There's something about the Shema

Shema Yisrael, YHWH Eloheinu YHWH Echad

Hear O Israel, YHWH is our God, YHWH is one

In all the Bible the "abbreviated Shema" (Deuteronomy 6:4, above) is surely the most quintessential verse of Judaism. The full Shema is much longer than just that one verse; it includes Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41. Yet it is the single verse quoted above that has become the mainstay of Judaism, quoted by every observant Jew at least twice daily and, traditionally, in their dying breath. (I attended a Jewish fellowship last night in which we recited this verse seven times in succession!) Keep in mind, though, that almost all Jews would avoid saying the Name of God (see the previous post for more on this) so, effectively, the verse becomes:

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad

Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one

whenever it is spoken.

What does the abbreviated Shema mean to a Jew? Why is it so central to Judaism? There is a massive body of literature on this, but my understanding (at present!) is that it is:

1. a call (Hear!);
2. to Israel, identifying them as God's chosen people;
3. that explicitly names their God, YHWH; and
   
4. emphasizes that He is one, meaning that:
• there is only one true God (YHWH);
• God is undivided (a central objection of Jews regarding the Trinity); and
  
• YHWH alone is God.
  

Yet Adonai Echad is better translated as "the LORD alone". Although one is a common meaning of echad, it can equally mean alone. This does a better job than one because at the time that it was given there was no debate about the nature of the God-head (unity, tri-unity or other); the emphasis was that YHWH alone was God and there is none besides Him! If the emphasis had been on the fact that there is only one God, then the word yechid would have been used as it was in Genesis 22:2 when God said to Abraham, "Take your son - your only son..."

Even though the Shema was never addressed to Gentiles, it is nevertheless important to Christians for two main reasons. Firstly, in Mark 12:28-30 when Jesus was asked what the most important 'mitzvah' (commandment) in the Torah is, he replied with verses five and six of Deuteronomy 6:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

(Incidentally, the point about Adonai echad principally meaning "the LORD alone", rather than "the LORD is one", is strengthened by the next verse in which the scribe who asked the question responds to Jesus' reply with: "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him." (Mark 12:32, emphasis added) Note that Jesus didn't say "and there is no other besides him" but the scribe clearly shows that the Shema was interpreted that way at that time.)

Secondly, Gentile believers in Jesus are grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17-24) to form one new man (Ephesians 2:15) - hence the Shema is equally a call to the Church! Though the birth of the Church at Pentecost began a marked distinct change in the constitution and lives of God's people, there was nevertheless a continuum which Jesus earlier emphasized by quoting the Shema (Mark 12:28-30). And then Jesus appends part of Leviticus 19:18 ("... you shall love your neighbour as you love yourself..."), saying that "there is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:31).

So there really is something special about the Shema, both for Jews and for Christians. Perhaps we should modify it as our Saviour did, calling it Jesus' Shema:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbour as you love yourself.