to worship. Other gods were still a threat: their cults were attractive and could lure Israelites from Yahweh, who was a jealous God.
  • Karen Armstrong: A History of God, ch. 2, "One God", p. 53. Ballantine Books (1993). ISBN 0-345-38456-3.

• The first verse of the Shema is considered the most essential declaration of the Jewish faith—the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.
  • "The Shema". My Jewish Learning (2017).

• The speaker in 6:4–9, as is typical of Deuteronomy, is Moses.
  • Marc Zvi Brettler: "The Shema's Second Paragraph: An Inner-Biblical Interpretation". TheTorah.com (2018).
  • Cf. Deuteronomy 5:1.

• The syntax of the statement is quite strange. … Thus, it is not surprising that both traditional commentators as well as contemporary scholars offer many different interpretations.
  • Daniel M. Zucker: "Shema Yisrael: In What Way Is 'YHWH One'?". TheTorah.com (2017).

Fiction

• Lenny Meyer: All right. Now we'll say a prayer together. Repeat after me: Shma Yisroel.
  Max Cohen: Shma Yisroel.
  Lenny Meyer: Right. Adonai Eloihenu.
  Max Cohen: Adonai Eloihenu.
  Lenny Meyer: Adonai Echod.
  Max Cohen: Adonai Echod.
  • Pi (1998)

• Harry: Something I got to say. Always used to wonder if I would, but, you know, what the hey. Sh'ma Yisroel, Adonai Elohaynu, Adonai e'hod. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. … It's good that I said the Sh'ma. My old man always said it guaranteed you a place in Heaven.
  • Sandman #08

See also

• Great Commandment
• Judaism
• Tanakh#Deuteronomy
• Tetragrammaton
• V'ahavta