"Shema Yisrael"
Twice a day Jews read a prayer ''Shema Yisrael''. "Shema
Yisrael'' is read in synagogues too on shabbat and festivals .
"It is the first prayer that a Jewish child is taught to say. It is the
last words a Jew says prior to death.<...> With the Shema on their lips,
Jews accepted martyrdom at the Inquisitor's stake and in the Nazi gas
chambers.'' (http://www.aish.com/literacy/mitzvahs/Shema_Yisrael.asp)
This prayer includes 3 passages of Torah.
The first passage:
(Deut 6:4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:
(Deut 6:5) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
(Deut 6:6) And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart:
(Deut 6:7) And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by
the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
(Deut 6:8) And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they
shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
(Deut 6:9) And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on
thy gates.
The first lines of prayer - ''Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad''
(''Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD'') - are about unity of G-d.
They tell us too Israel has ONE G-D only!
Let us read Isaiah:
(Isaiah 37:16) O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest [between]
the cherubims, thou [art] the God, [even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of
the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
Moshe and sons of Israel sang to G-d:
(Exod 15:11) Who [is] like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is]
like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders?
Our G-d is God Almighty (El Shaddai):
(Exod 6:3) And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by
[the name of] God Almighty, but by my name YHWH was I not known to them.
Our G-d is the Great
G-d (El ha-gadol'), the Mighty G-d (ha-gibor) (Jer. 32:18)
There are some famous mitzvot (the commandments):
- Shma (hear);
- ahavta (love)
What does it mean to love? Let us read these lines:
(Psalms 42:2) My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
(Psalms 42:3) My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where [is] thy God?
What does it mean to love "with all thine heart''? It means to turn a heart to G-d! Isaiah told a heart of Israel was far from G-d:
(Isaiah 29:13) Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Yeshua told:
(Mark 7:21) For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
(Mark 7:22) Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
(Mark 7:23) All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
We need to look after ourselves satan couldn't to sow his seeds in our hearts.
(Acts 5:3) But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back [part] of the price of the land?
Judas Iscariot allowed satan to act:
(John 13:2) And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], to betray him;
The result was Judas betrayed Yeshua.
That's why Bible teaches us to love G-d with all heart.
(Rom 10:9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
(Rom 10:10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
(Heb 10:22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
To love ''with all thy soul''. It means the willingness to give oneself, even a life for G-d. Yeshua gave His life for us:
(1John 3:16) Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.
(Matt 16:25) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
To love ''with all thy might''. It means we need all our might to give for service to G-d.
- sheenantam (teach);
- deebarta (talk);
- kshartam (bind);
- khtavtam (write)
The second and third passages are of Deut. 11:13-21 and Num. 15:37-41.
"It is considered the most important prayer in Judaism, and its
twice-daily recitation is a mitzvah (religious commandment).
Its main content is loving the one God with all one's heart, soul and might,
and the rewards that come with this."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shema_Yisrael)
"Jewish law requires a greater measure of concentration on the first verse
of the Shema than on the rest of the prayer. People commonly close their eyes
or cover them with the palm of their hand while reciting it to eliminate every
distraction and help them concentrate on the meaning of the words. The final
word, echad, should be prolonged and emphasized."
(http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/shema.html)
Text of Shema is in mezuzah and tefillin.''Tefillin: (lit. "phylacteries"); small black leather cubes containing parchment scrolls inscribed with the Shema and other biblical passages, wrapped on the arm and head of adult men during weekday morning prayers.'' (http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=1543)
''... the word "tefillin" is etymologically related to the word "tefilah" (prayer)...'' (http://www.jewfaq.org/signs.htm)
''A mezuzah ... is a piece of parchment (usually contained in a decorative case) inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah. A mezuza is affixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes.'' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezuzah)
One lawyer asked Yeshua: ''Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law?''
(Matt 22:37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
(Matt 22:38) This is the first and great commandment.
(Matt 22:39) And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
(Matt 22:40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
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