THE SH’MA AND ITS BLESSINGS
d¨i ¨d §e V’hayah im shamo’a tishm’u el mitsvotai asher anochi m’tsaveh etchem ha–yom, l’ahavah et Adonai eloheichem ul’ovdo b’chol l’vavchem uv’chol nafsh’chem. V’natatti m’tar arts’chem b’itto, yoreh umalkosh, v’asafta d’ganecha v’tirosh’cha v’yits–harecha. V’natatti eisev b’sad’cha livhemtecha, v’achalta v’sava’ta. Hisham’ru lachem, pen yifteh l’vavchem, v’sartem va’avadtem elohim acheirim v’hishtachavitem lahem. V’charah af Adonai bachem, v’atsar et ha–shamayim, v’lo yihyeh matar v’ha–adamah lo tittein et y’vulah, va’avadtem m’heirah mei’al ha–arets ha–tovah asher Adonai notein lachem. V’samtem et d’varai eilleh, al l’vavchem v’al nafsh’chem, uk’shartem otam l’ot al yedchem, v’hayu l’totafot bein eineichem. V’limmadtem otam et b’neichem l’dabbeir bam, b’shivt’cha b’veitecha, uv’lecht’cha va–derech, uv’shochb’cha uv’kumecha. Uch’tavtam al m’zuzot beitecha uvisharecha. L’ma’an yirbu y’meichem vimei v’neichem, al ha–adamah asher nishba Adonai la’avoteichem lateit lahem, kimei ha–shamayim al ha–arets.
experience and responsibility are bound up with those of the entire community. In the traditional view, by reciting this verse we accept upon ourselves the ‘yoke of the commandments’, our commitment to fulfilling the obligations on the Jewish people as a whole because of our covenant with God.
©Ron ¨WÎm ¦` d¨i ¨d §e This will happen if you listen ...
The second paragraph of the Sh’ma is mostly addressed to Israel in the plural; obedience of the people as a whole is the condition for bringing the rain. But in two places (shown in bold) the individual is addressed (‘so that each one of you can harvest ...’; ‘when you sit each of you in your home ...’) indicating how our personal
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