My Shema Siddur

(ד) שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד׃ (ה) וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ׃ (ו) וְהָי֞וּ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֧י מְצַוְּךָ֛ הַיּ֖וֹם עַל־לְבָבֶֽךָ׃ (ז) וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ׃ (ח) וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ׃ (ט) וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזוּזֹ֥ת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ (ס)

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

(4) Listen Israel! Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is one. (5) You should love Hashem with all your hearts, all your soul, and all of your money. (6) And these are the mitzvot that Hashem commanded today on your hearts. (7) And you should teach them sharply to your children, in your house, and where you settle, and when you are walking on a path, and when you lay down, and when you stand up. (8) Wear them as a sign on your arm, and they will be a symbol on your forehead; (9) And inscribe them on the doorposts of your households, and on your gates.

Shema is a very important tefilla for the Jews, and for me personally. Shema is a short paragraph, strating at the idea of Hashem being our only G-d, and then telling us the different ways to love him, using the words "ואהבת". Furthermore, it explains different mitzvot, an example being to wear teffilin, "וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו לטטפת בין עיניך". The eason this is so important to the Jews is because it shoes us that Hashem loves us, and if we feel he doesn't, it tells us how we can love him. in conclusion, this is what I think Shema is about, and why it is important to us.

Baal Haturim asks why the ע in the word Shema is bigger. He explains that the גמטריא of the letter ע is 70, and the 70 represents the 70 names for Israel, 70 names for the Torah, 70 ways to explain the Torah, and that Hashem seperated us from the 70 nations of the world. ("שמע") (Devarim ו:ד)

I think that this really helps us connect to Shema on a way that we don't usually learn. It is very special that he can connect the number 70 to so many things.

Rashi asks why the Torah says to love Hashem with all our hearts, not all our heart. Rashi explains that it either means to love him with our יצר הרע, ויצר הטוב, or to not be split about how we feel about Hashem, but to love him wholeheartedly. ("בכל לבבך") (Devarim ו:ה)

I like the explanation of wholeheartedly. It is simple, yet it still explains the subject well.

Rashi asks what the word מאדך means. He explains that it doesn't mean with all of your alotness, but he gives two different explanations for what it does mean. The first explanation is that it means with all of your money, because there are some people who love their money more than themselves. The second explanation is that you should love him, in any way he measures for you, meaning that if he gives you a lot of money, or makes you homeless, you should love him the same. ("ובכל מאדך") (Devarim ו:ה)

I like how Rashi took the word to a different level, and didn't just keep it at a simple explanation.

Ramban also explains that בכל מאדך meant to love Hashem with all of your alotness, because he believes we should put everything to loving Hashem. He also quotes Chazal, who said that it means to love Hashem with all of your money. ("ובכל מאדך") (Devarim ו:ה)

I don't like that Ramban didn't take a deeper look into the word, but I liked that he quoted Chazal.

Rashi asks why the pasuk says אשר אנכי מצוך היום when Hashem gave us the Torah forty years ago, not today. Rashi explains that it says this to show us that every day, we should feel like we got the Torah today. The reason we should feel this way is because when somebody gets something new, they are all excited and want to use it, but then get bored of it later. We should feel this for the Torah, that we just got it, and we will be excited about it. ("אשר אנכי מצוך היום") (Devarim ו:ו)

I like that Rashi gave an explanation that applies to us every day, since we have to feel like the Torah is new every day.