Shema

“The command, ‘Hear, O Israel’ is characteristic of Deuteronomy. . . This command is the basis of the Shema: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might’ (6:4-5). What is it to love God according to the Shema? To love God is to value his words: ‘Keep these words . . . Recite them to your children and talk about them . . . Bind them as a sign on your hand . . . fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on your doorposts . . .’ (6:6-9). ‘Hear, O Israel’ is followed by instructions to remember, teach, discuss, meditate on and practice these words of God. Here is the verbal spiritualty at the heart of Deuteronomy.”

“Deuteronomy 5-6 functions as a literary unit, a unit that purposefully connects the Decalogue to the Shema, and vise versa. The implication is that obedience to God’s commands (embodied in the Decalogue) and loving God (embodied in the Shema) are actions intricately bound up with one another.”

“To believe that God is One involves the mind in an affirmation of thought, but draws on a commitment of the heart that will not assent to any other ultimate commitments in life. . . This belief of the mind and sentiments of the heart are evidenced in daily life by obeying and observing God’s commandments. . . The Shema is a clear example of holistic faith that brings the whole of one’s self together in the context of a community of believers.