V'etchanan - Commanded to Love Adonai/Eloheinu

(1) The Shema is recited twice every day, once in the evening and once in the morning, as it is said: Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up (Deut. 6: 7). The time when people customarily lie down is evening and the time when people customarily get up is morning.

(2) What does one recite? The three paragraphs beginning with the words Hear (Deut. 6:4-9); If, then, you obey (Deut. II: 13-21); and The Lord said (Num. 15:37-41). The paragraph Hear is recited first because it contains commandments concerning God's unity, the love of God, and the study of God, which is the basic principle on which all depends? After it, If, then, you obey, is recited since the passage commands obedience to all the other commandments. After that, the paragraph concerning the fringes is recited, since it also contains a command to recall all the commandments....

(1) שמע ישראל, listen Israel with your mind open; (2) 'ה, He is the One Who is responsible for the existence of a physical universe and our globe, the only part of it on which physical life exists. (3) אלוקינו, He is the choicest of all the abstract forces assigned to supervise the conduct of human beings, and even inert creatures. From Him we yearn for assistance in helping us to achieve our purpose on earth. We do not turn to any intermediary. He alone is fit to have prayers addressed to.

(1) And the Lord said unto Abram: “Get thee out of thy country” (Gen. 12:1). May it please our master to teach us whether an Israelite is permitted to take upon himself the yoke of the heavenly kingdom (i.e., to recite the Shema) while traveling? R. Idi and R. Huna said in the name of R. Judah, and R. Yosé said in the name of R. Samuel: An Israelite is forbidden to take upon himself the yoke of the heavenly kingdom while traveling. He is required to stand still, directing his heart heavenward in trepidation and fear, in trembling and reverence, while proclaiming the oneness of God: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One (Deut. 6:4). He must speak each word with heartfelt sincerity, and then (add the benediction) “Blessed be His name, whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.”¹Cf. Y. Berakhot 13b, Buber Tanhuma, Lekh Lekha 1. However, when he commences the portion “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” he may either walk or stand or sit, as he desires, for it is written: When thou sittest in thy house, when thou goest on thy way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deut. 6:7).

(4) שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our G’d, the Lord alone.” This verse would not be complete unless G’d’s name had appeared in it three times. If the Torah had only written: שמע ישראל ה' אחד, “Hear Israel, the Lord is one,” every other nation in the world would have claimed that their national deity was also unique for them. By adding the word: אלוקינו, “our G’d,” every reader would know that the subject is the G’d of Israel. If we would only say: “the Lord our G’d is one,” the impression would be left that He is one of a number of deities. The correct translation of the way Moses described G’d in our verse is: “the Lord Who is our Master is unique as a Master, and there is none beside Him.” When reciting this line in our prayers it is necessary to introduce this prayer with the words: א-ל מלך נאמן, “G’d who is a true king.” The reason that the authors of the prayer book have seen fit to add these three words is that by adding them the three paragraphs of this prayer including the line ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו, “blessed be the glory of His Kingdom,” total 248 words, a number which equals the 248 limbs in our bodies. This is hinted at by Solomon in Proverbs 4,4: שמר מצותי וחיה “Keep My commandments and you will live.” G’d is portrayed as saying that if you (Israel) keep My commandments, I will keep you alive.” Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta explained this concept by means of a parable: a king possessed a vineyard in the central part of the land of Israel, whereas his residence was in the northern part of the country. Another king possessed a vineyard in the northern part of Israel, whereas his residence was in the central part of the country. Each king had to travel at least once a year from his residence to his vineyard to make sure the vineyard was being tended properly. Eventually, these two kings met one another and each complained to the other about the inconvenience of having to visit his vineyard every year. They made an agreement that each king would take care of the other’s vineyard, an arrangement that saved each of them a lot of time and inconvenience.

(5) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

with all your heart: Heb. בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ [The double “veth” in לְבָבְךָ, instead of the usual form לִבְּךָ, suggests:] Love Him with your two inclinations [the good and the evil]. (Sifrei; Ber. 54a) Another explanation; “with all your heart,” is that your heart should not be divided [i.e., at variance] with the Omnipresent (Sifrei).

ובכל נפשך, according to the plain meaning of the text “even if it will cost your life.” It must mean this: seeing that the Torah had already covered all the other bases when it wrote בכל ללבך, “with all your heart,” the meaning is that while alive you are to love God with all your heart, if your faith and love for God is put to the test and you must choose that or your very survival, you must choose the former.

and with all your means: Heb. וּבְכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ, with all your possessions. There are people whose possessions are more precious to them than their own bodies. Therefore, it says, “and with all your means.” (Sifrei) Another explanation of וּבְכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ is: You shall love God with whatever measure (מִדָּה) He metes out to you, whether it be the measure of good or the measure of retribution.

(3) Even though the commandment of wearing fringes does not apply at night, one reads the passage [concerning it] because it has a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt. It is a commandment to recite the Exodus from Egypt as it is stated, "So that you will remember the Exodus from Egypt all the days of your life" (Deuteronomy 16:3). These three sections ordered as such form the recitation of the Shema.

(4) While reading the Shema, when one finishes the first verse, one says quietly, 'Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever". Then one reads as normal, "And you will love the Lord, your God..." (Deuteronomy 6:5-9). Why does one read as such? Our tradition says that Jacob the Patriarch, nearing death, gathered his sons in Egypt and commanded them urgently concerning God's unity, and the path of God that Abraham and Isaac, Jacob's father, has walked. He asked them, "My sons, could it be that among you is a lowlife, who does not stand with me concerning God's Unity?" This is similar to when Moses our Teacher said to us, "Lest there is among you a man or woman..."(Deuteronomy 29:17). The brothers all answered, "Hear, O Israel, God is our Lord, God is one". That is to say: Listen to us our Father, Israel, God is our Lord, God is one. The elder said, "Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever". Therefore, all Jews out of custom say the praise that Israel the Elder said after this verse.

(3) The school of Shammai says: In the evening all people should recline and recite [Shema], and in the morning they should stand, since it says [in the verse (Deut. 6:7)], “And when you lie down and when you arise.” But the school of Hillel says: Each person may recite it in his usual way (posture), since it says (ibid.), “And when you walk on the road.” If so, why does it say “and when you lie down and when you arise”? —[It means:] at the time when people are lying down, and at the time when people are arising. Said Rabbi Tarfon: “I was once traveling on the road, and I reclined to recite [Shema] in accordance with the view of the school of Shammai, and [by doing so] I put myself in danger of [attack by] bandits.” They [the other Sages] said to him: “You would have deserved to be guilty for your own fate, since you went against the view of the school of Hillel.”

Why do we read these paragraphs every