What are the words to the Shema?

“Listen, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your might.”

What is the full Shema prayer?

The word used for “the LORD” is the tetragrammaton YHWH. Observant Jews consider the Shema to be the most important part of the prayer service in Judaism, and its twice-daily recitation as a mitzvah (religious commandment)….Shema Yisrael.

Halakhic texts relating to this article
Other rabbinic codes: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, ch. 17

What is the English version of Shema?

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.

What is the first word of the Shema?

The name derives from the initial word of the scriptural verse “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The time for recital was determined by the first two texts: “when you lie down, and when you rise.” The Shema texts are also chanted at other times during the Jewish liturgy.

Why do you cover your eyes when saying the Shema?

Shema, as our most intense prayer, requires the consciousness of God’s unity and the underlying unity of all existence. Covering our eyes helps us concentrate on this. After the first line of Shema, we recite v’ahavta (“and you shall love the Lord your God”) with our eyes open.

Who is Shama in the Bible?

In the Book of Samuel, Shammah (Hebrew: שַׁמָּה) was the son of Agee, a Hararite (2 Samuel 23:11) or Harodite (23:25), and one of King David’s three legendary “mighty men”. His greatest deed was the defeat of a troop of Philistines.

Do Sephardic Jews recite the whole Shema aloud?

Sephardim recite the whole of the Shema aloud, except the Baruch Shem. Reform Jews also recite the whole of the first paragraph of the Shema aloud. During Shacharit, two blessings are recited before the Shema and one after the Shema. There is a question in Jewish law as to whether these blessings are on the Shema, or surrounding the Shema.

What is Shema Yisrael?

The term “Shema” is used by extension to refer to the whole part of the daily prayers that commences with Shema Yisrael and comprises Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37–41. These sections of the Torah are read in the weekly Torah portions Va’etchanan, Eikev, and Shlach, respectively.

How is the Shema read in synagogue?

The first verse of the Shema is recited aloud, simultaneously by the hazzan and the congregation, which responds with the rabbinically instituted Baruch Shem (“Blessed be the Name”) in silence before continuing the rest of Shema. Only on Yom Kippur is this response said aloud. The remainder of the Shema is read in silence.

What is the Jewish word for Shema?

The word used for “the L ORD ” is the tetragrammaton YHWH. Observant Jews consider the Shema to be the most important part of the prayer service in Judaism, and its twice-daily recitation as a mitzvah (religious commandment).