Shema: Hear, O Israel, and the First Paragraph
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Twice a day a Jew says six words that hold the whole of our faith: Shema Yisroel. In this lesson I tell where the Shema comes from in the Torah and the Gemara, why we cover our eyes, why we say Boruch Shem quietly, and how the Alter Rebbe wants us to hear it: as the King’s proclamation, new each day. Then we look at what Chassidus sees in the two Names, in the word אֶחָד, and in the love the first paragraph commands. As always, every word is taken apart, and the new grammar is explained at the end (§G35 to §G38). The times of Shema are a practical question for your rav.
Six verses from the Torah, said morning and night
The Shema and its first paragraph are not a prayer composed by the Sages. They are six verses of the Torah itself, from Parshas Va’eschanan (Devarim 6:4–9). Moshe Rabbeinu says them to the Jewish people, and the verse itself tells us when to say them: “when you lie down and when you rise”.
The whole Talmud opens with this mitzvah. The first Mishnah of Berachos asks: “From when may one recite the Shema in the evening?” And the Gemara explains why the Mishnah could start with a question about time, as if we already knew that there is such a mitzvah: the Tanna is standing on a verse, “when you lie down and when you rise”.
In a passage on Berachos 21a, the Gemara says plainly that the Shema is from the Torah, while prayer was set by the Sages. That is why we say it with such care: it is a mitzvah of the Torah, twice a day, every day of our life. The exact times for saying it, in the morning and at night, are a matter of practical halachah; ask your rav for them.
מֵאֵימָתַי קוֹרִין אֶת שְׁמַע בָּעֲרָבִין?תַּנָּא אַקְּרָא קָאֵי, דִּכְתִיב: ״בְּשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ״.קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּבִרְכַּת הַמָּזוֹן דְּאוֹרָיְיתָא, וּתְפִלָּה דְּרַבָּנַן.
Talmud, Berachos 2a · Gemara text via Sefaria; quoted · sefaria.org/Berakhot.2a
Talmud, Berachos 21a · Gemara text via Sefaria; quoted · sefaria.org/Berakhot.21a
First the King, then His commands
Why does the paragraph of Shema come before the second paragraph, “V’hoyoh im shomo’a”? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah answers in the Mishnah (Berachos 13a): so that a person first accepts upon himself the yoke of the kingship of Heaven, and only after that the yoke of the mitzvos.
A servant first accepts his master; then he asks what the master wants. The Shema is that acceptance. This is why the Alter Rebbe, in his Shulchan Aruch, describes the first verse as the place where one accepts the kingship of Heaven.
כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּקַבֵּל עָלָיו עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם תְּחִלָּה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ מְקַבֵּל עָלָיו עוֹל מִצְוֹת.
Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 63:5 (tr. Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and Uri Kaploun, Sichos in English) · paraphrased · chabad.org/…/aid/3292059
“Until here, the heart must be in it”
How much of the Shema needs real concentration? The Gemara (Berachos 13b) brings a teaching that the first verse requires “the intent of the heart”, in the words of Rabbi Meir, and Rava rules like him. The Alter Rebbe writes in the same spirit that “the basic [requirement for] concentration relates to the first verse, which expresses one’s acceptance of the Kingdom of Heaven” (63:5), and he includes Boruch Shem with it. What to do if one said it without concentrating is a question for your rav.
The same page shows how the Sages said this verse. Rebbi would pass his hands over his face, and at that moment accept the yoke of the kingship of Heaven. And so, the Alter Rebbe writes, “it is [also] customary to cover one’s face with his hand when reciting the first verse, in order that he not look at anything that might prevent him from concentrating” (61:5); and it is the custom to say the first verse aloud, to awaken the concentration.
Sumchos teaches there that whoever lengthens the word אֶחָד is given long days and years. Rav Acha bar Yaakov adds: on the ד; and Rav Ashi warns: as long as one does not rush the ח. And when Rabbi Yirmeyah lengthened it very much, Rabbi Chiya bar Abba told him that once he had crowned Hashem above and below and in the four directions of the heavens, more was not needed. The Alter Rebbe explains the measure: the ח stands for the seven heavens and the earth, and while saying the ד one should think that Hashem is alone in His world and rules in the four directions (61:6).
עַד כָּאן צְרִיכָה כַּוָּונַת הַלֵּב, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. אָמַר רָבָא: הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר.בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמַּעֲבִיר יָדָיו עַל פָּנָיו, מְקַבֵּל עָלָיו עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם.נוֹהֲגִין לִקְרוֹת פָּסוּק רִאשׁוֹן בְּקוֹל רָם כְּדֵי לְעוֹרֵר הַכַּוָּנָה.סוֹמְכוֹס אוֹמֵר: כָּל הַמַּאֲרִיךְ בְּ״אֶחָד״, מַאֲרִיכִין לוֹ יָמָיו וּשְׁנוֹתָיו.כֵּיוָן דְּאַמְלֵיכְתֵּיהּ לְמַעְלָה וּלְמַטָּה וּלְאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם — תּוּ לָא צְרִיכַתְּ.שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יָחִיד בְּעוֹלָמוֹ וּמוֹשֵׁל בְּד' רוּחוֹת הָעוֹלָם
Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 63:5 (tr. Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and Uri Kaploun, Sichos in English) · quoted from the English · chabad.org/…/aid/3292059
Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 61:5–6 (tr. Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and Uri Kaploun, Sichos in English) · Hebrew and English quoted · chabad.org/…/aid/3292057
A proclamation from the King, new every day
The Alter Rebbe opens the laws of the Shema (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 61:1) with a picture. When a king sends a proclamation, his subjects read it with awe and fear, trembling. So too, “the Shema is the proclamation of the Holy One, blessed be He, sent to His people, the Jews.”
And he goes on (61:2): one should see it as a proclamation one has never heard before, and the verse hints at this when it says “which I command you today”: “Every day one should consider its words as new, not like something that one has heard many times and which is no longer as precious as it was originally.”
וּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע הִיא פְּרוּטְגְמָא שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵלכְּלוֹמַר בְּכָל יוֹם יִהְיוּ בְּעֵינֶיךָ כַּחֲדָשִׁים
Boruch Shem: Yaakov’s words, said quietly
After the first verse we say בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד in a whisper. These words are not in the Torah’s passage; where do they come from? The Gemara (Pesachim 56a) tells the story. Before he passed away, Yaakov Avinu wanted to reveal to his sons the end of days, and the Shechinah departed from him. He feared that perhaps one of his sons was not worthy. His sons answered him, “Shema Yisroel”, Yisroel being their father: just as in your heart there is only One, so in our heart there is only One. And Yaakov answered, “Boruch sheim k’vod malchuso l’olom vo’ed.”
Then the Sages asked: what shall we do? To say it, Moshe Rabbeinu did not say it; not to say it, Yaakov said it. So they ordained that it be said quietly. The Gemara gives a parable: a king’s daughter smelled a spicy dish; if she asks for it, it is a disgrace for her; if she does not, she suffers. So her servants began to bring it to her quietly.
The Alter Rebbe brings all this as halachah (61:13): “They therefore ordained that it be said in a whisper.” He also rules (61:14) that one pauses between Boruch Shem and V’ohavto: the first two are words of acceptance, we accept His G‑dliness and His kingship, while V’ohavto is a command.
בִּיקֵּשׁ יַעֲקֹב לְגַלּוֹת לְבָנָיו קֵץ הַיָּמִין, וְנִסְתַּלְּקָה מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁכִינָה.כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאֵין בְּלִבְּךָ אֶלָּא אֶחָד, כָּךְ אֵין בְּלִבֵּנוּ אֶלָּא אֶחָד.הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁיְּהוּ אוֹמְרִים אוֹתוֹ בַּחֲשַׁאי.מָשָׁל לְבַת מֶלֶךְ שֶׁהֵרִיחָה צִיקֵי קְדֵירָה. אִם תֹּאמַר — יֵשׁ לָהּ גְּנַאי. לֹא תֹּאמַר — יֵשׁ לָהּ צַעַר. הִתְחִילוּ עֲבָדֶיהָ לְהָבִיא בַּחֲשַׁאי.כִּי "שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל" וּ"בָרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד" הוּא לְשׁוֹן קַבָּלָה, שֶׁאֲנַחְנוּ מְקַבְּלִים אֱלֹהוּתוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ, "וְאָהַבְתָּ" הוּא לְשׁוֹן צַוָּאָה.
Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 61:13–14 (tr. Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and Uri Kaploun, Sichos in English) · English and Hebrew quoted · chabad.org/…/aid/3292057
Pauses, and words said with care
Because the Shema is the King’s proclamation, every word must be heard whole. The Alter Rebbe asks for small pauses so that the meaning comes out right: a pause between הַיּוֹם and עַל לְבָבֶךָ (61:15), so that no one hears “today on your heart”, as if only today; and a pause before V’ohavto, between acceptance and command (61:14). He also asks to separate letters that would otherwise run together. All of this is explained in the grammar section (§G38).
And the time? The verse says “when you lie down and when you rise”, and the Alter Rebbe explains (63:1) that this means the time when people lie down and rise, not one’s position: it may be said sitting, standing or walking. The exact times for the morning and evening Shema change through the year; ask your rav.
Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 63:1 (tr. Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and Uri Kaploun, Sichos in English) · paraphrased · chabad.org/…/aid/3292059
“Hashem is our G‑d”: the two Names again
In Lesson 3 (“The Two Names”) we learned the two Names that open every bracha: Havayah, the One Who brings everything into being, now, and Elokim, the Name that conceals and lets the light be received. In the first verse of the Shema they stand side by side: “Havayah is our Elokim”.
The commentary in our siddur explains, citing Sefer HaMaamarim Kuntreisim, that Elokim is numerically equal to הַטֶּבַע, “nature”, the natural strength of every created thing; and by saying Havayah Elokeinu we declare that our strength is rooted in Havayah, a level of G‑dliness above nature, as cited.
And why “our G‑d”? The commentary compares it to “the G‑d of Avraham”. Avraham reached his bond with Hashem through hard work; for us, “the connection to the Torah is granted to us as a spiritual inheritance”. The Alter Rebbe writes it in Tanya (ch. 47, quoted in the commentary’s Hebrew note): for us it is an inheritance and a gift, that He gave us His Torah.
אבל אנחנו ירושה ומתנה היא לנו שנתן לנו את תורתו
Tanya, Likkutei Amarim, ch. 47 · as cited in a Hebrew note of the commentary; quoted as printed, unvoweled
אֶחָד, not יָחִיד
Why does the verse say echod, “one”, and not yochid, “single, alone”? The commentary explains: yochid would describe a oneness far above everything. Echod is the “one” at the head of the numbers, or a whole made of many parts. The Torah chose echod “to underscore that G‑d’s oneness pervades every dimension of existence”: even where other things seem to exist, they are included in His oneness.
The commentary reads the word’s letters this way: the א is Alufo shel olom, the Master of the world; the ח, eight, is the seven heavens and the earth; the ד, four, is the four directions. Saying echod slowly, we place Hashem in every corner of the world.
And why is the first verse said with such strength? The Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya (ch. 25, quoted in the commentary’s Hebrew note) that one says the Shema twice each day to accept the kingship of Heaven with mesirus nefesh. The commentary adds that this means, more than dying for Hashem, “continually living for the sanctification of G‑d’s name”.
לקרות ק״ש פעמים בכל יום לקבל עליו מלכות שמים במסירת נפש
Tanya, Likkutei Amarim, ch. 25 · as cited in a Hebrew note of the commentary; quoted as printed, unvoweled
Two large letters: a witness
The ע of שְׁמַע and the ד of אֶחָד are written as large letters. Together they make עֵד, “witness”. The commentary explains: Hashem tells the Jewish people, “You are My witnesses”; our mission is to make His presence known in the world. A witness is needed for what is hidden: the light that fills the world can be felt through contemplation, but the light that is above the world is grasped only by faith, and to that the Jew testifies.
Read the other way, the two letters spell דַּע, “know!”. Faith alone is not enough, says the commentary, citing Kesser Shem Tov: we must also “know” the part of the soul that testifies to Hashem’s oneness.
And the word Shema itself? Besides “hear”, the commentary brings two more meanings, as cited from Likkutei Torah, Imrei Binah and the Mitteler Rebbe: “gather”, as in “And Shaul gathered the people” (I Shmuel 15:4), gathering the sparks of the soul scattered among worldly pleasures; and “understand deeply”, to contemplate and take to heart Hashem’s oneness.
Two levels of oneness: Shema and Boruch Shem
The Alter Rebbe built a whole treatise of Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, around these two verses. Its opening line (ch. 1) brings the Zohar: the verse Shema Yisroel is yichuda ila’ah, the “higher unity”, and Boruch Shem is yichuda tata’ah, the “lower unity”.
To explain, he starts with the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching on “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens”: the very words of “Let there be a firmament” stand forever in the heavens, “these very words and letters through which the heavens were created stand firmly forever within the firmament of heaven and are forever clothed within all the heavens to give them life”. Were they to leave for an instant, the heavens would return to nothing. Seen from Above, nothing exists but Him: that is the higher unity of the Shema.
In chapter 7 he explains the lower unity. Hashem conceals Himself so that the world seems to exist on its own, because “there is no king without a nation”, and the word עָם, “nation”, is related to עוֹמְמוֹת, things that are distant and apart. A king rules over others, not over his own children alone. Lessons in Tanya explains: the purpose is “His reigning over lowly created beings, who perceive themselves as existing independently of Him—so that they, too, should humble and nullify themselves before Him.” That is Boruch Shem: His kingship, accepted down here. And the Alter Rebbe notes that וָעֶד is אֶחָד with its letters exchanged: the same oneness, one step lower.
לְהָבִין מְעַט מִזְּעֵר מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר, דִּ"שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל כוּ'" – הוּא "יִחוּדָא עִילָּאָה", וּ"בָרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד" – הוּא "יִחוּדָא תַּתָּאָה":תֵּיבוֹת וְאוֹתִיּוֹת אֵלּוּ, הֵן נִצָּבוֹת וְעוֹמְדוֹת לְעוֹלָם בְּתוֹךְ רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם,דְּ"אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּלֹא עָם",פֵּירוּשׁ "עָם" – מִלְּשׁוֹן "עוֹמְמוֹת",כִּי "וָעֶד" הוּא "אֶחָד" בְּחִלּוּפֵי אַתְוָון.
Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 7 (Lessons in Tanya, Kehot, on Chabad.org) · Hebrew text and English explanation; quoted · chabad.org/…/aid/7993
Chabad.org, Online Siddur with Commentary (Siddur Illuminated by Chassidus, Sichos in English): Baruch Sheim Kevod · commentary on yichuda ila’ah and yichuda tata’ah; paraphrased · chabad.org/torah-texts/1536044
Why Boruch Shem comes before V’ohavto
The commentary on Boruch Shem brings a teaching of the Alter Rebbe in Likkutei Torah (Va’eschanan 11c, as cited in its Hebrew note). In the days of the First Beis HaMikdash, when lofty souls came down to the world, a person could reach the love of V’ohavto through contemplation alone: Shema Yisroel, and then V’ohavto. After the destruction, one can reach V’ohavto only through Boruch Shem, which is the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven. First we bow, then we can love.
הנה קודם החורבן בית ראשון שהיו נשמות גבוהות היו יכולים להגיע לואהבת ע״י התבוננות לבד שמע ישראל כו׳ ואהבת. אבל אחר החורבן אינו יכול להגיע לואהבת אלא על ידי בשכמל״ו שהוא קבלת עול מ״ש.
V’ohavto: a command and a promise
Can one command a feeling? The commentary answers, from Sefer HaMaamarim 5699 as cited: “There is no button to push that will make one love.” But one can think about things that awaken love, and then love will grow in the heart. That is why V’ohavto comes right after Shema: the command is to contemplate.
The Alter Rebbe writes in Torah Or (quoted in the commentary’s Hebrew note): in V’ohavto there are two meanings, a command, “love Him”, and a future, “love will come of itself”. The command is ours: to contemplate. The promise is Hashem’s: a love from Above that no one can produce, given to whoever makes himself a vessel for it. Notice the grammar: וְאָהַבְתָּ looks like a past, “you loved”, but the vav turns it into a future, “you will love” (§G32, §G35).
The Rebbe brings in a note (Derech Mitzvosecha, p. 420, as cited) a teaching passed from the Baal Shem Tov to the Maggid and to the Alter Rebbe: the mitzvah of loving Hashem is to immerse one’s thought in what arouses love; the feelings that follow are not the main part of the mitzvah.
והנה בואהבת יש ב׳ פירושים. אחד לשון צווי שתאהוב אותו. וא׳ לשון עתיד שתבא האהבה ממילא.
Torah Or, Ki Sisa 86c–d · as cited in a Hebrew note of the commentary; quoted as printed, unvoweled
With both hearts, with all your soul, with all your might
לְבָבְךָ is written with two ב’s. Our Sages learn from this, the commentary explains, that we love Hashem with “both our hearts”, the good inclination and the evil inclination too. The Alter Rebbe writes it in Tanya (ch. 9, quoted in the commentary’s note): “as it is written, with all your heart, with both your inclinations”. The part of us that wants worldly pleasure is not crushed but redirected: Torah Or, as cited, says that the natural fire of the heart becomes a burning thirst for Hashem; and the commentary brings the verse “Many harvests come with the strength of an ox”.
Then “with all your soul”: even to the point of giving one’s life, “even if his soul is taken”, as our Sages say. And “with all your might”, בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, literally “with all your very much”: beyond one’s own limits, from the deepest point of the soul. The commentary also brings our Sages’ reading “with all your money”: giving tzedakah from money one earned with body and soul.
In Tanya (ch. 49, quoted in the commentary’s note) the Alter Rebbe adds that “your heart” includes a man’s wife and children, to whom his heart is bound; and “your soul and your might” are his life and his livelihood.
כמ״ש בכל לבבך בשני יצריךולבבך הן האשה וילדיה
Tanya, Likkutei Amarim, ch. 9 and ch. 49 · as cited in a Hebrew note of the commentary; quoted as printed, unvoweled
“Which I command you today”
The commentary dwells on אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם. Anochi, “I”, like the Anochi of the Ten Commandments, refers to Hashem’s very Essence. מְצַוְּךָ, “command you”, shares its letters with צוותא, “bond”: through the Torah and its mitzvos a Jew is bound to Hashem’s Essence, for, as our Sages say, “the Holy One, blessed be He, possesses nothing in this world other than the four cubits of Torah law.”
And הַיּוֹם, “today”, means this world: “‘Today’ … you are to observe them, and ‘tomorrow’ … you will be rewarded for them.” The commentary explains that only in this material world, by doing mitzvos, can one bond with His Essence.
That is why the paragraph moves, the commentary says (citing Likkutei Torah), from love to deeds: V’ohavto is the yearning upward, ratzo; “these words … teach them, bind them, write them” is the return, shov, to this world, to speak words of Torah, to put on tefillin, to fix a mezuzah.
Oneness in the place of division
Which is greater, the Shema or Boruch Shem? In a sicha (Likkutei Sichos, vol. 36, p. 151, as cited in a Hebrew note of the commentary), the Rebbe explains that the Shema, morning and evening, is the higher unity, oneness as it is from Above. Boruch Shem is the lower unity: in our service, it is the person who does not yet feel a longing for G‑dliness and must compel himself, the mind ruling over the heart.
And yet, the Rebbe says, this lower unity has an advantage. The sons of Yaakov said, “just as in your heart there is only One, so in our heart there is only One”: they draw oneness down into the place of division, the world where everything seems separate. Through this, a oneness is made that is higher even than the higher unity on its own. In the Rebbe’s words: “they bring and draw down the oneness even into the place of division, the world of separation” (my translation). Lessons in Tanya puts the same idea in the language of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 7:
“Only upon strangers can sovereignty apply. The same is true Above: The ultimate intent of the revelation of Divine Kingship finds expression in His reigning over lowly created beings, who perceive themselves as existing independently of Him—so that they, too, should humble and nullify themselves before Him.”
“G‑d Who transcends time and space is also found within time and space.”
— Lessons in Tanya (Rabbi Yosef Wineberg, Kehot, on Chabad.org), on Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 7
Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 7 (Lessons in Tanya, Kehot, on Chabad.org) · Hebrew text and English explanation; quoted · chabad.org/…/aid/7993
Connections of my own
These are my own connections, not the words of the sicha.
The whole ordinary day. The first paragraph does not stay in the heavens. It names the house, the road, lying down and getting up, the arm, the doorpost and the gate. These are exactly the places where life seems divided and busy. The Shema sends its oneness there.
A whisper that is not small. We say Boruch Shem quietly, like the king’s daughter whose servants bring her what she longs for. Perhaps the whisper fits the lower unity: oneness brought into the world quietly, in small acts, without announcing itself.
Today. The Alter Rebbe asks us to hear the Shema each day as a new proclamation, and the commentary reads “today” as this world. Both point the same way: the oneness is not a memory but today’s task, here.
Talmud, Pesachim 56a · Gemara text via Sefaria; quoted · sefaria.org/Pesachim.56a
Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 61:2 (tr. Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and Uri Kaploun, Sichos in English) · paraphrased · chabad.org/…/aid/3292057
The Shema and V’ohavto, line by line
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְיָ | אֶחָד׃ | Sh’ma Yisroel, Ado-noi Elo-keinu, Ado-noi echod. | Hear, Israel: Hashem is our G‑d, Hashem is One. |
| בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד׃ | Boruch sheim k’vod malchuso l’olom vo’ed. | Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingship forever and ever. |
| וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּכָל | לְבָבְךָ, וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ, וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ׃ | V’ohavto eis Ado-noi Elo-kecho, b’chol l’vov’cho, uv’chol nafsh’cho, uv’chol m’odecho. | And you shall love Hashem your G‑d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. |
| וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם, עַל | לְבָבֶךָ׃ | V’hoyu had’vorim ho’eileh asher onochi m’tzav’cho hayom, al l’vovecho. | And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart. |
| וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ, וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ, וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃ | V’shinantom l’vonecho v’dibarto bom, b’shivt’cho b’veisecho, uv’lecht’cho vaderech, uv’shochb’cho, uv’kumecho. | Teach them to your children and speak of them, when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way, when you lie down and when you rise. |
| וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל יָדֶךָ, וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ׃ | Uk’shartom l’os al yodecho, v’hoyu l’totofos bein einecho. | Bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be totafos between your eyes. |
| וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל מְזֻזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ, וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ׃ | Uch’savtom al m’zuzos beisecho, uvish’orecho. | And write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. |
Compared with the Torah text of Devarim 6:4–9, the siddur adds the commas, the vertical lines (pesik) for the pauses, and the line Boruch Shem, which is not in the Torah’s passage. In the Torah, a short line (maqaf) joins some pairs of words, as in עַל לְבָבֶךָ and בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ; the siddur prints them apart. The commentary says that the ע of שְׁמַע and the ד of אֶחָד are written large; in the online text I checked they are not marked. The Name is printed in the siddur as two yuds.
Devarim 6:4–9 · Hebrew text via Sefaria; compared · sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.6.4-9
Shema Yisroel
Six words. The two Names are explained in Lesson 3 (“The Two Names”); here we take the other three.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְיָ | אֶחָד׃
| שְׁמַע | = | שְׁמַע |
| sh’ma hear! | hear |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל | = | יִשְׂרָאֵל |
| Yisroel Israel | Israel |
| אֶחָד | = | אֶחָד |
| echod One | one |
Boruch Shem
Also six words. בָּרוּךְ we know from every bracha (§G13); the rest is a chain of three nouns, then “forever and ever”.
בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד׃
| שֵׁם | = | שֵׁם |
| sheim the name of | name |
| כְּבוֹד | = | כְּבוֹד |
| k’vod the glory of | k’vod, glory |
| מַלְכוּתוֹ | = | ◌וֹ | + | מַלְכוּת |
| malchuso His kingship | His | malchus, kingship |
| לְעוֹלָם | = | עוֹלָם | + | לְ |
| l’olom forever | olom, world, ever | to, for |
| וָעֶד | = | עֶד | + | וָ |
| vo’ed and ever | ad, ever | and |
“And you shall love … upon your heart”
Almost every noun ends in “your”: the Torah speaks to each one of us personally (§G4).
וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּכָל | לְבָבְךָ, וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ, וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ׃וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם, עַל | לְבָבֶךָ׃
| וְאָהַבְתָּ | = | ◌תָּ | + | אָהַבְ | + | וְ |
| v’ohavto and you shall love | you (did) | love | and |
| אֵת | = | אֵת |
| eis (object marker) | the sign of the object |
| לְבָבְךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | לְבָבְ |
| l’vov’cho your heart | your | levov, heart |
| וּבְכָל | = | כָל | + | בְ | + | וּ |
| uv’chol and with all | all | with | and |
| נַפְשְׁךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | נַפְשְׁ |
| nafsh’cho your soul | your | nefesh, soul |
| מְאֹדֶךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | מְאֹדֶ |
| m’odecho your might | your | m’od, very much |
| וְהָיוּ | = | ◌וּ | + | הָי | + | וְ |
| v’hoyu and they shall be | they (were) | be | and |
| הַדְּבָרִים | = | ◌ים | + | דְּבָרִ | + | הַ |
| had’vorim the words | plural | d’var, word | the |
| הָאֵלֶּה | = | אֵלֶּה | + | הָ |
| ho’eileh these | these | the |
| אָנֹכִי | = | אָנֹכִי |
| onochi I | I |
| מְצַוְּךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | מְצַוְּ |
| m’tzav’cho command you | you | commanding |
| הַיּוֹם | = | יּוֹם | + | הַ |
| hayom today | yom, day | the |
| לְבָבֶךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | לְבָבֶ |
| l’vovecho your heart | your | heart |
“Teach them … on your gates”
Four commands, each one a past turned into a future, and three of them ending in “them”: teach them, bind them, write them (§G35). In between, the whole day: sitting, walking, lying down, rising (§G36).
וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ, וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ, וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל יָדֶךָ, וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ׃וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל מְזֻזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ, וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ׃
| וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם | = | ◌ם | + | ◌תָּ | + | שִׁנַּנְ | + | וְ |
| v’shinantom teach them | them | you | sharpen | and |
| לְבָנֶיךָ | = | ◌יךָ | + | בָנֶ | + | לְ |
| l’vonecho to your children | your (plural) | bon-, sons | to |
| וְדִבַּרְתָּ | = | ◌תָּ | + | דִבַּרְ | + | וְ |
| v’dibarto and speak | you | speak | and |
| בָּם | = | ◌ם | + | בָּ |
| bom of them | them | in, of |
| בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | שִׁבְתְּ | + | בְּ |
| b’shivt’cho when you sit | your | sitting | in, when |
| בְּבֵיתֶךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | בֵיתֶ | + | בְּ |
| b’veisecho in your house | your | bayis, house | in |
| וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | לֶכְתְּ | + | בְ | + | וּ |
| uv’lecht’cho and when you walk | your | walking | in, when | and |
| בַדֶּרֶךְ | = | דֶּרֶךְ | + | בַ |
| vaderech on the way | way | on the |
| וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | שָׁכְבְּ | + | בְ | + | וּ |
| uv’shochb’cho and when you lie down | your | lying down | in, when | and |
| וּבְקוּמֶךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | קוּמֶ | + | בְ | + | וּ |
| uv’kumecho and when you rise | your | rising | in, when | and |
| וּקְשַׁרְתָּם | = | ◌ם | + | ◌תָּ | + | קְשַׁרְ | + | וּ |
| uk’shartom bind them | them | you | bind | and |
| לְאוֹת | = | אוֹת | + | לְ |
| l’os as a sign | os, sign | as, for |
| יָדֶךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | יָדֶ |
| yodecho your hand | your | yad, hand |
| לְטֹטָפֹת | = | טֹטָפֹת | + | לְ |
| l’totofos as totafos | totafos | as |
| בֵּין | = | בֵּין |
| bein between | between |
| עֵינֶיךָ | = | ◌יךָ | + | עֵינֶ |
| einecho your eyes | your (pair) | ayin, eye |
| וּכְתַבְתָּם | = | ◌ם | + | ◌תָּ | + | כְתַבְ | + | וּ |
| uch’savtom and write them | them | you | write | and |
| מְזֻזוֹת | = | ◌וֹת | + | מְזֻז |
| m’zuzos the doorposts of | plural, “of” | m’zuzah, doorpost |
| בֵּיתֶךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | בֵּיתֶ |
| beisecho your house | your | house |
| וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ | = | ◌יךָ | + | שְׁעָרֶ | + | בִ | + | וּ |
| uvish’orecho and on your gates | your (plural) | sha’ar, gate | on, in | and |
- Lesson 1 §G1 · The root and the three-part word: most words are built on a three-letter root; a word = prefix + stem + ending
- Lesson 1 §G2 · Hidden root letters: yud, vav and hei can change shape or drop; a dagesh can mark a merged letter
- Lesson 1 §G3 · One-letter prefixes: ve- and, be- in/with, le- to, mi- from, she- that: written joined to the next word
- Lesson 1 §G4 · Pronouns: standalone and attached: ani I, Ato You; endings -i my/me, -cho/-echo your, -einu our, -o/-ov his
- Lesson 1 §G5 · Nouns: masculine, feminine, plural: feminine -oh, which becomes -as/-os before an ending; plurals -im and -os; vowels shorten as the word grows
- Lesson 1 §G6 · Adjectives, and sentences without “is”: the adjective follows its noun and agrees with it; put first, it makes a sentence with no word for “is”
- Lesson 1 §G8 · Present and past: who is speaking: the present (participle) changes for gender and number; the past adds person endings such as -ti I, -to you, -nu we
- Lesson 2 §G9 · The article: “the”: ha- plus a dagesh in the next letter; ho- before alef, ayin, reish; hidden inside be-, le-, ke-
- Lesson 2 §G10 · The construct chain: “X of Y”: two nouns side by side mean “X of Y”; the article goes on the second; feminine -oh becomes -as
- Lesson 2 §G11 · The pi’el: a doubled middle letter: the pi’el doubles the middle root letter with a dagesh; past ki-, present me-
- Lesson 2 §G13 · The passive participle: boruch: the pattern kotuv (kamatz, then u before the last letter) means “-ed”: boruch blessed
- Lesson 2 §G14 · The dual: pairs: things that come in pairs take -ayim (-oyim at a pause): yodayim hands
- Lesson 3 §G15 · The active participle: “the One Who does”: the kal present has o after the first root letter and ei under the second: pokei’ach, zokeif; it describes an action that goes on
- Lesson 3 §G18 · “Me” and “my”: -ni and -i: on a verb, -ni means “me” (osani, “made me”); on a noun, -i means “my” (tzorki); on a plural or dual noun, -ai (einai, einoi at a pause)
- Lesson 3 §G19 · Two small signs: the furtive patach and the soft letter: a patach under a final ח or ע is read before the letter (koach); בּ כּ פּ lose their dagesh after a vowel (vinoh, gover)
- Lesson 4 §G23 · The infinitive: “to do”: the infinitive names the action itself and usually takes le-: la’asos to do, la’amod to stand, l’havchin to distinguish, l’hiskayeim to survive
- Lesson 4 §G24 · אֶת: the sign of a definite object: אֶת (es) is not translated: it stands before the object of a verb when that object is definite (with “the”, a name, or “my/your”); an indefinite object has no אֶת
- Lesson 6 §G31 · Commands and requests: the imperative, and נָא: the command form is the future without its front letter: t’dabeir → dabeir speak!; a form that names the action can also command (omor); נָא makes a request: v’ha’arev no, please make sweet
- Lesson 6 §G32 · The vav that turns: vay’dabeir, “and He spoke”: va- before a future form turns it into a past: vay’dabeir and He spoke; v’- before a past form can turn it into a future: v’somu and they shall set
- Lesson 6 §G34 · “Them” and “all of us”: endings for “they”, and כֹּל with endings: “them, their” is -hem after a preposition (lohem), -eihem after a plural noun (peiroseihem), -eim/-om on a verb or a short word (avor’cheim, kulom); כֹּל + ending: kulonu all of us, kulom all of them
The first paragraph of the Shema is a chain of commands, and nearly every command is built the same way. Take וְאָהַבְתָּ (v’ohavto), “and you shall love”. Without the וְ it is אָהַבְתָּ, “you loved”: a past form with the ending ־ְתָּ (-to), “you” (§G8). With the וְ in front it continues the speech of command and points to the future, “you shall love” (§G32). The same is true of וְדִבַּרְתָּ (v’dibarto), “and you shall speak”, a pi’el with its doubled middle letter (§G11).
When the vav turns the past into a command, the stress moves to the end: we read v’ohavTO, not v’oHAVto. The ending is what we lean on.
Now add one more ending. On a past verb with ־תָּ, a final ם added after it means “them”, and we read -tom:
- וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם (v’shinantom), “and you shall teach them”, a pi’el of שׁ־נ־ן, “to sharpen”: teach them so that they are sharp in your mouth;
- וּקְשַׁרְתָּם (uk’shartom), “and you shall bind them”, from ק־שׁ־ר;
- וּכְתַבְתָּם (uch’savtom), “and you shall write them”, from כ־ת־ב.
“Them” is “these words” of the verse before. One Hebrew word holds four pieces: “and” + the root + “you” + “them”. Because the ק and the כ carry a sheva, the וְ before them becomes וּ, u- (§G3).
One small word in the same verse says “them” on its own: בָּם (bom), “in them”, in וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, “and you shall speak of them” (§G34).
| וְאָהַבְתָּ | v’ohavto | and you shall love | v’- + past “you” = command |
| וְדִבַּרְתָּ | v’dibarto | and you shall speak | pi’el, same pattern |
| וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם | v’shinantom | and you shall teach them | ־תָּ + ם “them” |
| וּקְשַׁרְתָּם | uk’shartom | and you shall bind them | וּ before a sheva |
| וּכְתַבְתָּם | uch’savtom | and you shall write them | soft ת after a vowel, s |
In Lesson 4 we met the infinitive with לְ, “to do” (§G23). The Shema uses the same form with a different prefix and adds an ending. The result is a whole clause in one word:
- בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ (b’shivt’cho), “when you sit”, literally “in your sitting”;
- וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ (uv’lecht’cho), “and when you walk”;
- וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ (uv’shochb’cho), “and when you lie down”;
- וּבְקוּמֶךָ (uv’kumecho), “and when you rise”.
How it works. The prefix בְּ, “in”, before an infinitive means “at the time of”. The ending ־ךָ, “your” (§G4), tells whose action it is: “your sitting”, that is, “when you sit”.
Hidden root letters again (§G2). שִׁבְתְּ comes from י־שׁ־ב, “to sit, to dwell”: the yud has dropped and a ת has been added at the end. לֶכְתְּ comes from ה־ל־ך, “to walk”, which behaves the same way: the ה drops and a ת is added. You know the same ת from לָלֶכֶת, “to go”. In שָׁכְבְּ, from שׁ־כ־ב, all three letters stay. In קוּם, from ק־ו־ם, the middle letter is the vowel וּ.
The Alter Rebbe brings that the words “when you lie down and when you rise” tell the time of the Shema, at night and in the morning, and not a position of the body (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 63:1). The grammar says the same: בְּ + infinitive is a word of time.
| בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ | b’shivt’cho | when you sit | י־שׁ־ב: yud drops, ת added |
| וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ | uv’lecht’cho | and when you walk | ה־ל־ך: ה drops, ת added |
| וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ | uv’shochb’cho | and when you lie down | שׁ־כ־ב: all three letters |
| וּבְקוּמֶךָ | uv’kumecho | and when you rise | ק־ו־ם: middle letter is a vowel |
In Lesson 1 we learned אֲנִי (ani), “I” (§G4). The Shema uses the other word for “I”, אָנֹכִי (onochi): אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם, “which I command you today”. Both mean “I”; אָנֹכִי is the fuller, more solemn form. It is the first word of the Ten Commandments, אָנֹכִי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ. Chassidus, as brought in our siddur’s commentary, reads the אָנֹכִי of the Shema like the אָנֹכִי of Sinai: Hashem’s very Essence.
An ending on a present form. מְצַוְּךָ (m’tzav’cho) is the present of the pi’el (§G11, §G15) of צ־ו־ה, “to command”, with the ending ־ךָ, “you”: “commanding you”. Two things happen when the ending is added:
- the last root letter ה drops, as in צִוָּנוּ, “He commanded us” (§G2, §G12);
- the doubled middle letter of the pi’el keeps its dagesh, as in מְצַוְּךָ.
So מְצַוֶּה (m’tzaveh), “commanding”, becomes מְצַוְּךָ, “commanding you”. Endings that we have seen on past and future verbs (§G12, §G30) can sit on the present too.
| אֲנִי | ani | I | the usual word |
| אָנֹכִי | onochi | I | fuller, solemn; first word of the Ten Commandments |
| מְצַוֶּה | m’tzaveh | commanding | pi’el present |
| מְצַוְּךָ | m’tzav’cho | commanding you | ה drops before ־ךָ |
Because every Jew says the Shema twice a day, the Alter Rebbe sets out in his Shulchan Aruch how to read it with care, and adds that the same care applies in Pesukei D’zimrah, in the Amidah and in reading the Torah (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 61:21). Our siddur helps with a few signs.
The pesik (|). A vertical line between two words is a pesik, a short pause (we met it in Birkas Kohanim). In this lesson it stands in three places: first יְיָ | אֶחָד, then בְּכָל | לְבָבְךָ, and last עַל | לְבָבֶךָ.
Two like letters. In the last two, one word ends with ל and the next begins with ל. The Alter Rebbe rules that one pauses between such words, “so that neither of them be swallowed”; and in בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ the pause is short, but “the sound of the lamed should be distinctly divided” (61:19). In the same way he asks for a small pause between a word ending in ם and a word beginning with א (61:20). The pesik in our siddur marks the place.
Dagesh and sheva. He also asks that a letter with a dagesh be read hard, a letter without one soft (§G19), and that a sheva be sounded or silent as it should be (61:22). All these fine points, he adds, are required “as a matter of initial preference” (61:22).
The large letters. The commentary in our siddur speaks of the oversized ע of שְׁמַע and the oversized ד of אֶחָד. Together they spell עֵד, “witness”. In the online text I checked they are not marked. On the meaning, see this lesson’s inner-meaning section.
| יְיָ | אֶחָד | Ado-noi | echod | Hashem is One | pesik: a short pause |
| בְּכָל | לְבָבְךָ | b’chol | l’vov’cho | with all your heart | ל … ל: keep both |
| עַל | לְבָבֶךָ | al | l’vovecho | upon your heart | ל … ל: keep both |
| עֵד | eid | witness | the large ע and ד |
Small words of the Shema
| Word | Transliteration | Meaning | Root | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵת | eis | (object marker) | — | Before a definite object: “love eis Hashem” (§G24). |
| אֲשֶׁר | asher | which, that | — | Joins a clause: “which I command you”. |
| עַל | al | on, upon | — | “Upon your heart”, “upon your hand”, “on the doorposts”. |
| בָּם | bom | in them, of them | — | בְּ + “them” (§G34). |
| בֵּין | bein | between | — | “Between your eyes.” |
| כָּל / כֹּל | kol / chol | all | כ־ל־ל | “With all your heart”; after a prefix the כ is soft (§G19, §G34). |
| שְׁמַע sh’ma · hear Shema Koleinu in the Amidah | אֶחָד echod · one the end of Aleinu: “on that day Hashem will be One” |
| מַלְכוּת malchus · kingship Aleinu, and the brachos of Rosh Hashanah | לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד l’olom vo’ed · forever and ever many brachos and Psalms |
| לֵבָב / לֵב leivov / leiv · heart Elokai Netzor, and the second paragraph of Shema | הַיּוֹם hayom · today the second paragraph of Shema, and the Shir shel Yom |
- How does the Mishnah in Berachos 2a learn the times of the evening Shema from the verse? Which words of our paragraph does it use?
- What does Berachos 13a teach about the order of the paragraphs: why does Shema come before “Vehaya im shamo’a”?
- Berachos 13b: up to where must one have intention, according to the different Sages? What does the Alter Rebbe rule in 63:5 and 61:5?
- Tell the story of Yaakov and his sons from Pesachim 56a. Why, then, do we say Boruch Shem quietly? Use the parable of the king’s daughter.
- Why does the Alter Rebbe compare the Shema to a royal proclamation (61:1–2)? What does “today” add?
- Shaar HaYichud, chapter 7: what is the difference between the “higher unity” of Shema and the “lower unity” of Boruch Shem? How is וָעֶד linked to אֶחָד?
- Why does אֶחָד mean more than יָחִיד? What does each of its three letters hint at?
- “With all your heart”: why is לְבָבְךָ written with two ב’s, according to the Gemara as brought in Tanya ch. 9?
- Split וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם and וּקְשַׁרְתָּם into their parts. What does each ending tell us, and where does the stress fall? → see §G35, Lesson 6 §G32
- Find the four words “when you sit … and when you rise”. What do they have in common, and which root letter is missing in בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ and in וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ? → see §G36, Lesson 4 §G23
- Explain אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ word by word. Why does the commentary see the Essence in אָנֹכִי, and the bond in מְצַוְּךָ? → see §G37, Lesson 3 §G15
- Where are the pauses that the Alter Rebbe asks for in the first paragraph, and where must two like letters be kept apart? Give three examples. → see §G38
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