Shema Yisroel

In order to fulfil the mitzva of reciting Shema, one must intend in their mind and heart, the words they say with their mouth.  The reason we must “mean it” is because this is the act of accepting upon ourselves the “yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.”  So let’s think first about that.  




What is a “yoke?”  It’s what guides an animal to make a productive furrow in the soil so that the planting will be fruitful.  Our bodies are our animals, given to the soul to ride upon and plant its seeds in this dimension.  We train our bodies to accept the rule of Heaven via our adherence to mitzvos, before which we generally make the blessing “Blessed are You, Lord our God, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to….”  This sanctification is a spiritual transformation the body undergoes when a mitzva is preformed properly.  Again, this is not rocket science or great mysticism.  It is simple.  The more the mind is accustomed to behave in patterns of actions which are consistently focused on maintaining a consciousness of God, and therefore the potential divinity of everything, the more dedicated we become to preserving and developing that very divinity.  This is the function of accepting  the ol malchos shamayim, the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.  It is a lofty furrow indeed that we drive, but the seeds we can plant there build a Garden of Eden.  

Ok let’s try and understand each word of the verse.




Shema Yisroel: Hear O Israel




To hear means to literally physically hear, and means as well to understand.  Let’s consider first the hearing of the ears.  Your ears hear a lot of things as the day goes on.  Conversations, maybe the radio or internet, but how often do you hear yourself?  Saying Shema is making a statement, a declaration if you will.  Allow your ears to hear what your mouth is saying.  Say it with conviction.  Think about the meaning and allow the vibrations of the sound itself reverberate for a minute inside that wonderful skull of yours… because when we articulate these words with intent on their meaning, we make a very powerful statement about who we are and what we believe.  




O Israel




Whom are we addressing, who is this Israel? 




The Gemara teaches that Jacob our forefather never died.  It explains itself to mean that through us, his living descendants, he is still “alive” in this world.  We the Jewish People, in order to form a more perfect union, also allow converts into this unique family, and who knows by now what proportion of Jacob’s original DNA is in any one of us.  But that he is here, and in total, is what the Gemara tells us.  In this meta-soul called Yisroel we as a people express Jacob’s spirit in the here and now.  In our blogs and in our movie scripts.  In our businesses and in our charities.  And of course, most importantly, we express our father Jacob when we do as he did:




Jacob was a simple man, sitting in tents.




Rashi:  The tents of learning Torah with Shem v’Ever.




Practically speaking, when I say “Yisroel” in Shema I direct the words at every living Jew.  Hear O You Jews whomever  and wherever you are… Hashem Elokainu!




But of course this is only half the picture, if even that.  Because the most important, really in the end the only important person you must keep in mind when you think “Yisroel” is you.  If you don’t accept (hopefully with joy) the yoke of heaven in your own heart, without hesitation - then why say it at all?  We are all Israel - this includes you.  We are used to calling ourselves Michael, Sarah, Ruben… but Israel?  Not unless we were named that at our bris.  But Jews are commanded to do so twice daily (at least) in Shema.  Hear you - ISRAEL(i) - the Lord our God is One! 




God Elokainu:  God is our Lord.




The notion of attaching a possessive to God, as if God is anyone’s in particular, is what has always riled the non-Jews against us.  Who are we to claim that we are chosen by God?  However the Torah does spell this out quite clearly, on a number of occasions:

You are a nation consecrated to God your Lord. God has chosen you from all nations on the face of the earth to be His own special nation.⁠1

Now if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My special treasure among all nations, even though all the world is Mine.  You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to Me.  These are the words that you must relate to the Israelites.⁠2

Yet with all that, the intent of the verse in Shema is not to state that "God chose us" but rather we declare Him as our Lord, as a servant declares loyalty to a Ruler.   God is not our possession, rather we are His.  As far as we are concerned, He is Commander in Chief.  When we say that He is our God, the intention is to direct our minds towards our obligations, not our protectia, albiet that is also implied subtextually as an ipso-facto.  As we behave as His People, He considers us His treasure.  

Hear O Jew - God is Our Master.  

Think back to the Creation story.  The name “Elokim” is that Creative power of the Almighty which brings things into existence and maintains them there.  When we claim that God is our “El” we are saying He is the Only power which makes us and keeps us in existence.  We therefore without question and with great joy, the joy of being alive, accept upon ourselves the greatest possible connection to Him, that of acting "following in His footsteps."  As the Sages say:  As He is merciful, so you be merciful; as He is compassionate, so you be compassionate... and so forth.  When we can live this fully we discover the taste of His love, which is the love of Giving of ourselves to another, and in this way we simultaneously increase our ability to receive from His Will, all of which is the greatest pleasure knowable to humankind, and the very purpose of every human being. 




God is One




Rashi on Chumash comments on the “possessive” sense of the word Elokainu.  God is only “ours” during the world before Moshiach comes, but afterwards “God is One.”  Not one as is “there is only one cookie in the bowl” and not one as in “there is only one Elvis,” but utterly simple Unity, meaning there is nothing else.  It is also true that God is utterly unique, and that is an aspect of Oneness, but now we speak of something more than that.  Our focus now is on God as One meaning that He not only transcends but also fills every conceivable dimension of being so that nothing else really exists.  

How then do we exist?




The mystery of God’s unity is something we hopefully will merit to ponder for all eternity.  But it is also something as immediate as the here and now, and that’s where it counts for us.  This is why we declare the Shema at least twice daily, morning and night, we bind it on our arms and mind with Tefillin, we put it on every door in our home and we better teach it diligently to our children.  This is the mitzva of Shema.  To remain true to course, as aware as we can be, that our Father the King is everywhere and wherever we find ourself He has a job for us there today, right now. 

That job is to bring goodliness, in other words godliness, into every aspect of our life.  This brings with it the solution to evil, just as we see that nature always seeks to reassert itself and recover.  We focus our hearts in Shema so that in our lives good wins.  We accept upon ourselves the yoke of Heaven and immediately whisper:




Blessed be the Name of His glorious Kingdom forever and ever.




We whisper it because this is really a statement of the Angels, and we are not always angels so we don’t want to shout it out.  But of course on Yom Kippur, all dressed in white like a little angel, we do say it out loud.  Because really even now, underneath the hidden exterior of our world, we are aware (somewhere) that God’s glory rules everything.  




To sum up:  To keep our lives moving forward in a productive line, we are commanded to twice daily affirm our acceptance of the Kingdom of Heaven.






1 14:2

2 Exodus 19:5-6