And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Julius Levinson: Everybody, hold someone's hand. Hold hands! Come on in. Sh'ma koleinu, HaShem eloheinu. Albert Nimzicki: I'm not Jewish. Julius Levinson: Nobody is perfect.
Appears to be Shema koleinu, not Shema Yisrael. One might create a separate page for this topic, although it should be noted that Wikipedia, as of currently, does not have one. BurningLibrary (talk) 11:17, 30 November 2024 (UTC)Reply
↑"Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the laws and rules that I proclaim to you this day! Study them and observe them faithfully!" Deuteronomy 5:1 (JPS translation).
