The Shema is not a prayer, it is a statement of faith. It is the core of Jewish belief. Every faithful Jew desires
to die with the Shema on his lips. Except for the second sentence, the entire Shema is taken directly from
scripture. It is common for the Shema to be sung rather than recited or read.
The Hebrew word Shema means ―to hear intelligently‖. Shema is the very first word found in this great
statement of faith and it is quoted directly from Deut 6:4. It is common practice for Hebrew Scriptures to be
named by the first word of the passage or book. In Hebrew, the Shema is said in the following manner:
―Shema Yisrael, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai echad.‖ (The translation is: Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the
LORD is one.) Thus, the title for this statement of faith is simply; Shema.
Why would Y‘shua respond to a direct question about the ̳first commandment of all‘ with a Jewish statement
of faith? Because it is not just a ̳Jewish‘ statement of faith. Rather, it is intended to be the statement of faith
for all those who believe in YHWH, (the LORD) the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since Y‘shua was
born into a traditional Jewish home, He, too, was a human descendant of those great patriarchs and a
follower of their one true Elohim. Once again, please remember that Y‘shua Himself was (in the flesh)
Jewish. He had a Jewish mother and stepfather and lived as a Jewish citizen in the Jewish area of Galilee.
Although He did speak out strongly against some of the legalistic traditions of the Jews, Y‘shua was fully
observant of those traditions which truly had their roots in the Scriptures and did not contradict the
commandments of YHWH. In that respect, Y‘shua was the teacher of the true religion which YHWH had
revealed to the children of Israel after He brought them out of the land of Egypt and which had become
corrupted by the additions of men.
However, to say that Y‘shua followed none of the customs and traditions of the Jews is just as incorrect as to
say that He observed them all. One major task for Believers today is to discern through studies which of
those practices are truly Biblical and which are the ̳traditions of men‘. Be careful not to throw out the baby
with the bath water!
An Ancient PracticeThe practice of reciting the Shema goes back to the time of the Temple service. Each day in the Temple, part
of the opening day‘s ritual included the recitation of the Ten Commandments and the Shema by the priests.
All three paragraphs of the Shema were recited aloud by the priests following the daily morning offering. The
worshippers assembling at the Temple did not recite the Shema itself but responded only to the first
sentence with:
―Baruach shem kvod malkhuto l‘olam va-ed.‖ (Blessed is the name of His Glorious Kingdom forever and
ever.)
After the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, the reciting of the Shema was brought into the synagogue as a
part of the worship service. At first, the Ten Commandments were also included in the service; however, later
on the reading of the Ten Commandments was removed from the synagogue. This was done because the
̳Christians‘ had adopted them as a part of their worship, with some Gentile Believers claiming they were the
only commandments from the Torah that still had relevance and needed to be obeyed.
It must be remembered that many of the customs that have become traditions in both modern Christianity
and modern Rabbinic Judaism are a result of each group not wanting to be associated in any way shape or
form with the other. Therefore, it behooves us to throw off all of those past prejudices and look to the
Scriptures (made more understandable through knowledge of the historical customs of both parties) as the
final source of true religion and worship.
The Shema TextThe Shema can be recited in either a short form or a long form. The short form is as follows:
―Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Blessed is the name of His Glorious Kingdom forever and ever.‖
The first sentence of the Shema is a direct quote from Deut 6:4. The second sentence is not a direct quote of
any scripture; however, it does bear a very close resemblance to Psalm 72:19a: ―And blessed be His
glorious name forever!‖ According to Jewish tradition, the second sentence was written by the patriarch
Ya‘akov (Jacob); however, Moses did not include it in the Scriptures.