Shema

The Shema occupies a central place in Jewish religious life as both a theological declaration and a liturgical act. Its opening verse is among the best-known passages in Jewish liturgy.[1] The Hebrew verb shema includes the senses of hearing, listening, paying attention, understanding, internalizing, and responding; Rabbi Jonathan Sacks therefore argues that “hearken” or “heed” comes closer than a simple translation of “hear.”[5]

Recitation of the Shema is understood as acceptance of the “yoke of Heaven” and of the commandments. It functions as a binding reaffirmation of allegiance to God and the covenant.[6] Sacks also presents the technical interpretation, based on Menahot 99b, that reciting the Shema is an act of Torah study rather than ordinary petitionary prayer: in prayer people speak to God, whereas in study they listen to God.[7]

The practice of reciting the Shema is attested from the late Second Temple period.[8] The three scriptural paragraphs were recited in the daily Temple service, where the people responded to the first verse with the line now rendered, “Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.”[9]

Mishnah Tamid describes the Temple priests as reciting the Ten Commandments before the three paragraphs. The second-century BCE Nash Papyrus, acquired in Egypt by W. L. Nash in 1898 and now held by Cambridge University Library, similarly places a version of the Ten Commandments immediately before the Shema. Rabbi Sacks presents this as evidence for an early four-part liturgical form, although the papyrus’s precise use remains an interpretation.[10]

The three-paragraph form developed gradually. The Jewish Encyclopedia records a tradition that the rabbis considered adding the chapter of Balak but declined because the recitation was already long; the passage concerning tzitzit was included instead.[4] A separate Jewish Encyclopedia account argues that the institution originated in the Temple service, possibly as early as the Persian period, while evening recitation developed later.[11] By the Mishnaic period, debates over the permitted times of daily recitation were already recorded at the beginning of tractate Berakhot.[12]

The liturgical Shema combines three passages that move from declaration and love, through covenantal obligations, to an embodied reminder of the commandments.[2]

Deuteronomy 6:4–9. The first paragraph declares God’s unity and commands love of God with all one’s heart, soul, and might. It directs Israel to teach these words to children, discuss them at home and while traveling, recite them when lying down and rising, bind them upon the hand and head, and inscribe them upon doorposts and gates.[13] Rabbinic thought identifies this paragraph with acceptance of God’s kingship.[8] Maimonides describes the commanded love as an overwhelming attachment in which a person’s thoughts continually return to God.[2] The physical instructions are traditionally expressed through mezuzot and tefillin.[14]

Deuteronomy 11:13–21. The second paragraph links obedience with rain, agricultural abundance, and continued life in the land, while disobedience is associated with drought and loss.[2] Rabbinic thought identifies it with acceptance of the yoke of the commandments.[8]

Numbers 15:37–41. The final paragraph commands tzitzit, including a cord of blue, as a visible reminder to observe the commandments, resist being led astray by the heart and eyes, pursue holiness, and remember the Exodus.[1] My Jewish Learning compares the fringes to a wedding ring: a visible sign and personal reminder of an enduring covenant.[2]

Rabbinic interpretation derives the twice-daily obligation from Deuteronomy 6:7, “when you lie down and when you get up.” The recitations are incorporated into the evening Maariv service and the morning Shacharit service.[3] A separate bedtime practice consists chiefly of the first section, together with psalms and supplications.[1]

The Shema is framed by blessings concerning creation, revelation, and redemption.[15] Two blessings precede it and one follows it in the morning; two precede it and two follow it in the evening.[16]

Immediately after Deuteronomy 6:4, worshipers recite, “Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.”[1] Because the response is not part of the biblical verse, it is traditionally said quietly, but it is proclaimed aloud on Yom Kippur. Many Reform and Conservative congregations also recite it aloud in hushed tones.[14]

The opening verse is customarily said with the eyes closed or covered to reduce distraction. Some worshipers hold the tzitzit of the tallit during the recitation and kiss the fringes at specified points.[9] Beit Shammai required reclining in the evening and standing in the morning, whereas Beit Hillel permitted recitation in one’s existing position. Rabbi Tarfon reported endangering himself on the road by reclining in accordance with Beit Shammai, and the Sages rebuked him for departing from Beit Hillel’s ruling.[17]

Scribal tradition enlarges the ayin in Shema and the dalet in Echad. Together they spell עד, “witness,” symbolizing the reciter’s testimony to the covenantal affirmation.[14]

Mishnah Berakhot records three deadlines for the evening Shema: Rabbi Eliezer permits it until the end of the first watch, the Sages until midnight, and Rabban Gamliel until dawn.[12] When Rabban Gamliel’s sons returned late from a wedding feast without having recited it, he instructed them to do so because dawn had not arrived. The Mishnah explains that the Sages’ midnight limit served as a protective fence against transgression.[12]

For the morning Shema, the Jewish Encyclopedia describes the earliest time as daybreak, when there is enough light to distinguish between colored and white material. One opinion sets the endpoint at sunrise, while Rabbi Joshua permits recitation until three hours of daylight have passed.[4] The beginning of the evening period is linked to the time when ritually purified priests could begin eating terumah after nightfall.[12]

Theologically, the Shema is Judaism’s confession of belief in the one God.[4] Legally, its recitation is distinct from the general obligation to pray and is regarded as a biblical commandment.[9] It also functions as a binding act through which worshipers renew allegiance to God and the covenant.[6]

Ritually, the Shema anchors the morning and evening services and appears in other settings, including the Yom Kippur conclusion, Shabbat Kedushah, morning blessings, Shabbat and holiday Musaf, Torah-procession services, bedtime prayer, and the deathbed confession.[1][9] Its surrounding blessings connect the covenant to creation, the revelation of Torah at Sinai, and the hope for redemption marked by peace and justice.[15]

One scholarly interpretation, drawing on Hullin 91b and Hekhalot literature, holds that Israel’s recitation stimulates the angels to proclaim Isaiah’s trisagion, “Holy, holy, holy.” In this interpretation, the angels do not sing above until Israel sings below.[18]

The Shema’s passages provide the scriptural basis for three prominent ritual objects. Deuteronomy’s command to bind the words on the hand and between the eyes is expressed through tefillin, while the command to place them on doorposts is expressed through the mezuzah.[14] The Shema is inscribed in both objects.[19]

The third paragraph commands tzitzit, fringes intended to remind the wearer of God’s commandments and the Exodus.[1] Together, tefillin, mezuzah, and tzitzit carry the Shema’s themes into prayer, the home, clothing, and daily movement.

Jewish tradition treats the Shema as an appropriate final declaration of faith, and it forms part of the deathbed confession.[4] The Jewish Encyclopedia recounts the tradition that Rabbi Akiva recited it while being tortured and executed by the Romans, prolonging the final word, Echad—“One”—with his last breath.[4] The same source records that the Shema was recited by Jews facing persecution and martyrdom in later centuries.[4]

Three handmade pendants bearing the words Shema Yisrael were excavated at the Sobibor extermination camp in Poland. Two depict Moses holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments. One was associated with Lviv, while the others came from Poland and Czechoslovakia; they were found near places where victims were forced to undress or near a mass grave. Researchers suggested that they may reflect an Eastern European Jewish tradition, although the owners’ identities remain unknown.[20]

At the conclusion of Yom Kippur’s final service, the congregation proclaims the opening verse of the Shema. The response that is normally recited quietly is also said aloud.[1][14] The communal proclamation marks the culmination of the day’s prayers.

The opening verse also appears in Shabbat Kedushah, morning blessings, Shabbat and holiday Musaf, and Torah-procession liturgy.[1][9] At bedtime, the first section is accompanied by psalms and supplications, marking the nightly transition into sleep.[1]

Traditional Orthodox liturgy retains all three passages in the morning and evening services. Customs commonly include quietly reciting the response, covering the eyes during the opening verse, and holding or kissing tzitzit.[9]

Reform prayer books have often omitted the second paragraph because of a different approach to its doctrine of reward and punishment, and most of the third because Reform Judaism does not regard the commandment of ritual fringes as binding. The conclusion beginning with Numbers 15:40 may nevertheless be retained.[9]

Posture also varies. Orthodox congregations commonly sit, while some Reform and Conservative congregations stand to emphasize the Shema’s importance. Classical sources permit recitation while standing, sitting, reclining on one’s side, walking, or working.[9]

The Hebrew phrase YHVH Eloheinu YHVH Echad lacks an explicit present-tense verb and permits several renderings, including “the LORD our God, the LORD is one,” “YHVH is our God, YHVH alone,” and “YHVH our God is one YHVH.” My Jewish Learning reports that the “alone” rendering appears most likely on present evidence, while stressing that the conclusion is uncertain.[8] A Sefaria source likewise renders the phrase “Adonai is our God, Adonai alone.”[13]

Rabbinic authorities also disagreed over the recitation’s permitted times and posture.[12][17] Its institutional origin remains less certain: the Jewish Encyclopedia argues for an origin entirely within the Temple service, while other evidence establishes the practice in the late Second Temple period without requiring that stronger conclusion.[11][8]

Finally, the Shema is conventionally called a prayer, but Rabbi Sacks presents a technical classification of its recitation as Torah study. His own discussion retains the conventional phrase “the prayer we call the Shema,” illustrating the difference between formal categorization and common usage.[7]