This section consists of an affirmation of belief in God's unity and in His sovereignty over the world, an unconditional love of God, and a commitment to the study of His teachings. The first paragraph is the continuation of the Shema verse, from Deuteronomy 6:5-9, starting with the word ' v'ahavta.' This paragraph deals with the acceptance of Divine rule. The three paragraphs of the Shema, comprised of biblical verses, were also said in the daily Temple service. To indicate that it is not part of the Biblical passage of the Shema, it is said quietly, except for on Yom Kippur when it is recited out loud. This line became incorporated as the second line of the daily Shema. When the priests recited the first verse of the Shema during the service each morning, the people gathered in the Temple would respond 'Blessed is the name of His Glorious Majesty forever and ever' ( Barukh shem kvod malkhuto l'olam va-ed). The next line of the Shema originated in the ancient Temple service. This is because these letters form the word ' ed,' witness, and remind Jews of their duty to serve as witnesses to God's sovereignty by leading exemplary lives. Often, the last letter of the first and last words of the Shema verse are written in larger print in the siddur.

The final word, echad, should be prolonged and emphasized. People commonly close their eyes or cover them with the palm of their hand while reciting it to eliminate every distraction and help them concentrate on the meaning of the words. Jewish law requires a greater measure of concentration on the first verse of the Shema than on the rest of the prayer. With a minyan, the chazzan repeats the end of the Shema so this phrase is unnecessary. This indicates that the worshiper dedicates his or her whole body to serving God. When a person is praying alone, he begins the Shema with the phrase 'God, Faithful King' ( El melekh ne'eman) to bring the number of words in the Shema up to 248, the number of parts in the human body. In the third paragraph of the Shema, when the word ' tzitzit' is said three times and when the word ' emet' is said at the end, it is customary to kiss the fringes as a sign of affection for the commandments. It is customary for worshipers wearing a tallit to hold the four fringes in the left hand while reciting the Shema. Orthodox congregations sit because the passages are from the Torah so it is as if a person is studying Torah when he or she recites them, and sitting is the position for study. Today, some Reform and Conservative congregations stand out of respect for the Shema. In the ninth century, the Karaite sect used the practice of standing to claim that only the Shema passages of the Torah were of divine origin, so Jewish leaders stopped standing. The Jews of Israel used to stand to show the Shema's importance and to demonstrate that saying Shema is an act of testifying in God (testimony in a Jewish court is always given while standing). The Shema may be said while standing or sitting. Since the Shema reaffirms the basic tenets of Jewish faith, it is important to hear clearly what one is saying. The Shema should be said more audibly that the Amidah. The commandment of saying Shema is fulfilled by reciting it in the shacharit and maariv services. It is said in the morning blessings, in the musaf Amidah of Shabbat and holidays, when the Torah is taken out of the Ark on Shabbat and holidays, as a bedtime prayer, as part of the deathbed confessional, and at various other times. The first line of the Shema, 'Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One' ( Shema Yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai ehad) ( Deuteronomy 6:4) is repeated throughout the prayer services. The obligation to recite the Shema is separate from the obligation to pray and a Jew is obligated to say Shema in the morning and at night ( Deut. The Shema is an affirmation of Judaism and a declaration of faith in one God. Jewish Prayers: Table of Contents| Daily Services| Origins of Prayer

Azi schwartz shema koleinu