The Shema is one of the central pieces of Jewish liturgy. Taken from Deuteronomy (6:4) it is a statement of faith in one God: "Hear, Israel, Adonai is God, Adonai is One." This statement distinguishes Judaism from other religions. In its original context of ancient times it differentiated itself from the paganism of surrounding cultures. In later times, it differentiated itself from Christianity (which split the one God into 3 parts), Gnostic belief (Good God and Evil God), and Islam (one God, but by a different name). In Modern times, although we recognize the Christian Trinity and Muslim Allah as the same God as ours, it still serves as marker of who we are as Jews.
It is for this reason, that it is a statement of not just faith, but identity, that the Shema holds such a prominent place not only in our liturgy, but also as a night time prayer, especially for children.
As Ari made the recent transition from crib to "big boy bed" I realized even more how aware Ari was becoming of his surroundings and his place within them. I had said the Shema with him as an newborn, but stopped when he reached a point where my voice would wake him from having fallen asleep in my arms.
When I began again, I wasn't sure if he'd get it. But while he didn't join me, the smile on his face told me all I needed to know. He recognized it from pre-school and from services and was happy that I now brought it to his bedtime routine as a special moment between him and Daddy.
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that is awesome. i have to tell you - one of the coolest moments of my whole life was when david started singing shema along with me. now sammy and yael do the same thing. it's so incredibly amazing to know that they are learning simply by living.
ReplyDeleteYou are right: the shema is the identity marker of the Jews. But did you know that Jesus affirmed the shema (Mark 12:29)? It should be obvious that Christianity has departed from its founder. Christians do not share Jesus's view of God. Rather astonishing!
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