What is the Shema?

January 13, 2022 Lisa Lewolt

The Shema, according to My Jewish Learning, is the centerpiece of the daily morning and evening prayer services and is considered by some the most essential prayer in all of Judaism. It is an affirmation of God’s singularity and kingship, and its daily recitation is regarded by traditionally observant Jews as a biblical commandment.

History and Meaning of Shema

Hear. That’s what Shema translates to in Hebrew. It is considered the most essential declaration of the Jewish faith, made up of three scriptural texts which is an integral part of the service.

Wikipedia adds that the three portions relate to central issues of Jewish belief. Originally, the recitation of the Shema was linked with re-affirming a personal relationship with God's rule. Literally, reciting the Shema was stated as "receiving the kingdom of heaven”, where heaven is a metaphor for God.

So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

Deuteronomy 11:13–21

This prayer has been one of the most influential traditions in Jewish history.

Tim Mackie of the BIbleProject shares that the opening line “Listen, O Israel” does not simply mean to let the sound waves enter your ears. Instead, the word “listen” here means to allow the words to sink in, provide understanding, and generate a response. In other words, in Hebrew, “hearing” and “doing” are basically the same thing, but how should Israel respond to hearing that the Lord alone is their God?

“Love the Lord your God.” In this context, love isn’t simply the warm, fuzzy, emotional energy we feel when we like someone. In the Bible, love is action. You love someone when you act in loyalty and faithfulness. For Israel, to love meant faithful obedience to the terms of their covenant relationship. Those terms are the laws and commands that will make up the body of the book. Obedience to these laws was never about legalism or trying to earn God’s favor. Obedience in the Old Testament is about love and listening. If an Israelite loves God, it will make it easier to listen and absorb his teachings and guidance. This is why the words “listen” and “love” are so tightly connected and repeated through these opening speeches of Deuteronomy.

Recitation of Shema

According to Brittanica, the time for the recital was determined by the first two texts: “when you lie down, and when you rise.” The Shema texts are also chanted at other times during the Jewish liturgy. The biblical verses inculcate the duty to learn, study, and observe the Torah. These texts and their appropriate prayers are consequently sacred to Jews because they contain a profession of faith, a declaration of allegiance to the kingship and kingdom of God, and a symbolic representation of total devotion to the study of the Torah. The Shema became a substitute for Torah study and the minimum requirement for observing the precept.

In the New Testament, the Shema became a twice-daily prayer within Judaism. It was so widely practiced in the second-temple period, Jesus himself grew up praying it, and was formative for Jesus as he drew upon it in his teachings.

Jesus shared that the greatest of the commandments were, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Listen, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

There is no other commandment greater than these.

Learning to Listen

The Shema is a beautiful prayer. According to the BIbleProject, this prayer is composed of simple words with the capacity to reshape the course of an entire life. The Shema can keep God’s love and loyalty in the forefront of your mind and drive you towards obedience, not out of obligation or duty, but out of love. Jesus spoke of these words in the Gospel of John.

As we reflect, we know in our hearts that following Jesus is all about love. A kind of love that came to us when we weren’t looking for it. Tim expresses in What is the Shema? that as we receive this love, it generates gratitude, humility, and a commitment to honor and love in return. Love gives birth to more love, which results in faithfulness and obedience. These are truths that can transform us from the inside out.

Christians and the Shema

Got Questions expressed that even today, Christians can look to the words of the Shema as a wonderful expression that the Lord is the one true God. As we acknowledge His lordship, our response remains to “hear” Him, love Him with all our heart, soul, and might, and love our neighbor as ourselves.