{"id":49815,"date":"2019-02-19T17:37:59","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T15:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=49815"},"modified":"2022-09-14T11:21:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T08:21:05","slug":"shema-yisrael-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/shema-yisrael-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Shema Yisrael \u2013 Then and Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[363,437],"acf":{"old_id":"49815","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"159","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Biblical story and midrashic elaboration as a basis for contemporary prayer practice","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our chapter, with the Israelites spread out before him, Moses proclaims what has become perhaps the most well-known verse in the Hebrew Bible: \u201cHear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One\u201d (verse 4). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since early Rabbinic times, this concise declaration of the unity of God, has served as the beginning of the Shema prayer, consisting of three biblical sections (Mishnah Berakhot 5:2), recited by observant Jews at least once every day (Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 58-70). However, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, under whose aegis the Mishnah was compiled in the early third-century CE, recited only the first verse of the Shema, in fulfillment of what the Rabbinic Sages referred to as the Biblical commandment of Kriyat Shema. Because the recitation of the words \u201cHear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One\u201d requires maximum <em>kavanah<\/em> (\u201cintention\u201d), it has become customary to cover one\u2019s eyes with the right hand when declaiming them aloud (see Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 13b, Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 61:5 with the Ba\u2019er Hetev commentary). It is also customary to then recite quietly: &#8220;Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever&#8221; (see Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Reciting the Shema 1:4, on the basis of Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 56a). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Midrash (Sifre Devarim 31:7, Genesis Rabbah 98:3 and parallels) understands the imperative addressed to \u201cIsrael\u201d in our verse refers to Jacob, who was renamed \u201cIsrael\u201d(Genesis 32:28, 35:9), and fathered the twelve sons who were the progenitors of the Israelite tribes (see Genesis 49:1-28): We are told that on his death-bed Jacob gathered his dispersed sons to him with the help of an angel or the Holy Spirit. He asked if there might be any disagreement among them about who is God. They answered: Listen Israel (Shema\u2019 Yisrael), our father &#8212; \u00a0The Lord our God, the Lord is One! On hearing this, Jacob bowed on his bed (see Genesis 47:31) and said quietly: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. As we can see, this Rabbinic retelling of the biblical narrative provides the basis for how we recite the Shema to this day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Midrash concludes that this aggadic tradition is why the people of Israel every day, morning and evening, say to their forefather: &#8216;Listen Israel&#8217; (Shema Yisrael) \u2013 who lies buried in the Cave of Machpela (Genesis 50:13) &#8212; \u00a0what we assured you on your death-bed, we continue to proclaim today: \u201cThe Lord our God, the Lord is One\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>image:\u00a0<i>Shema Yisrael<\/i>\u00a0at the\u00a0Knesset Menorah\u00a0in\u00a0Jerusalem;\u00a0Rabanus Flavus &#8211; https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=25979603<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":49816,"id":49816,"title":"Dt6-Knesset_Menorah_Shema_Inscription","filename":"Dt6-Knesset_Menorah_Shema_Inscription.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt6-Knesset_Menorah_Shema_Inscription.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/shema-yisrael-then-and-now\/dt6-knesset_menorah_shema_inscription\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt6-knesset_menorah_shema_inscription","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":49815,"date":"2019-02-19 15:37:42","modified":"2019-02-19 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