THE SH’MA AND ITS BLESSINGS
GOD’S LOVE FOR ISRAEL f 328 z ©a£d ©` With everlasting love have You loved Your people the family of Israel. Teaching and practice, duty and justice – these You have taught us. Therefore, our God and Guide, we think upon all this before we sleep and when we wake, and rejoice and delight in Your teaching and its practice forever and ever, for they are our life and the measure of our days. We keep them in mind both day and night. Never take Your love away from us. Blessed are You God, who loves Your people Israel.
L §O©r l ¥` ¨x §U ¦i zi ¥A m ¨lFr z ©a£d ©` mi ¦T ªg zF §v ¦nE d ¨xFY . ¨Y §a«¨d ¨` o ¥MÎl ©r : ¨Y §c«©O ¦l Ep «¨zF` mi ¦h ¨R §W ¦nE Ep«¥nEw §aE Ep«¥A §k ÇoW §A .Epi«¥Grl¡` dedi Irel£r©p §e g ©n §U¦p §e .Li «¤T ªg §A ©gi «¦U¨p Li«¤zF §v ¦nE L«¤z ¨xFz i ¥x §a ¦c §A m ¥d i ¦M :c¤r ¨e m ¨lFr §l Li«¤]reT ªg §e d¤B §d¤p m ¤d ¨aE .Epi«¥n¨i K ¤x «r` §e Epi«¥I ©g xi ¦q ¨YÎl ©` L §z ¨a£d ©` §e .d¨l §i«¨l ¨e m ¨nFi d ¨Y ©` KEx ¨A :mi ¦n¨lFr §l EP«¤O ¦n :l ¥` ¨x §U ¦i FO©rÎz¤` a ¥dF` .dedi
z©a£d ©` Ahavat olam beit yisra’el amm’cha ahavta, torah umitsvot chukkim umishpatim otanu limmadta. Al kein Adonai eloheinu, b’shochbeinu uv’kumeinu nasi’ach b’chukkecha, v’nismach v’na’aloz b’divrei toratecha umitsvotecha v’chukkotecha l’olam va’ed. Ki heim chayeinu v’orech yameinu, uvahem nehgeh yomam valailah, v’ahavat’cha al tasir mimmennu l’olamim. Baruch attah Adonai, oheiv et ammo yisra’el.
rny SH’MA f 329
Traditionally one remains seated during the recital of the Sh’ma, though some progressive communities stand so as to give prominence to this affirmation of God’s unity. It is a custom to cover the eyes while reciting the first sentence, ‘Hear O Israel’, as an aid to concentrating on the words. The dalet , the final letter of echad , ‘One’, is emphasised because of the danger of misreading the letter as reish , which would spell the word acheir , ‘other’.
through the gift of Torah, guidance for our lives, individually and as a people. In the Sh’ma that follows we are called to think of God’s word ‘when you lie down and when you rise up’. Here we assert our willingness to do so, meditating on the Torah, as if a love letter from the beloved, by day and by night.
m¨lFr z©a£d ©` Ahavat olam It is the faith and experience of the Jewish people that the God who is the Creator of all holds us in a special regard. The previous blessing signalled the universal power of God, this one centres on our own particular destiny. God’s love for us is expressed
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