Hebrew: Shema Yisrael from
Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear O' Israel..."
 The
Shema is a declaration of faith, a
pledge of allegiance to One God. It is
said upon arising in the morning and
upon going to sleep at night. It is
said when praising God and when
beseeching Him. It is the first prayer
that a Jewish child is taught to say.
It is the last words a Jew says prior
to death.
Throughout
the ages, the cry of Shema has always symbolized the
ultimate manifestation of faith in the gravest situations.
With the Shema on their lips, Jews accepted martyrdom at the
Inquisitor's stake and in the Nazi gas chambers.
Rabbi Akiva
patiently endured while his flesh was being torn with
iron combs, and died reciting the Shema.
He pronounced the
last word of the sentence, "Echad" (one) with his last
breath (Talmud Berachot 61b).
The
Talmud says that when
Jacob was about to reveal the end of days to his children,
he was concerned that one of them might be a non-believer.
His sons reassured him immediately and cried out, "Shema Yisrael."
 We
are commanded to say the Shema
twice each day: once in the
morning and again in the evening.
This requirement is derived from
the verse: "And you should speak
about them when you... lie down
and when you get up" (Deut. 6:7).
The
Talmud explains that when you "lie down and when you get up"
does not refer to the literal position of one's body, but
rather designates the time of day to say the Shema (Brachot
10b). |
