What is the Shema?

Answer

Shema (“hear”) is the Hebrew term that initiates the most significant prayer in Judaism. It is located in Deuteronomy 6:4, which commences with the directive to “Listen.” The entire Shema prayer, encompassing verses 4-9, is recited daily in Jewish custom:

Listen, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I instruct you today shall be in your heart. You shall diligently teach them to your children, and shall discuss them when you are at home, and when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Subsequently, Jewish tradition formulated a three-part Shema prayer that also incorporated Deuteronomy 11:13–29 and Numbers 15:37–41. Tradition asserts that these three segments encompass all facets of the Ten Commandments.

The Shema prayer held such significance and impact that Jesus utilized it as the introduction to His response to the inquiry about the “greatest commandment” in Mark 12:28–30:

And one of the scribes approached and overheard them debating, and realizing that He answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is the most crucial of all?” Jesus replied, “The most crucial one is, ‘Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

By commencing His response with the Shema prayer, Jesus acknowledged the Lord God as paramount and emphasized that complete devotion to Him is the foremost among the commandments. It is unsurprising that the scribe responded th

This way in verses 32–33:

You are correct, Teacher. You have truly stated that he is one, and there is no other besides him. To love him with all the heart, understanding, and strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, surpasses all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Even today, Christians can find in the words of the Shema a beautiful declaration that the Lord is the only true God. By recognizing His lordship, our reaction is to “hear” Him, love Him with all our heart, soul, and might, and love our neighbor as ourselves.